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Suffer Love

Ashley Herring Blake (Goodreads Author)

3.86 · Rating details · 2,272 ratings · 428 reviews

“Just let it go.”

That’s what everyone keeps telling Hadley St. Clair after she learns that her father cheated on her mother. But Hadley doesn’t want to let it go. She wants to be angry and she wants everyone in her life—her dad most of all—to leave her alone.

Sam Bennett and his family have had their share of drama too. Still reeling from a move to a new town and his parent ...more

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Hardcover, 352 pages

Published May 3rd 2016 by HMH Books for Young Readers

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· 2,272 ratings · 428 reviews

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Jan 18, 2016 Chelsea ❤Peril Please❤ rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Chelsea ❤Peril Please❤ by: Laurie Flynn

Shelves: favorites, my-favorite-covers, arc-netgalley, tearjerkers, unforgettable-male-leads, alternating-pov, could-read-over-and-over-again

**ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review**

My heart is crushed within me, Here is the truth: You made me love you-your eyes and mouth and voice. You pulled me into your heart. You don’t want me there and I don’t want to be there, but it’s where I will always live.

You know those books that just pop out at you when you see them? The covers that are beautiful, yet you know that by looking at the synopsis, this isn’t going to be one of those flops where the cover i ...more

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May 01, 2016 Mana rated it did not like it

i wrote a tumblr post about this as well!!
If it were not this fabulous quote, I MIGHT have enjoyed this (although highly unlikely).

" if I hadn't known the guy since I was six, I'd probably report him as a terrorist threat" - eARC 5%

This isn't funny. Like, at all. Maybe it was meant to be funny or some form of joking with a buddy, but considering our history as a country, I digress. I just wish that Indian characters, Muslim characters, and many, many others weren't constantly put in this box ...more

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Apr 01, 2016 TJ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kindle, arc, favorites

Received from: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group
Received Via: NetGalley.com

THE REVIEW

Why this book?
Chelsea ❤Peril Please❤ (of BADGER and Snake)'s review made want to read it

What I thought

This was heartwrenching! The romance was bittersweet, two people falling inlove with so much in common in all the wrong ways. It was a roller-coaster of emotion at times I had a stupid smile on my face , Other times I was mad, sad, swoony, frustrated and everything in between. This book just grabb ...more

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Nov 07, 2014 Laurie Flynn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sweet-sixteens, ya-contemporary

There are some books that make you forget you have an actual life outside their pages—a life full of responsibilities and obligations and things that have to be done. Books that make you feel like a kid again, hiding under the covers with a flashlight to fit in just one more chapter before your parents come to check if you’re asleep. Books you devour in one day because you can’t seem to stop reading.

SUFFER LOVE is such a book.

I don’t even know where to start. There’s hurt and betrayal and secr There are some books that make you forget you have an actual life outside their pages—a life full of responsibilities and obligations and things that have to be done. Books that make you feel like a kid again, hiding under the covers with a flashlight to fit in just one more chapter before your parents come to check if you’re asleep. Books you devour in one day because you can’t seem to stop reading.

SUFFER LOVE is such a book.

I don’t even know where to start. There’s hurt and betrayal and secrets and two broken families after an affair and a door littered with ugly slips of paper, and the raw emotion from the fallout literally emanates from the pages. Both Hadley and Sam are angry and sad and feel like their worlds have been altered beyond repair, and they find some solace in their attraction to each other and the connection that follows. But Sam knows what Hadley doesn’t and keeping this huge truth from her may ruin everything.

The romance in this story made my heart a fizzy mess. It’s both sweet and intense, fun and serious, and such an amazing depiction of all the emotions that come with first love. Before Sam, Hadley had been losing herself in other boys—boys who were nothing but a distraction, and when Sam enters her life, you can feel the fireworks ignite and something shift in her head. And Ashley Herring Blake doesn’t just write romantic love beautifully—she writes all kinds of love with dizzying accuracy. Friend love—friends who are there for you no matter how much you change, and just want to understand how to help the new version of you. Family love—the kind that gets bent so far out of shape you think there’s no way it can ever go back. And maybe it can’t, but it just might be able to make a new shape, and Ashley threads forgiveness into this story—not as a Bandaid for problems that aren’t easily fixed, but as a light that can come out of the darkest places if you have the faith to let it shine.

