The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden Paperback – August 6, 2013

Yes, this book was on of THOSE books, for me. You know, the ones that affects you so deeply, both traumatize you and rebuilds you. Right after you finish, you don't understand what's happening, but you know that something changed in you. The ones that makes you to rais you expectation for the others. Yeah, one of those...Jessica Sorensen was the shocker of 2012 for me, and 2013 so far. I have read all her books in The Fallen Star series, 5 book plus a spin off tho the series. Even though she is good at writing paranormal stuff, which keeps you guessing the whole way til the end, I though she was a little sloppy in romance department. I read all books in the series, first 3 was great, but the rest was pretty much the same. It felt like she ran out of material and rewrote few first books in the series. Which left me irritated and, to be honest, I totally forgot about Jessica Sorensen after that, until I came acros The Secret of Ella and Micha. I was very surprised, because it was completely different book, from what she usually writes.When I started reading The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden, I started seeing Sorensen in a whole different light. By the time I finished, I placed her in the same category with Colleen Hoover, Abbi Gline, Jamie McGuire and Samantha Young. Yes, she is that good! I completely underestimated her. I still can't believe that it's the same person that wrote The Fallen Star series.Ok, about this book. Freaking zing-zing-amazing! I can talk about it for days. What an amazing way to start my 2013 read-a-thone. Best book of 2013 so far.Characters: - Callie, I fell in love with her from the first page. Such a broken little soul. There were so meny moments where I wished I coul give her a hug and say "It's going to be alright, honey. Keep the hope up, one step at the time, you can do it." I could feel how much she struggled to get rid of her past demons and it was breaking my heart. What a brave young woman. So much strength and determination in a such young person. It was impossible not to love her. She is one of my all time favorite characters. When she met Kayden, one night during very unfortunate circumstances, I wanted to tell Kayden "Please don't hurt her.". Because, at that time, I knew nothing about him.- Kayden, oh Kayden. Another character that became one of my favorites. That night at the poolhouse, when I first got to meet him, I knew the story is going to be amazing. I wanted to scream "Fight back, you fool!". But I understood why he didn't :-(. His character had so much dept. Everybody saw him as a bad boy, a popular kid, but no one knew how broken he was on the inside. I was hurting for him so much. I was very nervous to see how their relationship going to develop. Even though I loved him, I was not sure if I wanted to see him with Callie. He had so meny demons, that he needed to get rid of first, before jumping into anything, especially with Callie. What made me fall in love with him even more, was the careful way he approached Callie, how sweet, gentle and understanding he was. I liked the fact that he knew how f***ed up he was and that he wasn't good enough for her, but that goddamn pull, that he felt towards her...- Callie and Kayden together. I loved them together. You say two wrongs don't make it right? Well, in this story, two wrongs made it oh-so-right. I felt how deep and profound their connection was. Yes, there were couple of times where one or the other freaked out and ran off. In meny other books it often made me irritated, because it looked childish and immature. But not in this case. The flashbacks, the hurt... I didn't blame them. I understood them, better than I wanted to. But the beautiful thing about it was the fact that there were no judgement or irritation from the the one that was left standing. There was only worry and hope that the other one was okey.I could feel the love, in every word, in every touch and every thought that they had about one another. Something simple as them holding hand, gave me goosebumps. Him, holding her hand, drawing circles with his thumb in the palm of her hand, without saying a word, said so much more than the actual words could have "I'm here, I see you, I hear you, I understand you, you are safe...".It was the first time where I was actually dreading the moment when they will have sex. Because I was not sure if I could handle it. I didn't know if they, them selfs, could. It took a long time for them to get there. But when they did, time stood still... They were clinging to one another like their lives depended on it. I caught my self smiling from ear to ear, while tears trickled down my cheeks. Stupid, I know, but that's how beautiful I thought the moment was. And the fact that Ed Sheet happened to be singing Give Me Love in the background, didn't helped one bit :-).- Seth. I want a best friend like him! I don't know enough English words to describe how amazing he is. He defines a best friend. That's how a best friend should be. He puts all other best friend in romance novels to shame :-). He has his own problems, but he doesn't let them get in a way of his friendship with Callie. He is considered, honest, caring, loving and generally an amazing human being. I love the fact there wasn't any secrets between him and Callie. I have read meny books where one friend can't or won't tell something important to the other, because of this or that. It often made me wonder "Why would you even call him/her your best friend!?". Seth's and Callie's friendship was honest and beautiful. There was no judgement or pity. They simply understood each other, in more ways than one, and could lean on one another when they needed to. I loved how protective he was of Callie, and how he managed to put his demons aside and became friends with Kayden and Luke. I can only imagine how hard it was for him :-(.I was both surprised and glad, that there was a cliffhanger. I can't wait for the nex book.I'm going to stop my ramblings. Brilliant writing, amazing and very realistic story. The only other book that have affected me so deeply was written by Abbi Gline While It Lasts. I'm sorry for bringing her up, Jessica Sorensen deserves all the spotlight my review.I'm sorry for underestimating you, J. Sorensen and writing you off, you are brilliant.

