The Coicendence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

From goodreads: 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.

(New Adult Contemporary)*Mature Content** Recommended for ages 17+ due to sexual situations and language.

There is a lot about this book I enjoyed and there is plenty about Callie and Kayden that I thoroughly loved.  However the dark topics that are major driving forces of the plot lacked the depth it desperately needed.   These topics hit way too close to home and perhaps I’m being too tough when it comes to my review.  When a story is describing the unhealthy coping mechanisms to escape the harsh realities of life it should be felt through each word, through each page and through each chapter.   I should have finished this book not being able to think of anything else and I should have felt emotionally exhausted.

This book isn’t bad by any means because I did enjoy the relationship that blossoms between Callie and Kayden.  I enjoyed how they were good for one another despite the secrets they both harbor.  I enjoyed how they both went to the same high school and met in the most heartbreaking way.  There is the element of sadness that is consistent throughout this entire book as it should be considering the subject matter at hand but despite that, these two are fighting the fight to survive in their own way.   This is a sweet love story filled with pain and it is an enjoyable read.

“It’s amazing how the things you remember forever are the things you’d rather forget and the things you desperately want to grasp onto seem to slip away like sand in the wind.” 

My final two cents:  I live for angst and emotional turmoil!!! Even though I struggled with the lack of depth, I was still interested in the story.  I was still interested in to find out what happens next.  I am still interested in reading The Redemption of Callie and Kayden…those damn cliff-hangers get me every time!!!!