This book is everything. Romantic, funny, heartbreaking, insightful, and smart, with Shakespeare references that I absolutely loved. The dual POV between Hadley and Sam lets us get inside both of their heads and hearts. At so many points, I wanted to give them a hug and make them talk to each other and figure things out. But that’s the beauty of SUFFER LOVE. Hadley and Sam feel like real people, authentic teenagers, kids who you might have known growing up. Kids you might have been growing up. With this debut, Ashley Herring Blake wrote a book that won’t just be wanted, but needed.
...more

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Oct 04, 2014 S.M. Parker rated it it was amazing

I waited a long time for this book, and not so patiently I should add. I’d seen excerpts of Blake’s debut novel over the last few months. I’d been tortured by the beauty of her short stories. I was totally intrigued by the concept of a relationship being doomed before it even began (who wouldn’t be??). So when I finally had SUFFER LOVE in hand it felt like a homecoming. And I settled in and devoured the story in one sitting.

Blake’s story is one of love and loss and of trying to figure out who y ...more

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Sep 19, 2014 Jeff Zentner rated it it was amazing

Take note, fans of Sara Zarr and Rainbow Rowell: SUFFER LOVE is an achingly gorgeous, honest, unflinching look into the lives of two young people who find each other when they most need each other. You will love and root for these characters. They give pulse and urgency to the most mundane activities—going out to a family dinner; working on a class project.

This is a must-read not just for young adults, but for adults—to get a glimpse of how their actions can have repercussions that reverberate ...more

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Jul 06, 2015 Jaime Arkin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, galley-arc, read-in-2015, stand-alone-books, 2016, contemporary, preordered

It’s kind of crazy how some small pieces of paper stuck to a door can change your life so completely.

Hadley St. Clair’s life was pretty great and then suddenly it wasn’t. The truth about her father and what he’s done has caused her perfect family to fall apart. When she meets Sam Bennett she thinks that things are maybe changing for the better… she has someone to talk to about what she’s been dealing with and how it’s made her feel and changed her life, but Sam’s got a secret of his own.

You fin It’s kind of crazy how some small pieces of paper stuck to a door can change your life so completely.

Hadley St. Clair’s life was pretty great and then suddenly it wasn’t. The truth about her father and what he’s done has caused her perfect family to fall apart. When she meets Sam Bennett she thinks that things are maybe changing for the better… she has someone to talk to about what she’s been dealing with and how it’s made her feel and changed her life, but Sam’s got a secret of his own.

You find out pretty quickly that Hadley’s father was involved in an affair … and it wasn’t just a one-time thing. This lasted over a year and since finding out that her father isn’t the man she thought he was Hadley’s somewhat lost. She once believed in her parent’s love story and hoped for the same for her, but now she no longer lives in that fairytale… instead hooking up with guys for a quick connection and then moving on.

I really loved that Ashley Herring Blake really delves into the effects that a parent having an affair can have on not just the adults in the relationship but in this case, the father/child relationship. Hadley’s disappointment in her father and the fact that this man she looked up to completely screwed up and is now trying to make amends and yet she can’t seem to get past the hurt and anger is so true to life. Ultimately the fact that her family life is in chaos is something she can’t seem to grasp and forgive.

Sam himself is dealing with some issues too, specifically trying to keep his family functioning since his father packed up and left and his mother’s anger and blame about why it happened. When he and Hadley have the opportunity to work together on a school assignment, he can’t help but connect with her through shared disappointments. But secrets have a way being exposed, and the one Sam’s keeping is a big one.

