Into The Night Book Reviews: Blog Tour: The Trouble With Goodbye by Sarra Cannon

Welcome to the Into the Night Reviews stop on Sarra Cannon's The Trouble with Goodbye blog tour. We are so pleased to be part of the promotion of this truly beautiful story and we hope that you're inspired to go a grab a copy for yourself.

To see other stops on the tour for reviews, guest posts, and excerpt click here or the tour button at the bottom of the post.

Title: The Trouble With Goodbye

Author: Sarra Cannon

Release date: May 2013

Publisher: Dead River Books (self-published)

Age Group: New Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tour organized by: AToMR Tours

One night can change everything…

Two years ago, Leigh Anne Davis shocked everyone in tiny Fairhope, Georgia when she broke up with her wealthy boyfriend to attend an Ivy League university a thousand miles away. At school, she finds a happiness and independence she’s never known.

Until one terrifying night takes it all away from her.

With no place else to go, Leigh Anne heads home to reclaim her old life. A life she worked so hard to escape. On the outside, she seems like the same girl everyone has always known. But deep inside, she’s hiding a terrible secret.

That’s when she meets Knox Warner, a troubled newcomer to Fairhope. His eyes have the same haunted look she sees every day in the mirror, and when she’s near him, the rest of the world fades away. But being with Knox would mean disappointing everyone all over again. If she wants to save what’s left of her old life, she has no choice but to say goodbye to him forever.

Only, the trouble with goodbye is that sometimes it’s about courage and sometimes it’s about fear. And sometimes you’re too broken to know the difference until it’s too late.

The Trouble with Goodbye is a beautiful story about a young woman and an experience that can only be described as horrendous. Author Sarra Cannon has managed to tell this story in such a way that it conveys hope, instills courage and shows that some risks are worth taking.

Leigh Anne Davis is a young woman that chose to leave the security of her home town and the wealth of her family to pursue a college education in Boston. Her decision is in small part a rebellion against the pre-determined life path her parents, particularly her mother, have for her. It was out of character for her, particularly leaving behind Preston Wright, the gorgeous son of the wealthiest man in town who everyone thought Leigh Anne would marry.

At university Leigh Anne finds happiness and a sense of herself that she has not known previously. She begins to properly move on from Preston and start to look forward to a life the way she wants it to be. As is often the case, in one night Leigh Anne loses the independence she has fought so strongly for, and she chooses to return home in the hope that the familiarity of her old life may give her back some of what she has lost.

Dreading the trip home and worrying at how successful she will be at fitting in, Leigh Anne has a rather stressful return to Fairhope. In amongst that she encounters Knox Warner, who is new to the town and very different to everyone else. Different in the sense that he seems to carry a burden of his own and different because he doesn’t seem to be concerned with what people think. Knox helps Leigh Anne and supports her in a way that she has never experienced. A complete stranger and yet he understands exactly what she needs:

I lean forward and bury my face in my hands. I turn away as a sob escapes my lips. My body shakes with it and I struggle for air against the crushing weight of guilt and sorrow and anger. Everything I haven't been allowed to feel or express breaks loose, and I don't have the strength to control it anymore.

I don't know what I'm expecting him to do, but somehow this stranger, this guardian angel, knows exactly what I need.

He scoots across the leather bench seat. Without a word, he pulls me into his arms.
And he lets me cry.

Despite the damage caused by her experiences and knowing Knox is not the sort of guy her family and friends would approve of, Leigh Anne can't deny what she feels when he's near or how he seems to want to be with her:

I think of the way he held me that night in the dark. He pulled me into his arms without a second thought and never questioned my pain. I think of the butterflies I feel every time I'm near him. Butterflies I just tried to force with Preston just to prove I'm still alive. That I'm not broken.

Only the truth is I am broken.

And the guy right here in front of me is the only one who sees it. For some reason, he seems to like me anyway.

Leigh Anne must grapple with what has happened to her, her return home and what it is she wants to do. She struggles in her relationship with her Mother, who is more concerned with what others might think than how her daughter truly feels. Leigh Anne reconnects with her high school friends and while there is a level of comfort, Leigh Anne can never really move beyond her experience at college and struggles to properly fit in. Her disappointment at having to return home and her frustration with her families response to events surrounding her return mean that she feels very alone and disconnected.

She encounters Knox at different times (generally when she really needs help!) and each time he accepts what she has to offer and responds in a way that gives her comfort, confidence and a sense that perhaps she will be okay. Knox is just wonderful ... his past is troubled and yet he has found a way to be comfortable in his skin and make the most of what he has. He is not from the wealthy circles that Leigh Anne's mother prefers, and yet he is rich in ways her mother and some of those people will never be. He is honest about who he is and encourages Leigh Anne to look beyond expectations of others, to find enjoyment in simple things and most importantly, seek acceptance from herself.

"I'm not afraid", I say, but I'm lying. I'm terrified. Not of the water or the swing. I'm terrified of what I'm feeling for him and how perfect he seems to be. I don't deserve this. I don't know what to do with this.

"If you're not afraid, then what the hell are you waiting for?"

The sadness I've been carrying around for so long urges me to take a step back, away from the edge of this mountaintop. But there's a growing hope that tells me to seize this moment with both hands.

What the hell am I waiting for?

Breathless, I jog toward the woods, slip out of my jeans and toss them to the side. I reach out for the swinging rope, catching it on its second pass toward the shore. There are several tight knots and I grip the highest one with two trembling hands. I back up the hill until the rope is taut, and with my heart beating fast, I hold on tight.

And I fly.

The Trouble with Goodbye tackles a story that I suspect happens more frequently than we know. Despite the negative events and their consequences for Leigh Anne I actually felt a sense of hope as I read. Leigh Anne is a wonderful character - broken by events, but not to the point of losing who she is and with Knox's strength she finds herself again. I really enjoyed The Trouble with Goodbye.

4 out 5 stars

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Sarra Cannon grew up in a small town in Georgia where she learned that being popular always comes at a price. She is the author of the young adult paranormal Peachville High Demons series, which she first began self-publishing in October of 2010. Since the series began, Sarra has sold over 120,000 copies and recently signed a contract with Sea Lion Books to create a graphic novel adaptation of Beautiful Demons, the first book in the series.

Sarra lives in North Carolina with her amazing husband, her new baby boy, and her teeny tiny Pomeranian, Snickerdoodle.