All About You (Love & Hate Series Book 1) By: Joanna Mazurkiewicz

Purchase on Amazon 

I came across this book and author via Amazon. There was a sale on the book and I wanted something to read. The write-up sounded kind of good but...

Book Description

A romance full of suspense about two childhood friends turned enemies!

I start hating Oliver just after his older brother Christian’s death. I drag him down a road of humiliation and pain to try to cope with what his brother did to me.
A few months after Christian’s passing, Oliver leaves town, and for the next two years, he is absent from my life. The demons claw their way back in, and I must learn to live with the secret that has destroyed me.

Now I’m starting a new life, away from Gargle and away from my past, but everything crashes when I see Oliver the first day at university. It’s clear that many things have changed since we’ve been apart. Now he is captain of the rugby team and the most popular bloke on campus.

Then he makes a bet and gives me an ultimatum: I leave Braxton forever and start somewhere else, or I stay and play his game… because he’s never forgotten that it was me who ruined his life two years ago.

About Joanna Mazurkiewicz

Joanna Mazurkiewicz was born in Poland. She moved to United Kingdom when she was only nineteen and just finished high school. She had aspired to be a writer upon completion of the Harry Potter series but also enjoyed reading books like 'Gone with the Wind', 'Animal Farm' and 'The doll'. She graduated from Swansea University with a bachelor degree in American Studies. While studying in the UK she made a decision to start writing fiction in English.

The "Whispers of the Sprite" is her first debut novel and she is currently working on the second book in the series. Joanna lives in Sully, a small town in South Wales near Cardiff with her boyfriend Bruce. She enjoys cycling around Welsh countryside some of which has become the settings in her first series.

My Thoughts

Ok, let me start by saying I never want to be that person who says mean things about an author or their writing just to be mean. I applauded anyone brave enough to put their work out there for people to read and critique.

With that said I admit this book was hard for me to read. First, any female that went through what this character did would not be so quick to jump into bed with someone else even if they do love them. Second I was confused most of the time because there was no clear transition between past and present. I got confused many times about whether I was in the present with the characters of the past. 

Finally, I wish there had been more build-up about our female's past with her trauma. I felt it sort of was clear from the get-go but would have liked a little more content about why she stayed, what drew her to the guy, and a little more about her internal battle with emotions and why she did what she did. I feel the author needed to do more research on trauma victims to really get the feel for the characters. 

Now what I did like was the story concept. I like the friends turn enemies turn love theme. It had potential it just needed some more depth and work. I would have liked to have gotten into Oliver's head more. I think instead of 2 separate books it could have been one book with more depth and more insight into each character. I didn't get to know Oliver so I had no reason to like him. He felt like a child throwing a fit because his feelings got hurt. 

I just wanted more. I wanted more history, more build-up, and more insight into what the characters were feeling and going through. I guess just more. The book for me was just okay and to be honest not sure I want to read the next because I felt it could have been put into this one and made one have more depth and feeling. 

With all that said I think the author did great for her first time out or second but she has a lot to learn about writing a book with depth and feelings.