Severance is the first book that I have read by N. N. Britt, and I absolutely loved it. A shooting in a club leaves 24 people dead. Alana's boyfriend is one of those, and this is her story. I could feel all of the emotions in this book, it was hauntingly beautiful. This book makes you wonder how you would survive something like this and can you find love again, once it has been lost. Highly recommend this book, along with some tissues!!

I really enjoyed this story. I loved all three characters, and I was drawn into their story. It felt very dark for a romance, but I appreciate that because it's a bittersweet story. I liked the story, the characters and the writing style.

I received a free advance copy from the publisher and #netgalley but this did not affect my review.

***5 Stars***

That was intense.

An understatement and, admittedly, one that probably didn’t need to be said if you’ve read the blurb, but this book was intense in every way possible. It was also heartbreaking and heart melting and sweet, swoon worthy and all kinds of addictive as you follow the wild, chaotic and, at times, dark, journey these characters go on to find a way to move on with their lives.

I loved Alana. We get to see her before and after the shooting and in both instances I saw a girl who is, down to her very core, a really good person and is doing her best to navigate her way through the labyrinth of life and find herself. What I ended up loving about her is that while some of her decisions were suspect, she fought. She fought for herself and found a way to pick up the pieces of her life and start to move forward with it.

As for the romance part of this story, we do get the before and after, so we get as much of a sense of who Alana and Dakota were to each other as who Alana and Mikah are to each other and while I did prefer one relationship over the other ~ won’t say which ~ they both worked for me and regardless of which couple I preferred, I really liked how things ended up.

I know some will think this is a love triangle and it isn’t, not really, it’s more of a triangular second chance romance type thing (I just read a duet where that was how things were described and it fits here pretty well), which means that there was interest, but nothing ever came of it.

Severance isn’t an easy read by any means and the author lays it all out there in the description, so no one can say they didn’t know going in. For me, it was heavy but I think the author did an amazing job showing all the ways people cope, or don’t, with experiencing something so life altering and all of the ups and downs one could go through. There is no one way anyone will grieve or cope and she gave that to us. But the story isn’t all dark, she balances things out well with light and sweet moments, as well as moments of triumph as the characters slowly start to heal.

Alana’s best friend is Jess. Alana and her are at a Black Rose concert.Jess has been on a mission to find Alana a boyfriend since they became best friends in first grade. A million attempts and twelve years later Jess is still trying. Alana’s father had never allowed her to date but she was eighteen now. Her father tried to pair her with the pastor’s on and than a boy from the church choir. Jess is the best influence friend ever. Than Alana see the guy in the leather jacket . He looks like he belongs on the cover of some dark fantasy book. Alana was now back home after being in the hospital. Dakota is dead. He was shot at the club he was playing with the band at. He had taken her virginity and she said she loved him and he said he loved her. Her mother lets her know Mikah is there and she said to have him come to her room. Mikah was Dakota’s older brother. He came to check on her and let her know the funeral was Thursday. Alana can’t force herself to do anything . She figured it must be the sedatives her mother was giving her. Mikah told her she didn’t have to come, but he thought he thought it would be….. Good. for everyone. Alana could still smell gunpowder and blood every second of every day and she can hear all those screams in the back of her head, even in her sleep. Than she asked Mikah how many people had died and he said twenty four. The desolation on Mikah’s face is terrifying. They had never really been friends but she had dated his brother Dakota for three months while Dakota and Mikah had an apartment together. Alana asks Mikah if he’s gonna be okay and he said he didn’t know. Alana goes into the kitchen and her mom hugs her but Alana doesn’t have the heart to give affection at this moment. Alana look up the shooting on line twenty four dead and over two hundred injured. All from a jealous man who didn’t give his girlfriend permission to go to the concert. Alana met Dakota after the Black Rose concert. His friend Luke had come up to Jess and offered them tickets to a concert for their band Midnight Rust and than Dakota came up and talked to Alana. settled. She could feel the heat radiate from his body. It alights a strange flutter in her belly. Than he got her phone and called himself and said he would send her the concert information when it was all sorted out. Alana goes to the funeral and up to the caset she grabs Dakota’s hand and can’t let go. Mikah come up to her and gets her to let go of Dakota’s hand. After his eulogy he leaves the room. Alana follows him and finds him outside in the garden. He puts his suit coat over her. Than Luke comes out in his wheelchair and Blaze and they drink Jack Daniels. A strange type of connection exists when two people are grieving over the death of the same person.
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the pace. It was hard to read at times from the raw pain the characters went through. I had tears rolling down my cheeks at some points. The act of a jealous man hurt so many in devisatting ways. In the forefront was dakota a young talented man. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Alana being around Mikah as he wouldn’t open up to her and didn’t really treat her that well but when he did open up to her more was explained and I thought they were a good couple. I understood how he felt he was a replacement for his dead brother. It just she fell for one brother so quick to give up her virginity than she ‘s with his older brother.I also understand how hard it was for Mikah to want Alana right from the start. My heart broke that his mom made him feel he was good enough always second best. I really liked that Alana worked with her fears even though she still had them. I loved that Alana stood by Mikah and helped him at one of his lowest moments. This was a good dramatic read with some romance on the side, with a lot of emotion throughout the book. I didn’t care about going back and forth the way the author did it was just distracting to me. But it's still very much worth reading. I loved the characters and the twists and turns of this book and I recommend it.