I really loved the flow and pacing of this story. Herring Blake had me riveted to the story of these families from the first page, and I found I couldn’t put the book down until I turned the last page.

Suffer Love is a complicated story of family, love, trust and ultimately forgiveness. It will have you running the gamut of emotions … The anger, sadness and grief jumps off the page but there is also a really well done romance here that will remind you that life isn’t always ugly. The relationship that builds between Sam and Hadley is beautiful and sweet and intense and the perfect contrast to the things that are going on in their lives.

If you’re looking for a beautiful story with authentic and captivating characters, an unflinching story of the fallout that happens when those you trust most betray you in the most heart-breaking way possible, then you must get this book. Fans of Contemporary YA, put this one on your TBR pile for when it arrives and read it as soon as you possibly can.

I’m incredibly excited for whatever Herring Blake shares with us next!
Thank you to the author for providing a copy of this title in exchange for my honest thoughts.
...more

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Nov 13, 2015 Anatea Oroz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary, favorites, romance, young-adult

This review is also posted on my blog, Anatea's Bookshelf.

I think I have read the description of Suffer Love when I first found out about the book and then totally forgot what the book was about. I was in a mood to read a cute, fluffy romance book and I have no idea why Suffer Love sounded like a cute romance to me. See what I did there? Suffer -> cute. Well, don't ask. I have no idea what was going on in my head and why Suffer sounded like it could be cute. It must be the Love part of the This review is also posted on my blog, Anatea's Bookshelf.

I think I have read the description of Suffer Love when I first found out about the book and then totally forgot what the book was about. I was in a mood to read a cute, fluffy romance book and I have no idea why Suffer Love sounded like a cute romance to me. See what I did there? Suffer -> cute. Well, don't ask. I have no idea what was going on in my head and why Suffer sounded like it could be cute. It must be the Love part of the name that has blinded me. All I saw was LOVE, LOVE, LOVE and boy did I love the book. I definitely did not expect this book to be so powerful and realistic. In a way, it was a cute book with a cute romance, but it was also so much more!

After Hadley's dad cheated on her mom, nothing in her home was the same. The mood in the house was almost unbearable for Hadley and her way to deal with it was to be with a different guy every week. When this new guy comes to school and she finds out that he is in a similar situation, he becomes the only person who fully understands her. Sam's mother cheated on his father, but unlike Hadley's family who is trying to work it out, Sam's father decided to leave and moved to another state. While Sam and Hadley get closer to each other, at the same time Sam tries to distance himself from Hadley because he is keeping a secret that can hurt a lot of people including her.

Suffer Love is a book full of betrayal, secrets, hurt, heartbreak, but also forgiveness and love. Maybe before I started reading this book I wanted something cute and fluffy, but as soon as I started reading, I knew I have made the right choice in choosing this one. It was so powerful in a way we often oversee. Parents part ways all the time. Parents cheat a lot too. Still we rarely reflect on how that may affect the children. We never think about how they fell in the moment when they find out. How they feel when their whole world is crushed into pieces. How they go from happy family to who-knows-what in a matter of seconds. There can be hundreds of outcomes, but every single one of them is hard in a different way.

I know both Sam and Hadley will always have a special place in my heart. They've both been through so many hard things and when they finally find happiness in each other it is still not easy. The book is written in dual POV, so we get to know both of them pretty well. I don't usually like dual POV's, but in this case, it was perfect. We get 'in' on the big secret quite early in the book, but it never decreases the amount of suspense of what will happen when the others find out. The pacing in the book was done perfectly. Sam and Hadley's relationship progressed just how I want all romances to happen, which unfortunately doesn't happen a lot. So when I find a romance like this, I love it and I gush about it. It was SO GOOD GUYS!

Books that are able to bring out different emotions out of us and leave us excited are my favorite kinds of books. Actually, I think they are everyone favorite books. If you liked Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway or Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley, I think Suffer Love might just be a book you'll enjoy too. Or if you enjoyed this book, do check out the other too since they're amazing!

