The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m...
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Stealing Home - Harlow Cole

Stealing Home by Harlow Cole
Genre: NA Realistic Fiction

Blurb (on back of book): To what lengths would you go to earn forgiveness?  Would you beg? Would you borrow? Would you steal?  Ashley
I’ve given up. On my childish dreams. 
On getting out of this town. On love. On him. 
On everything. 
I’m barely treading water. 
Brayden
I’m the man with it all. 
The pinstriped jersey covering my back garners easy cash, flashy cars and fast women. My gilded name drapes over the city in neon. I have everything. Everything, except the thing I crave most. Ashley Foster. 
There’s one addiction I never tried to beat. 
They say you can never go home again. I’m out to prove them wrong. But what if returning requires facing all the things you destroyed? To what lengths would you go to earn forgiveness? 
Would you beg? Would you borrow? Would you steal? 
Stealing home is the riskiest move in baseball. But the reward... If it works? Winning her back is a chance I’m finally ready to take. 
My pockets are filled with stars. It’s time to follow them home.
This time, I don't want to steal all her firsts, I want to lay claim on all her lasts.

MY OPINION: ****

This review is long overdue since I finished this book about eleven days ago but I'm just going to go ahead and write it now when I have a break in between studying and sleeping. 

I did enjoy this book. The cover is... misleading. I wouldn't categorize this book as those "trashy romance novels" people love to diss on because it definitely had a substantial plot and well-developed characters and focused on various aspects that went beyond the "romance" and the relationship. 

I loved that this was a duet to the first book. It felt complete without being a "filler book" in between the generic trilogy. I think that it was a great ending to the series and helped tie up all the loose ends in a coherent manner. I loved the plot twists and the gradual build-up to the relationship between Ashley and Brayden for the second time. 

I don't think I could have forgiven Brayden for what he did but at the same time, it can be argued that it wasn't his fault. However, I feel like something that serious and extreme would have caused way too large of a rift between me and the person that it could never be healed. That being said, I was rooting for them the whole time and ended up loving how Cole wrote about their healing process. 

I especially loved the idea of "starting again." That was definitely a major theme in this book that was strongly resonant especially in the relationship between Ashley and Brayden. Rather than trying to revert back to the fiery, passionate relationship they had had before the accident and everything that happened, they accepted the past and tried to move past it as new people, which I really loved. It was definitely more realistic than if they had decided to pretend that it hadn't happened and it signified an important sense of maturity between the characters, which I would have expected seeing as this is several years after the first book took place. 

However, I loved that the relationship between Ashley and Brayden was just as passionate and heartwrenching as before. They might be "new" versions of themselves but they haven't lost the chemistry and fire that made us root for them in the first place. While Ashley was definitely a bit more reticent and reluctant to try again, I loved the gradual build-up to their ultimate return to each other. 

Each character was so well-written and had personalities that went beyond the surface, which I definitely appreciated. They all had their fair set of problems, rewards, opportunities, and setbacks that didn't feel like pointless plot devices that were integrated for the sake of moving the story along. 

Something that I think is important to note is the fact that I can still remember everything that happened in this book despite having read it almost two weeks ago. Sometimes, books tend to be forgettable but this one definitely managed to stick with me, which I loved.

I would recommend this book to readers looking for a beautifully-written, new adult romance novel. 

Main Character: Ashley, Brayden
Sidekick(s): Friends, family, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstandings, the past, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life. 

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