** A 4.5 Review **I don't know if you have every had the opportunity to do so, but last week (when I finished Callie & Kayden) I decided, once and for all, to finally look up the word cliffhanger.Here is what Mr. Webster had to say: an adventure serial or melodrama; especially : one presented in installments each ending in suspense.Well, no s***. (I pretty much had that duh moment coming.) Then I thought about it a little more and decided that dear ol Webby was slightly less "melodramatic" than he should be, so I decided to rewrite the definition of cliffhanger in literary terms."WTF! Are you kidding me? Why...why would someone freaking do this? It's cruel. CRUEL! Where is a puppy? I need to punch a puppy. Or a bunny. Or...wait, I can probably go to jail for that. Scratch that. Whyyyyyyyy?"Much more appropriate. Don't you think?*Sigh* Here's a look at the book you will hate me for later."There are those who don't get luck handed to them on a shiny platter, who end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, who don't get saved.Luck was not on Callie's side the day of her twelfth birthday when everything was stolen from her. After it's all over, she locks up her feelings and vows never to tell anyone what happened. Six years later her painful past consumes her life and most days it's a struggle just to breathe.For as long as Kayden can remember, suffering in silence was the only way to survive life. As long as he did what he was told, everything was okay. One night, after making a terrible mistake, it seems like his life might be over. Luck was on his side, though, when Callie coincidentally is in the right place at the right time and saves him.Now he can't stop thinking about the girl he saw at school, but never really knew. When he ends up at the same college as Callie, he does everything he can to try to get to know her. But Callie is reserved and closed off. The more he tries to be part of her life, the more he realizes Callie might need to be saved."In case you are completely dense (or skip the beginnings of my reviews - you know who you are) and didn't figure out from my opening meltdown... "The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden" had one mondo sized, you are totally going to chunk your book/kindle/dignity against the wall ending.Now, I'm no stranger to cliffhanger endings. As a matter of fact, it seems authors these days are leaving their readers hanging much more often than giving them the "happily ever after" that we all so dearly want. But this ending was especially brutal. Almost a non-ending if I'm being perfectly honest. Which for some people (including myself, on any day other than today) would be perfectly acceptable. The truth is, these endings are starting to wear me out. I appreciate them for all of their messed-up intentions, but being a person who reads (roughly) 80 books in-between sequence novels (like these) cliffhanger endings are very quickly making me want to punch authors in the face (in the most loving way possible.) Which is why I'm going to leave the cliffhanger topic alone and start at the beginning (instead of the end) where I should have.Callie and Kayden is just one of the latest (in a long line of books) to make boat toppling waves in literature's newest pet genre "New Adult Contemporary." And (I'm happy to announce) it's worthy of it's hype.Being one of the most pessimistic people on the planet (and yes, I say that with an obscene level of confidence) it's extremely rare that I find myself captivated by an opening paragraph. Second or third page? Sure...why not. But first, almost never. So when I turned on my kindle and read this, I was floored."Life is full of luck, like getting dealt a good hand, or simply by being in the right place at the right time. Some people get luck handed to them, a second chance, a save. It can happen heroically, or by a simple coincidence, but there are those who don't get luck on a shiny platter, who end up in the wrong place and the wrong time, who don't get saved."Not only is this opening paragraph very elegantly written, but it instantly puts you on edge."What could she possible be referring to?" "Oh...this doesn't sound good." "I have a feeling I'm going to need a Xanax."(For the record, the Xanax...probably a good idea. Kleenex too.)This story isn't really a new one. Girl (totally screwed up due to past trauma) + Boy (equally screwed up) = a very wild ride to Mount St. Happy. But its lack of originality (in the plot department) doesn't mean it's not good, it just means that the author had to find a different way to connect to their reader. In Sorenson's case, she went with emotion. (In high-definition multiple point of view.)If an author can manipulate emotion in his/her characters properly ..the impossible can happen. A predictable book can feel new. A cast of characters can feel like close friends. Anxiety and heartbreak can overthrow common sense and make a home inside your sub-conscience. A book...can touch you.This is what Callie and Kayden did for me. It made me (for even a few minutes) forget the real world (the laundry, daily errands, and what's for dinner) and instead pray for a few desperate, broken, fictional characters. Characters that feel like emotional splatter paint. That constantly make bad choices or have a hard time allowing themselves to be happy. Characters that Sorenson made feel like "real" people. Our sisters, brothers, cousins, best-friends.No, this is not a particularly happy book. The ending is awful (in a completely wonderful way...if that makes sense) And anyone who finds themselves struggling with book detachment syndrome is going to hate this novel (cause it's hard to forget about for a while.) But I find that flawed characters and breathtaking dialogue can overshadow all the doom. (Ok, maybe not the last 3 pages...but you get my point.)I say...take a chance.If you enjoy books like Beautiful Disaster or Slammed. I can almost guarantee you will fall in love with this novel. If you had issues with the novels I just listed (like for instance...alpha male complexes, abuse, and codependency) I would steer clear of this one, some of the same principles apply.Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Everyone deserves a chance. Are you going to be the one that gives it to them or slams the door in their face?