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Oct 11, 2014 Brooks Benjamin rated it it was amazing

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Life is so messy. Sometimes wonderfully so. Other times it's heartbreaking. And when I get a chance to read a book that somehow captures both ends of that smeared and smudged spectrum, I can't help but take it. Suffer Love is a book that does just that. We first meet our two main characters, Sam and Hadley, right at the moment when the universe has taken the normalcy of their teenage lives and twisted it into a double knot. It's bey ...more

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Apr 17, 2016 TheCrazyWorldOfABookLover rated it liked it

Loved the premise of this book. Loved the writing. But then. Then that ending happened and I am so not okay with it. I really, REALLY enjoyed this up until the last page.

I spent the whole book loving the progression of the relationship between Sam and Hadley and was wishing for a happy ending for them. It felt like the author cleared up the family issues but left a big question mark on their relationship. I am just not a fan of vague endings. Sometimes they work, but for this book I don't feel l ...more

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Mar 14, 2015 Aimee ♥ | Aimee, Always rated it liked it

This book may have had its predictable and cheesy moments, but overall, it's a beautifully-written, heartfelt book. I definitely recommend it to romance fans looking for a read with a lot of heart.

Full review to come! ...more

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Feb 27, 2015 Lois Sepahban rated it it was amazing

I was lucky to read an advanced copy of SUFFER LOVE.

This story has all of the contemporary YA elements I love: star-crossed Hadley and Sam (I'm in love with both of them myself!), swoony romantic moments (oh, my WOW!), complicated family relationships (so many secrets), and their friends--Ajay and Kat, plus little sister Livy. Combined with a compelling story, the book is difficult to put down--I stayed up half the night to finish it. But this is not a light-hearted contemporary YA romance. The ...more

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Nov 01, 2015 Emily rated it it was amazing

Oh my goodnessssss. What a beautiful book. I got to read an advanced copy as part of an ARC tour, and I'm blown away right now. This is a sweet, tender, and achey romance. It's not light and fluffy--it deals with heavy, real-life stuff like acceptance and forgiveness and trust--but the actual relationship between Sam and Hadley is SO bright, refreshing, and lovely that it really buoys the heavier elements. A great mix of happy and sad tears, especially toward the end where practically every char ...more

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Jun 28, 2015 Milka rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2015, 2016-releases, 2015-contemporary-challenge, winterhaven-arc

Since I heard about Suffer Love, it has been among my most expected 2016 releases list. When I noticed that it was on Edelweiss up for review, I couldn't believe my luck. The synopsis, the cover and the awesome Twitter presence of the author all played a role in increasing my excitement, and pretty much the moment I downloaded the eARC of this to my Kindle, I started reading it and simply couldn't put it down until I reached the last page.

Hadley's life turned upside down the day she got home and Since I heard about Suffer Love, it has been among my most expected 2016 releases list. When I noticed that it was on Edelweiss up for review, I couldn't believe my luck. The synopsis, the cover and the awesome Twitter presence of the author all played a role in increasing my excitement, and pretty much the moment I downloaded the eARC of this to my Kindle, I started reading it and simply couldn't put it down until I reached the last page.

Hadley's life turned upside down the day she got home and found her yard covered in papers revealing the truth about her father's extramarital activities. Soon, Hadley's mother also learns the truth about what her husband has been doing behind her back and inevitably, Hadley's family starts to crumble apart. In the wake of learning that her father has been unfaithful, it seems like Hadley herself loses trust not only in her father, but in the male population in general. She starts to fool around with guys - the shorter the connections, the better. She does not think things like "love" and "romance", something that only seems to work in movies, are for her. Then she meets Sam.

