Friday Feature: Breaking Nova

Nova Reed used to have dreams-of becoming a famous drummer, of marrying her true love. But all of that was taken away in an instant. Now she's getting by as best she can, though sometimes that means doing things the old Nova would never do. Things that are slowly eating away at her spirit. Every day blends into the next . . . until she meets Quinton Carter. His intense, honey brown eyes instantly draw her in, and he looks just about as broken as she feels inside.

Quinton once got a second chance at life-but he doesn't want it. The tattoos on his chest are a constant reminder of what he's done, what he's lost. He's sworn to never allow happiness into his life . . . but then beautiful, sweet Nova makes him smile. He knows he's too damaged to get close to her, yet she's the only one who can make him feel alive again. Quinton will have to decide: does he deserve to start over? Or should he pay for his past forever?


My thoughts:
Nova is already broken when we meet her. Her boyfriend, Landon, took his own life, and she can't get past it. She just wants him back. Every day she tortures herself by contemplating whether she should watch a video Landon left for her before he killed himself. While Nova is spiraling downward, she gets caught up in drugs, thanks to the influence of her roommate and a new acquaintance named Quinton. No one actually tries to get Nova to use drugs. She winds up doing it because everyone around her does it. That and she's tired of people telling her she's too good for drugs because she doesn't feel she is.
Quinton is also broken when we meet him. He's responsible for the deaths of two people and can't get past that. Drugs are how he gets through each day. He thinks Nova's too good for him and tries to push her away.
I really wanted to love this book. I did. But the drug use got to be too much for me. I felt like it became the focus of the novel, and since I can't relate to that, it got redundant for me. The writing was solid though. It just wasn't the right book for me.

Question: 
What was the last book you read that was good but not really your type of story?