Title: Collision
Rating:
Genre: YA/Contemp/Romance/Hollywood
Publisher: Tate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC
Release Date: March 15, 2012
Review:
Where do I even begin? There was so much I loved about this book that it’s difficult to know where to start! First of all, I love the dynamic between Cabot and Kei. Although he literally has it all – fame, fortune and his pick of women – Cabot’s life feels empty and he yearns for something more. Kei, by contrast, has very little in the way of money or possessions, yet her life is full of purpose. It is truly a collision of two worlds when they meet and attempt to overcome their cultural differences, with sometimes hilarious results.
Although the story is told from Cabot’s point of view, it’s really Kei’s character that comes shining through. She’s a unique girl – an unlikely heroine with a balance of strength and vulnerability that makes her as endearing to the reader as she is to Cabot. We see her through the filter of his emotions, and as he falls more and more in love with her, so do we.
What I also really enjoyed was the recurring theme of breaking down preconceived notions and stereotypes. Cabot definitely has some preconceived notions about Kei initially, since she is a missionary. Likewise, Kei is fairly skeptical of Cabot’s motives, especially once she discovers that he is a famous actor. Needless to say, they both come to realize that there is much more to the other than first meets the eye.
Cabot also has his fair share of preconceived notions about Uganda prior to his first visit. The author really does a fantastic job describing the realities of living in Africa, as only someone who has been there truly can. I was raised in Guinea, West Africa myself, and some of my favorite scenes in the book are the ones set in Africa. Whether describing the way that the walls of the compound are embedded with broken glass to discourage trespassers, or the graceful way that everyone eats with their hands, Miller paints a vivid and almost poetic image of what life in Uganda is really like. The scenes at the orphanage are especially touching. She does a masterful job of showing that even in a country ravaged by war, poverty and famine people are still capable of faith and hope, and can find joy all around them.
At one point, Kei tells Cabot that she never allowed herself to hope because of her dark past. Both characters grow tremendously throughout the course of their relationship, however. Not only do they come to love and trust each other, they bring hope to each other as well. The book’s powerful ending brought me to tears, and the story is one that will stick with me for a very long time. I highly recommend this one!
Synopsis:
Cab Stone has it all – fame, fortune and the adoration of millions of women across the globe. When the constant attention from fans and expectations from his handlers becomes too much, he escapes the craziness of press junkets and movie sets and escapes to Asheville, North Carolina to hide away for the summer.
He expects peace, quiet, and solitude. What he doesn’t expect is to meet the fiery redhead who changes everything he knows about the world.
The daughter of missionaries, Kei Sallee lives a life of service to others. She has little, expects less, and helps heal the hearts of thousands in Uganda, where she grew up. When she finds herself staying in the same guesthouse as Cab Stone, she vows to ignore his Greek god good looks and spend the summer as she had planned – in peace, quiet, and solitude.
Cab and Kei’s lives couldn’t be more different … or more the same.
Despite, or perhaps because of, their vastly different yet startlingly similar backgrounds, Cab and Kei strike up an unlikely friendship that could possibly blossom into something more. But Kei fears that the truth about her past will prevent pretty-boy Cab, who is used to getting everything he wants, from fully committing to her.
When two completely different worlds experience a Collision, can they exist as one?
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