Title: Waking Olivia
Author: Elizabeth O’Roark
Publisher: Elizabeth O’Roark
Pub Date: March 12, 2016
Format: Kindle eBook
Pages: 330
Source: NetGalley
Genre(s): Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads || Buy on Amazon

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

A failing farm. His father’s debt. And a struggling college track team. Will Langstrom has too many responsibilities, and the last thing he needs is Olivia Finnegan, a beautiful but troubled new transfer student.

A smart mouth. A strong right hook. And a secret that could destroy her. Olivia is her own worst enemy, with a past she can’t seem to escape, and the last person she wants help from is a cocky track coach she can never seem to please.

Refusing to be pushed away, Will is determined to save her. And determined to resist an attraction that could destroy them both.

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My review:

I received this ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion of the work.

“That’s why we’re perfect together. You never speak and I never shut up. You’re so lucky you found me.”

Here’s a book with two attractive people almost kissing on the cover. Sometimes this makes me run far, far away from a book. Other times it’s like someone is luring me into a cave that I will be prisoner of until the entire book is devoured. The latter scenario took hold here.

This has all the ingredients of a book that will keep you up reading way past your bedtime. I gobbled it up.

Just one more chapter? No. More like: one more book. Where’s the sequel?

I really enjoyed the running/climbing aspect of this story. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that revolved around sports that did not involve football, or cheerleading, or swimming. I liked hearing about the races and the training. But more importantly, I liked hearing about the mountain climbing. I would absolutely love to read a book about an avid hiker/climber…with a potential love interest or two, of course.

It goes without saying that our main characters are hot. They both have good intentions. He is earnest and hardworking and is stuck in a place he doesn’t want to be. She is scarred and misunderstood and running for dear life. They go from enemies to friends, but can be no more than that. I’m telling you, this is a recipe that ensures you will not put a book down.

On a side note: the sleep running? The sexual assault? The murders? This book is TOO much in a way that might piss people off. But it’s a guilty pleasure of mine. I didn’t pick this up to read something real.

If you read the synopsis and like it, you pretty much know exactly what you’re getting into and you will love every second of it.

Regardless, I still kind of wish that the well-meaning friends/teammates would have been more of a focus, you know? They could have been more of a help. We can’t always have a hot guy swoop in to save the beautiful, tortured girl (but it’s fun to read for all intents and purposes).