Sam's family is falling apart too. Ever since his father packed his bags and left, Sam has been trying to take care of his younger sister while dodging his mother as much as possible. While his relationship with his sister is good, he feels like whatever relationship he used to have with his mother is now non-existent, ever since she started to blame him for all that has happened. When Sam is paired up with Hadley for an English project and they start to spend time together, they start to feel like they can be themselves when they are around each other. But both have secrets, especially Sam, that could change everything in an instant and wreak the budding relationship.

The pacing of Suffer Love is incredibly well done! I loved how the author is able to mix together high school romance, family drama and friendship narrative in a way that constantly kept me on the edge of my seat, eagerly turning the pages to learn more. Hadley is such an interesting character to read about - she is flawed and occasionally her opinions and actions are ones that I do not agree with, but despite that, I thought she was likable and I really did feel for her. The whole "family breaking apart because of cheating" scenario is something I can identify with very easily, because it is what happened to my parents back in the day. The thoughts especially Hadley has about her father and how she feels betrayed, mainly because she thought she really knew her father, is something I was able to relate with SO MUCH. She still loves her father, but at the same time feels like he does not deserve her love anymore. Can they start again or is everything ruined for them?

Ashley Herring Blake writes extremely well, mixing together witty dialogue, family dysfunction and drama, Shakespeare references and tangible chemistry between characters. Though parts of this book are funny and cute, Suffer Love definitely isn't the most lighthearted YA contemporary out there, which I loved. It tackles with serious issues like forgiveness and trust through a set of complicated, well-established, lovable characters. Though the book includes scenes dealing with a lot of anger and sadness, there is an undercurrent of hope out there, especially towards the end. And that ending.... OH MY.
...more

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Jun 22, 2015 Jenn Bishop rated it it was amazing

I was thrilled to read an advanced copy of this book via Netgalley. Blake's heartbreakingly realistic novel is told from the POV of two teenagers, Hadley and Sam. It doesn't take long for the two of them to learn they have something in common -- both are dealing with the after-effects of their parents' extramarital affairs -- but Hadley can't fathom how deep the connection lies... that Sam's mother is the woman her father was having an affair with. Uprooted from their old lives in Nashville, bot ...more

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Aug 28, 2015 Amy Allgeyer rated it it was amazing

Oh what a tangled web...of tension, secrets, and betrayal. Ashley Herring Blake's contemporary YA about star-crossed lovers is a can't-put-it-down OMG-fest. Every page turn reveals love, lies, laughter and, in the end, hope. I'm jealous of everybody who hasn't read this yet, because I want to experience it all again. I absolutely loved it. One of the best books I've read this year.
(I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.) ...more

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Nov 04, 2014 Marci Curtis rated it it was amazing

Guys. THIS BOOK: achingly beautiful, gorgeously written, brimming with feels. Absolutely LOVED IT.

Needs. More. Stars.

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Jan 26, 2016 Karla Mae (Reads and Thoughts) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, arc-edelweiss, cover-love-love, favorites, 2016-reads

*ARC kindly provided by HMH Books thru Edelweiss for review.*

Cheating: to take something from someone by lying or breaking a rule.

Cheating is such a sore topic not only for me but for the majority. Who does like cheating? No one right? I have no remarkable life changing experience that involves cheating but I do know that when this word somehow got involved in your life, it will be messy and dirty and tough.

Suffer Love isn’t the first story that has this element as its topic but it is the first ...more

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Jul 20, 2015 Robin Reul rated it it was amazing

Warning: Do not read this book unless you have a good supply of Kleenex within arms reach from the very beginning. This page-turning story of secrets, lies and an intense but doomed from the get-go romance will have you riveted. Ashley Herring Blake's addictive debut is sure to get a lot of buzz amongst the crop of 2016 debuts. ...more

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Aug 04, 2015 Stacee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2016, edelweiss, contains-the-evil-sentence

I loved the premise of this book, but when it came time to read it, I just kept putting it off.