The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden hopelessly raw and heart-breaking. A love story that will keep you glued to the pages.This book is full of content warnings. There’s self-harming, parental abuse and rape. I don’t think anything I write could prepare you for what you’re about to read. Unfortunately crap things happens to good people and that is a tale as old as time. There’s nothing we can do to change it, evil people exist in this world and they will continue to do bad things. This is what The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden is all about. A coincidental meeting of two souls during hard times in both their lives. Kayden trying to survive through the abuse of his coward father, and Callie saving him from further harm, she has a secret of her own, one that has pushed her to alter her appearance from beautiful to appear as ugly as possible.Callie & Kayden have always lived in the same town. They’ve had two very different upbringings. Kayden has a life of privilege and a promising future career as a football player. But you can’t always see what happens behind closed doors, he carries the burden of a violent father, the scars are deep, and he tries to cope with the pain by inflicting further wounds upon himself. He has a girlfriend but really that is only for appearances sake, he feels incapable of feeling anything on an emotional level but it suits his needs for now.Callie has been the butt of everyone’s jokes since the age of twelve. Everything changed for her at that age, the way she viewed the world, how she viewed herself and the relationships she forged in the world. She altered her appearance and since then her mum and dad worried about her intentions and the why. They took her to a therapist but for some reason it was concluded that she wasn’t getting enough attention at home. She’s told no one about her dark secret. She resents her brother, and he feels the same way for putting their mum through hell the last few years. But did anyone actually try to peel back the layers, did anyone really question enough why it all changed at age twelve.They both escape their subsequent difficulties in life by moving away to college. They literally bump into each other again four months after Callie saved Kayden from further harm from his father. Initially he doesn’t recognise her because she has reinvented her image again and she’s developed a friendship with Seth. It throws him because she was known as being a loner who did nothing. Callie has finally found someone that she can trust 100% its refreshing. He knows her secret and is the big brother figure that she should’ve had. He protects her and yet pushes her at the same time to just give life a chance. He’s everything she needs.Callie & Kayden are terrified at the pull of their connection. Its like electricity, the tension between them fizzles. As they spend time together they realise that they might just be what the other needs to heal and trust again. Callie is frightened that she might push him away with her dark demons and Kayden thinks that if Callie knew everything about him, she might not want to be with him. Little do they know that they have more in common than they realise.

Item description:The item came in perfect condition and safely packaged. The quality of the cover is not very strong, it is thin and bent easily. The paper inside is thin but it works. The writing size and font is easy to read and overall the item is good.Story rating:This book revolves around a very emotionally and sometimes physically damaged couple. And I would love to say that it was an incredible story but that would be a bit of a lie.What this book was, was sweet and at time mildly moving and romantic (I guess.) But to be honest considering the intense emotions being played out throughout the pages this book should have been GUT WRENCHING! And some how this just never happened.I think that despite the serious and painful subject matter there is just a lack of intensity in the writing, especially the dialog. And that is something disparately needed to pull off this kind of a book.I still enjoyed this book so i am giving it a 3 star rating