A very sweet story about loss, grieving , survivor’s guilt and try to move on when you can’t. It’s a bittersweet tale, given the subject matter very emotional and at times difficult reading. The characters are very real, so relatable and it’s why your heart breaks so much reading, a well written and wonderful read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This is the first book I have read from N. N. Britt. I really enjoyed it. The book would be classified as a dark read. The writing was good. The story line is about a rockstar and who doesn’t enjoy a Rockstar romance book?
It’s about an 18 year old girl named Alana who has very over protective, strict church going parents and she meets a guy in a up and coming rockband named Dakota. It all turns when during a show when a tragic event occurs. This is about how Alana the cupcake queen her friends and boyfriends brother cope Before and after the event and the relationships that were formed prior. The paragraphs are formed in before and after. Alana is very unstable through most of the book and turns to Dakota’s brother for comfort.
It about relationships and coping mechanisms for the community. It’s a disturbing insight into anxiety and the body’s coping mechanism.

It really is a very enjoyable read and I will be reading more from N.N.Britt.

3.7 estrelas

Esse foi o primeiro livro que li dessa autora e no geral eu gostei muito. Eu gostei do pilot proporcionou toda angústia,drama e também recomeço que eu procuro em um livro.Acho só que a ida e volta entre passado e presente prejudicaram um pouco o livro na minha opino. Se o foco tivesse sido só no presente acredito que a relação entre os protagonistas poderia ter sido um pouco mais aprofundada .

A great and sexy romance!
Alana has just started living the life she wants, instead of the one her father wants for her, when she loses the man she loves. She has a hard time getting over the loss, but when she starts falling for his brother she doesn't know if this love makes her feel better or worse.

The love-stories are very well done. I really felt the different relationship she has with the brothers, who are very different people, and both of them were written beautifully. Alana sometimes felt like a spoiled brat to me. She is afraid to go against her fathers will, but when she does, there are no repercussions what so ever. Luckily, Mikah calls her out for being a brat and through the story she changes a lot, which made me like her character more.

This book was a really good read.

This book mentions a club shooting and the aftermath. Depression, PTSD are a part of this story.
Alana thought she had it all, the boyfriend, the best friend and the education until one night that changed it all.
It was not a depressing read, but you could tell the difference between the BEFORE and the AFTER chapters and how Alana felt. I think reading the BEFORE and AFTER chapters of the shooting was important to understand her struggle with moving on, rebelling against her family and drifting away from her BFF. Yes, her parents were very strict especially in the AFTER chapters, but they came around in the end.
It was a bit of a struggle to see her with the brothers, but some of the BEFORE chapters actually mention her slight attraction to the older brother (which she did not understand)

I would read this again and recommend it to other readers! This book was a bit darker and not all rainbows and cupcakes (oh wait! Yes there were cupcakes!) but this will stick with me for a while.

I received this ebook copy from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This ARC was courtesy of netgalley - all thoughts and opinions are mine and unbiased

I loved this book

This author is new to me but I will certainly be looking out for more

This is a heartbreaking book but very timely. Haunting descriptions, evocative and emotional language used
Just beautiful

Highly recommended - with a box of tissues next to you !!

Holy smokes, this book was intense - and I enjoyed every moment of it. The emotions that came pouring out of the book - love, hate, loss, sadness, anger, happiness, forgiveness - were so deep that I felt like I was thrust right into the middle of them.

When I first started reading this book, I had to put it down for a few minutes because the opening chapter was so intense that it almost felt like I was living it. Mikah, Dakota, and Alana’s story is this complicated tragedy that has a happy ending, which I honestly wasn’t expecting. I loved how the storyline bounced back and forth between the before and after, giving readers a glimpse into life on both sides of such a tragic situation. It kept me engaged, kept me wanting more, until the very end.

This is such a deep and unique book, one that will keep you hooked from beginning to end.

I did really like it, but had some trouble getting past Alana's "young" feeling. I understood that she was pretty much sheltered and had overprotective parents. But some of her thoughts and actions just seemed like a young teenage girl.

Anyway, of course Mikah was favored by me. Hurting, broken, tortured and brooding......yep, that's my favorite kind of book boyfriend.

The story jumps from before and after (the shooting) and how it affects her and the brother of her boyfriend who was killed. Some very emotional moments and I kept thinking about how many people in real life are going through these struggles of losing someone in such a tragic way.

What is really crazy is the current events over the last week (California, Texas, Ohio) and how much this book relates to the world we live in today. The random shootings.....I swear no one is safe anymore......

Alana is a good, church going girl "cupcake queen" who starts dating Dakota who is the lead singer in a band. Everything is new and wonderful until one terrifying night that changes her life and the lives of those around her. Great read, the author did a great job making you feel and think throughout the whole book. Highly recommend reading!

Wow, this was a crazy good book. Each character felt like real people and I could understand where they were coming from. Overall I enjoyed reading this.

Life changes in an instant. Sometimes it takes something unspeakable to change your perspective or to begin experiencing life on your own terms instead of living up to someone else’s expectations. People come and go in in our lives - sometimes for reasons we can’t explain.

Alana Novak is not someone I can completely connect with but she is a well written character. I understood her and felt terribly for what she has experienced. She’s a young woman on the verge of adulthood thrust into a terrifying, life-changing event.

Dakota and Mikah Bennett are both attractive in their own way. They both have lovable qualities and characteristics. I loved them both for different reasons and the impact they had on Alana’s life and she on their’s.

I struggled a little in the beginning. The pace of the story was a little slow and only in one voice. I know this is Alana’s story and I liked the Before and After to get a better understanding of her and the Bennett brothers but I really think it would have been an even more enjoyable read (for me at least) if I had gotten their sides too.