I loved Hadley and Sam. I loved them separate and even more when they were together. They're each struggling with something and they're angry and handling it in similar ways. So of course it makes sense that they would find comfort in each other. And Sam's inner monologue when it comes to Hadley is perfect.

There's definitely some shit that goes down and the inevitable push away. I would have liked to ...more

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Aug 18, 2015 Emily France rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2016-ya-debuts

I received an ARC of this book and quickly realized it was going to be one of those stories filled with characters who wouldn’t let me go. It’s a hyper-realistic story about star-crossed lovers, friendships, and how parents’ mistakes ripple through the young lives around them. The characters absolutely glittered in my mind; they were vivid and real and compelling. The story is told from the points of view of both Sam and Hadley, and it was a joy to see the tale unfold from their eyes. Each voice ...more

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Feb 11, 2015 Dahlia added it

Shelves: i-own-in-hardcopy, sweet-sixteeners, 2016-releases

Really loved the angle this took on being the children of divorced parents, with a dual-POV romance that showed the different ways parental infidelity tears families apart. Exactly the kind of romance I love to read, with lots of messiness and memorable side characters. And oh, God, Livy - I just wanted to hug her the whole time, and I could not stop picturing her as Jenny Humphrey circa season 3, which was great <3 So looking forward to reading more by Ashley!

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Aug 13, 2015 Sarah Ahiers rated it it was amazing

This book was a full of strong emotions and strong characters and strong pace, which all read me to read it in under three days. I could not put it down.

I was lucky enough to snag an early copy of this as an Arc and I'm so glad I got a chance to read it.

Hadley is a girl who's struggling under the stress of a fractured family. Her dad had been having an affair for over a year and her mother spends all her time at work or either making vindictive little stabs at her father, and Hadley's father spe ...more

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Oct 11, 2014 Erin Schneider rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Everyone!!!

Shelves: favorite-reads, ya-contemporary, 2016-debutauthor, authorfriends, sweetsixteendebutauthor

I don't know if it's possible to express how much I loved this book. Blake's writing is beautiful, poetic, and her sense of humor had me trying to conceal laughter at 2am in the morning!

I loved every single character in SUFFER LOVE -- Hadley, Sam, Kat, Livy, Ajay, and even both of Hadley's parents...all of them will make you feel ALL THE FEELS, I promise. From Ajay's fantastic one-liners, to Sam's quick wit and charm, to Hadley's dad...even though I wanted to hate this man so much, some of the m ...more

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Sep 19, 2014 Alisha Klapheke rated it it was amazing

When a story weaves hit-me-in-the-gut emotions with a humor that has me wanting to tweet all the things, it becomes one of my favorites. Ms. Blake accomplished that with Suffer Love. Not only does she paint with Shakespeare references that delight my swoony heart and mind, but she also brings real characters, real laughs, real suffering, and real hope.

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Jan 18, 2016 Jenny Moyer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2016-ya-debuts, arc-review, contemporary-ya, books-i-couldn-t-put-down, compelling-love-stories

I devoured this book. I was hooked by the premise--I knew I was in for a great read--but then I started reading and oh. My. Gosh. Blake knows how to write dialogue. And the voices of her two main characters . . . I found myself free-falling into this story, into characters so well-drawn I needed to know them and everything that was happening to them. SUFFER LOVE is one of those kinds of reads. Delicious, like homemade cake that you keep sneaking extra helpings of. I couldn't put it down. The the ...more

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Apr 06, 2016 madandelion [hiatus 160420] rated it liked it

Shelves: realistic-fiction, young-adult-fiction

"It's not too late. "

2.5 stars
Wow, I don't know what to say about this. I was really looking forward to reading this book. Clearly I'm in the minority here, because all I'm seeing are 5 star ratings of this book. But I can't conjure up anything in my mind that would validate that. In my opinion, the story was totally unoriginal and stuffed with bad clichés.

