Review: 1984: Against All Odds by Rebecca Yarros (Love in the 80s #5)
Rebecca Yarros is one of my top go-to authors and for good reason. She has a true gift for giving us main characters that we can't resist becoming emotionally invested in. Her much loved Flight & Glory series was composed of four gut-wrenching tales, but her contribution to the multi-authored Love in the 80s series is more lighthearted fare, yet still tugs at our heartstrings with a story of second chances and finding your true voice, listening to the music that moves you, and fighting for the love that many others claim to not beneficial to you among the cacophony that surrounds you. 1984: Against All Odds is a quick read but it stays with you, as do all of Rebecca Yarros's published works, and she continues to be a fresh voice in the new adult (NA) genre, pushing the envelope and still refusing to be boxed in by what's expected from her.
Hawthorne Owens kissed his best friend at sixteen, but two years later, Sabrina Caroline walked away from him, claiming she couldn't be with a rock star. Almost four years have passed and fate throws them an unexpected opportunity to work together. Hawke is every bit the rock star that Brie imagined he would turn out to be after famed touched him and his band, Birds of Prey, leaving her wondering where Hawthorne may be behind the women, parties, and money. On the other hand, the Brie Hawke fell for is missing as well, and in her place is Sabrina, the pop star who clings to the rules her mother slash manager has set and hiding a secret from her fans, the media, and the general public. Will writing a song that speaks of regrets, pain, and hopes be their one shot to be together again and this time, be in love against all odds?
Brie and Hawke were main characters who were no longer the naive teenagers they once were. Nearly four years in the spotlight have forced them to grow up and deal with certain realities in the world they live in. They're both flawed and every flub and fall they go through is witnessed by the glaring spotlight and the camera lenses focused on them. There's an honesty to their story, neither one shying away from the negative feelings they carry with them because of the heartache brought about by what happened in their past and their own preconceived notions. I loved how everything played out, forcing them to really contemplate whether this second chance of theirs was one that was worth taking or if they were merely setting themselves up for more heartrending memories that would leave them embittered and too broken.
Because this is a novella, I understand the need to keep the number of pages within the prescribed number of maximum and minimum pages. There was one point, however, where one chapter ended on a somewhat negative note only for the following chapter to be far more positive, and I couldn't help but feel as if I missed something in the transition. There was also another point where the shift in Brie's mother's attitude shifts inexplicably, leaving me wondering what happened to trigger that kind of response. Those two incidents have me giving this a slightly lower rating, but it doesn't fully take away from the story as a whole and my affection for these two main characters. I also wouldn't mind if the other Birds of Prey members and Brie's best friend get novellas in the near future. I'm giving 1984: Against All Odds 4.5 stars. ♥
Release Date: 27 May 2016
Date Read: 27 May 2016
Learn more about Rebecca Yarros.
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