~2 books review~ Leaving Paradise & Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles

LEAVING PARADISE

--"Are you following me?" she asks, but doesn't meet my gaze.
"Yeah," I say.
"Why?"
"Honestly?"
She looks at me, her eyebrows raised. I give her the only honest and true answer I have. "You're where I want to be."--

Oh My!!
Again...I was in this Simone Elkeles Marathon and couldn't stop until I read most of her books if not all!

Leaving Paradise was a really touching book, I love Elkeles' writing in this one as I did in her Perfect Chemitry books.
I started reading this book really?! without a single idea what it was about AND I looooooved it so much.

Starting with the name of the characters, Caleb(sigh) is one of my favorite male character names EVER so she hit home in there as for Maggie, let's just say I have a newly found sister whom I call that soI love it too.
The plot took me by surprise because I thought the main character along with the reason of the book's name wasn't the character I thought at all.

Feelings
It started pretty fast for me, I instantly got hooked on the story and couldn't put it down, not even to take notes for the review, hence the rattling and out-of-nowhere thoughts I'm writing now.
I got an insight of just how far family is willing to go to protect itself, the love of a brother can be infinite but has to be earned and appreciated at the same time. 
Life's not written on rock, therefore anything can change in the blink of an eye.

Learned
That sometimes we don't appreciate the sacrifices that are made for us to go on life without having to suffer much.
That being different doesn't mean bad.
And that you can't be eternaly judged by the things you've done in the past if you have already asked for forgiveness.
Again, love is one of the main characters in the story, along with never giving up on yourself because really?! you have no idea how strong you are until the situation is right on your face.
Love yourself above all else to be able to love any other person.

And that sometimes Leaving doesn't mean you're not seeing that person again, but rather be looking forward for when that person comes back, really there is no place like home.

5/5

RETURN TO PARADISE

--Maggie’s fighting for me. She wants to win me, fair and square. Doesn’t she realize she already has me, and doesn’t have to fight?--


Sequel to Leaving Paradise is soo different and yet the same as it, it's overwhelming.

After the obviously killing ending of Leaving Paradise I don't want to write any spoiler in this review, so I'll make it short.

When you love someone no matter where that person is, no matter how many lies, how many bits of your heart said person has broken, no matter the past-present-future, the tears, the laughs, the secret smiles, the lonelyness of being near and yet so far apart,REALLY count anything you want from that person, from hurting you soo bad you are scarred for life or from making you sooo freaking happy you think you've died and gone to heaven...the list really goes on.
NOTHING
repeating
NOTHING
Will be able to come between you two.

Introducing us to a bunch of new fun, disgusting yet fresh new characters...
Struggling with the, supposedly forgotten past. This book takes you to a complete other level of love, break ups, family, jail, friendship, and future at a really lovely small pace that lets you take in all of the beauty of life and all the possibilities that it holds for everyone.

-El amor todo lo puede-

5/5