(Mild spoilers ahead)
Consider a girl and a guy. The former's father used to have an affair with the guy's mother. The spouses found out they were being cheated on and then there was some drama. The girl's family shifted from one town to another in order to get away from the mess. And some months later, the guy's family moved in the same town and got enrolled in the same school with the same purpose in mind. When they met on the first day, which was obvious, they had to meet on the first day only, it was love at first sight. And through some other clichéd events, they kept meeting and then the girl accidentally also met the guy's little sister and then miraculously they became sort of best friends. Aw, so sweet. And when the guy and girl's respective best friends met for the first time, they fell in love too. Yowzie, so original, no? And to fill in the gaps, some drama happened, cute, romantic moments thrown in and bam! you have the full story.

So I'm sorry if I didn't particularly like. I didn't find a lot that was interesting. The only thing I sort of liked was the writing style. It didn't bore me as much as I'd expected. And I'll admit that there were few funny moments between Hadley, the MC and her best friend, Kat.

“And what did you say back?” I ask.
　　“I said thanks.”
　　Again, I let my eyebrows do the talking.
　　“What?” she says. “That’s a lot for me. Plus, I got flustered. He was just standing there, smiling down at me, and his chest and stomach were all wet and slippery-looking and there were little drops of water on his lower lip, just hanging there, and—oh my God, what is so funny?”
　　“Nothing, nothing!” I laugh into my hands. “You’re just so hilarious when you get all hot and bothered about Rob. It’s as if you’ve spent your pubescent years underground and have just now been set loose. Hide your teenage sons, Woodmont! Rawr!”

...more

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Oct 16, 2015 Tikaa rated it did not like it

Before reading this, if you would've told me that I:
A. wouldn't like it, and B. that it features a god awful joke that actually turns out to be a jab towards POC, I seriously would've thought you've lost your mind. If you've been a reader of my blog for a while, or just chat with me on twitter, then you know that I am the biggest fan of all things bookishly dysfunctional. When I first discovered that Suffer Love showcases a very screwed up family dynamic with the aspect of cheating, I was so onb Before reading this, if you would've told me that I:
A. wouldn't like it, and B. that it features a god awful joke that actually turns out to be a jab towards POC, I seriously would've thought you've lost your mind. If you've been a reader of my blog for a while, or just chat with me on twitter, then you know that I am the biggest fan of all things bookishly dysfunctional. When I first discovered that Suffer Love showcases a very screwed up family dynamic with the aspect of cheating, I was so onboard . . until I actually started the book.

Not even five pages in, my literary ghost strolls in simultaneously nibbling on a cold slice of pizza and sipping orange Fanta as he squealed, " oooooo you hate this don't you? Your face is all screwed up and pinched, sorta how you looked while reading The Wrath & The Dawn but worst! " I couldn't even deny it, he was right. I've never been a fan of overly descriptive writing that's shoved down our throats as beautiful prose, (my friend Ari calls it " dramatics " ) so I was already off to quite a shaky start. Breezing past that, (especially since it didn't happen quite often) I stumbled into an even bigger issue -- an issue that I for one, refuse to put up with.

Here we go again. We haven't even scratched the surface on debuts in 2016, and I already feel like authors are snatching recipes from the next person, switching up ingredients as they go. Upon finishing chapter one, I literally groaned with annoyance after noticing this would be another formula where (daddy issues/family issues + self-esteem issues) x promiscuous = our female main character. So far I've seen this displayed with Mercedes in Firsts, Zephyr in The Girl Who Fell, and Eden in The Way I Used To Be. Although these girls are light years ahead of our MC in the sex department, the common denominator is still there: young girl using intimacy to piece together the shambles that is her life. While I love when my contemporaries feature realistic situations, it's the redundancy of this aspect that gets to me.