I've been putting off reading it for some unknown reason, but I could kick myself for doing so because it was absolutely phenomenal!The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden is written from two narrative perspectives which alternate. Sometimes these sorts of stories bother me because one side of the story makes it pretty darn obvious what's going on in the other side, but that wasn't the case with this book. As both Callie and Kayden are hiding something, the double narrative is essential to the plot, otherwise we would have absolutely no idea what was going on. There was just something about this book that felt really real. Obviously, I'm not a boy, but when I was reading Kayden's thoughts I felt like they were pretty authentic boy-thoughts. Whilst he was clearly emotionally damaged and even romantic at times, you could also see that he spent quite a lot of time thinking with his c*ck and not with his brain. This wasn't really a bad thing as Jessica Soresen has written this book in such a way so that you still fall head over heels for Kayden, despite his flaws. I feel that a lot of young adult books give teenagers completely unrealistic expectations of romance and boys and I'm not saying that this book is particularly realistic either, but the characterisation of Callie and Kayden felt pretty damn close to how I would act if I were in either of their situations, so at the very least this book is one step ahead of all the other young adult romances.Both of the teenagers in this book are dealing with some pretty serious stuff and I felt that they were both addressed really well. Jessica Sorensen doesn't dwell too much on the past, but more how these past events are affecting Callie and Kayden in the present which was much more interesting. If you're not a fan of books that are a bit 'deep', so to speak, then this probably isn't for you. There is also some mature content in this book which I thought was really well written. It's quite hard to get steamy scenes right without being too crude or unrealistic or just downright unnecessary but Jessica Sorensen integrated these scenes perfectly into the general flow of the book and they do actually serve a purpose to the plot.All the reviews that I'd read of this commented on the cliffhanger ending and how it ruined everything for them, but I didn't feel this way. Yes, it was shocking, but I don't think it ruined the book more than any other shocking cliffhanger would. I suppose the effect of it was slightly lessened given that I knew something was coming but I still didn't find it all that shocking. It is quite annoying that we're not going to find out what happens next for a while but I'm pretty sure that the next book will be even better so there's nothing to worry about.It's been a very long time since I've read a book that's given me that tingling sensation all over, but this book definitely did. I read the entire book in one sitting and I absolutely could not put it down. There are so many ups and downs and it really was an emotional roller-coaster. This is probably one of the best young adult books I've ever read and I'll definitely be recommending it to everyone, even adults.[...]

When I bought this book, I was browsing the best bargains I could get for my new Kindle, and snapped up the 77p bargain without thinking much about it. I thought the book would be one of those I could read with my brain switched off on a train journey and never think about again. Boy, was I wrong!I was immediately swept into the world of Callie and Kayden. I love the use of dual perspective, giving you insight into both characters and their 'dark secrets.' From the first chapter, Kayden's isn't really a secret at all; but this doesn't detract at all from the pleasure of finding out more. Callie's is more complex- every chapter of her narration gives you another puzzle piece to slot into the jigsaw, and your heart aches for her when you finally discover what she's hiding.I liked Callie very much. I was slightly worried that she'd be portrayed as a typical 'angsty' teen, with lots of shouting and listening to metal. But no, Sorenson has given her depth, and I could really symapthise with her. Kayden is perhaps a little too 'perfect' for my tastes, even with his dark secret- however, judging by the ending of this book, a darker side of him is going to be explored in the next installment!My favourite character, however, was definitely Seth. What a scene stealer! He reminds me a lot of my best friend, snarky and cool but a loyal friend. I was also THRILLED to read about a gay best friend in YA with a personality; unfortunately, a lot of writers focus too much on the 'gay' element of their characters, and fail to endow them with any traits besides, so it was refreshing. Having said that, I would love to see him get a love interest, someone unexpected!However, both Callie and Kayden's parents were more caricatures than anything else. I know this is a series, so I'm hoping that Sorenson will expand on their family backgrounds later on, but it would have been easier to understand her protagonists if we had a better idea of where they came from.My biggest issue with the book was the abundance of spelling and grammar errors. This isn't the fault of the author, but the editor needs to pay much more attention with the next book in the series, because it was bad enough that I found it distracting in places!Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I will be eagerly awaiting the next installment!

To begin I have to say that this book covers some very powerful subjects such as self-harming/bulimia and rape. Jessica Sorensen has taken very difficult subject matter and handled it in a sensitive yet straight forward manner. Insight into the characters state of mind gave understanding to what can often be considered taboo subjects and provided empathy for the characters themselves.Told in dual first person narrative complete with heart wrenching descriptions making Callie and Kayden very complex, intense, emotional characters. The flow of the story is more two separate stories rather than a seamless flow making the intersecting parts all the more powerful. it is as if fate has lead them to be together. They identify with the pain inside each other, although as a reader you question whether such a relationship could be healthy for either of them.Both main characters lack confidence on the inside even if they are able to maintain a front of the outside. They have both been beaten down and verbally destroyed. They are very, very broken individuals with no immediate support system resulting in trust issues where people are concerned. Luckily college provides them with the opportunity to find new friends and the chance to open up to someone else without the fear of judgement therefore increasing their confidence.Jessica Sorensen doesn't pull any punches with the subject matter and at times it does feel as if your having your heart ripped out but there is a glimmer of hope within the narrative that through their relationship both Callie and Kayden are able to confront the dark things they have faced and get the help they desperately need.Pieces of information cross the dual narrative, being able to see a single incident from both perspectives provides additional insight into the emotions they are struggling with. Although this understanding did escalate the heart-ache I felt for the characters especially in the lack of understanding they had received up to this point.The thing I loved the most about this book was how a single moment or coincidence as the title suggests can lead to the right path in your life with the person that is perfect for you alone; someone who makes you a better person just by knowing them.I am desperate to see how both Callie and Kayden fair in The Redemption of Callie and Kayden (counts down impatiently)