Suffer Love follows Hadley and Sam, two teens that are dealing with some serious shit at home. Hadley's father had an affair with Sam's mother, completely destroying one marriage, while the other is hanging on by mere threads. I actually liked the depiction of this situation . . sort of. I felt it was both realistic and unrealistic all at the same time, mostly because of its execution. While Hadley is in the dark about who her dad's mistress is, Sam knows everything. After being at school for all of 30 mins and learning that Hadley's last name was St.Clair from a guy he talked to for 5 of that 30, he was able to piece together that Hadley was indeed the daughter of the man that fucked up his family. St.Clair is a pretty common last name and you mean to tell me he was able to click this together in all of 2.5 seconds? Okay, Sherlock JR. If someone commits a crime with the last name Willis, hopefully, I won't be held accountable. Guilty by last name association is apparently a thing folks. But even this wasn't the tip of the iceberg.

Physical (p.17) Ebook (5%)
Sam in reference to Ajay, who we believe is Indian.
" If I hadn't known the guy since I was six, I'd probably report him as a terrorist threat. "

This was clearly a joke meant to poke fun at the fact that Ajay loves to put things together, problem is, why did the author think this was okay to say? I used to take apart and put together VCR's when I was younger, does that make me a terrorist too? If I were Middle Eastern, would someone profile me as such? Outside of the community, we are dealing with enough as it is. Satan running for president, (Donald Trump #sorrynotsorry) the terrorist group ISIS, mass bombings in countries outside of the US. It is far too soon to make such a distasteful joke . . actually, such a thing shouldn't even cross your lips, let alone be put on paper for millions of readers, especially young adult readers to see. We've been fighting for diverse reads, even pushing hard to support AOC within the community, so to see authors not using their better judgment, (especially those who always appear to be advocates of diversity) is beyond disheartening. This sentence made it past the beta stage, editor(s), the ARC, down to the finished copy, without anyone speaking up about it, and honestly I'm baffled. Surely out of the hundreds of readers and authors that have read this book, someone had to have seen it right? When it comes to POC, is it so easy to sweep us under the rug? Is this a case of I-wanted-to-say-something-but-I-was-afraid-of-backlash? or even worst, I- didn't-say-anything-because-it-wasn't-directed-towards-me?

I was taught that if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. Sadly in our community, there aren't many ppl willing to rise above.

While the author has used her twitter platform to apologize, I'm still having a bit of trouble accepting it. It felt like a cop out, a way to cover her ass, however, everyone is human -- everyone makes mistakes. Let's hope this will be an eye-opening experience for us all.

...more

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Nov 15, 2015 Sarah Alexander rated it it was amazing

SUFFER LOVE by Ashley Herring Blake had my heart in a vice from the first page. Two broken families, raw emotion that will turn your insides out and two teens trying to fight their way through the trail of destruction caused by their parents. The dual POV allows the reader to experience the hurt and betrayal that’s torn both families apart, but it also provides space for the superbly executed romance to bubble and fizz away beneath the layer of anger and sadness. This book contains everything th ...more

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Sep 19, 2014 Rae Parker rated it it was amazing

Shelves: scbwi-midsouth-author-illustrators

I was fortunate to read an advanced review copy of this book. This story is full of wit and heart. Told in alternating points of view between Hadley and Sam, SUFFER LOVE takes the reader on an emotional journey. Ashley Herring Blake’s debut novel is a fabulous read. I look forward to more stories from this author.

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About Ashley Herring Blake

Ashley Herring Blake

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Ashley Herring Blake is a reader, writer, and mom to two boisterous boys. She holds a Master’s degree in teaching and loves coffee, arranging her books by color, and cold weather. She is the author of the young adult novels Suffer Love, How to Make a Wish, and Girl Made of Stars (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), and the middle grade novels Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World and The Mighty Heart of Sunn ...more

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Quotes from Suffer Love

“If I've learned anything in the past six months, it's that life is a fickle little bitch and there's not one damn thing I can do to tame her. It's almost laughable, really.” — 3 likes

“The words fall out of my mouth like rain- I felt them coming, smelled them in the air, but there was nothing I could do to stop them.” — 2 likes

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