Title: Weightless
Author: Kandi Steiner
Genre: New Adult/Contemporary Romance
Release Date: June 16, 2016
I remember the lights.
I remember I wanted to photograph them, the way the red and blue splashed across his cold, emotionless face. But I knew even if my feet could move from the place where they had cemented themselves to the ground and I could run for my camera, I wouldn’t be able to capture that moment.
I had trusted him, I had loved him, and even though my body had changed that summer, he’d made sure to help me hold on to who I was inside, regardless of how the exterior altered.
But then everything changed.
He stole my innocence. He scarred my heart. He took everything I thought I knew about my life and fast-pitched it out the window, shattering the glass that held my world together in the process.
I remember the lights.
The passionate, desperate, hot strikes of red. The harsh, cruel, icy bolts of blue.
They symbolized everything I endured that summer.
And everything I would never face again.
I remember I wanted to photograph them, the way the red and blue splashed across his cold, emotionless face. But I knew even if my feet could move from the place where they had cemented themselves to the ground and I could run for my camera, I wouldn’t be able to capture that moment.
I had trusted him, I had loved him, and even though my body had changed that summer, he’d made sure to help me hold on to who I was inside, regardless of how the exterior altered.
But then everything changed.
He stole my innocence. He scarred my heart. He took everything I thought I knew about my life and fast-pitched it out the window, shattering the glass that held my world together in the process.
I remember the lights.
The passionate, desperate, hot strikes of red. The harsh, cruel, icy bolts of blue.
They symbolized everything I endured that summer.
And everything I would never face again.
“Don’t understand what?” I asked, still holding my breath as he rolled over my other calf. I leaned up on my elbows and turned my head back to meet his eyes.
He paused, holding the ball in place as he gazed back at me. “How could I never have noticed you before?”
I swallowed, almost more afraid of the brief tenderness I caught in his eyes in that moment than the usual hardness that existed there.
Shrugging, I answered his question just above a whisper. “I’m easy to miss.”
I held his eyes for a moment more before laying my chest back to the ground, resting my head on my arms. He started rolling the ball up my hamstrings and I closed my eyes tight. I thought I might explode from the mixture of pain and pleasure that rocked through my body. After a few moments, he spoke again.
“Maybe I just wasn’t looking.”
Shrugging, I answered his question just above a whisper. “I’m easy to miss.”
I held his eyes for a moment more before laying my chest back to the ground, resting my head on my arms. He started rolling the ball up my hamstrings and I closed my eyes tight. I thought I might explode from the mixture of pain and pleasure that rocked through my body. After a few moments, he spoke again.
“Maybe I just wasn’t looking.”
"Kandi Steiner takes words and creates magic. A million stars aren't enough. Weightless left me breathless." - Brittainy C. Cherry, Amazon #1 Bestselling Author
"Weightless is so full of heart, it'll spill off the pages and into your soul. One of my favorite contemporary romances of 2016." - Bestselling Author Staci Hart
"Weightless is a book of FEELS. From the first to the last page, it'll wrap you in emotion and hold you captive. Between the writing, the story, and the characters, it was simply unforgettable. A favorite read of 2016 for me." - Angie, Angie's Dreamy Reads
"Flawless. Phenomenal. Breathtaking. Weightless will undoubtedly be my top read of the year." - Erin, Southern Belle Book Blog
"Weightless left me challenged and breathless. It's an emotionally-charged story that carved a place in my soul. I knew Kandi could write, but this book takes it to a whole new level." - Tina, Typical Distractions Book Blog
Kandi Steiner is a Creative Writing and Advertising/Public Relations graduate from the University of Central Florida living in Tampa with her husband. Kandi works full time as a social media specialist, but also works part time as a Zumba fitness instructor and blackjack dealer.
Kandi started writing back in the 4th grade after reading the first Harry Potter installment. In 6th grade, she wrote and edited her own newspaper and distributed to her classmates. Eventually, the principal caught on and the newspaper was quickly halted, though Kandi tried fighting for her "freedom of press." She took particular interest in writing romance after college, as she has always been a die hard hopeless romantic (like most girls brought up on Disney movies).
When Kandi isn't working or writing, you can find her reading books of all kinds, talking with her extremely vocal cat, and spending time with her friends and family. She enjoys beach days, movie marathons, live music, craft beer and sweet wine - not necessarily in that order.
Kandi Steiner is a new-to-me author, so I wasn't sure from the start if this book would be the right match for me. I knew nothing about her writing, or much about the plot of this book for that matter. So it was really a gamble on my part when I signed up to review. But I was so drawn to the pretty cover and the angsty sounding synopsis, I just had to give it a go. Although there were some things that didn't agree with me necessarily, overall I found this to be a very stirring story with a lovely message behind it. There was an added mystery underlying the central plot regarding the heroine that added an extra depth to the story.
Eighteen-year-old Natalie has just graduated high school and was dumped by her long-time boyfriend Mason. She was heartbroken and depressed, and didn't know what direction to turn. How could she face their friends, face her future after such a harsh rejection from the boy she trusted?
For the first time, I was trying to figure out who I was as a solo entity, as Natalie Poxton without Mason Carter as my boyfriend. And I was failing.
Natalie tries to make an effort to face her ex with his new girlfriend and most of her so-called friends. But she's cruelly taunted and scorned about her weight, leaving her self-worth and confidence collapsing like a house of cards. She's never had a conscious negative body image before, but now she's starting to wonder if she's ever felt comfortable in her own skin. She decides after that disastrous night that she's going to make some serious life changes. Her mother hires a trainer for her at their country club and she's determined to not only make her ex sorry, but to finally feel like she's moving her life in a healthier direction.
She soon discovers that her new trainer is someone she's already familiar with. Rhodes was three years ahead of her in high school and they couldn't have been more different. She was wealthy, popular, and from a well respected family. He grew up in foster homes and was continually getting himself into trouble. The years haven't been easy on him and he's even more gruff and unfriendly than she remembers.
I'm going to be totally honest and say that it took me quite a while to warm up to Rhodes. He was extremely nasty to her one minute and the next he'd turn around and show her kindness and a hint of friendship. His constant mood changes and confusing indecision over what they were strained my patience. I gave him some leeway because of his horrible upbringing and the tragedy that he suffered. But that only stretches so far.
After they finally connected we started to see a side of Rhodes that I really appreciated. And as different as they were, they realized that they both needed someone to believe in them, and push them to reach for their true passions.
At first, it was looking like this was going to be a simple story of a young girl re-inventing herself while catching the attention of the town bad boy. However, there's much more to it than that. I don't want to give anything away about the mystery of the story, but I will say that I enjoyed trying to work out where the story was headed. I knew some pieces and I could see something looming, but I wasn't entirely prepared for what was to come.
Looking back, it's like I could feel what was coming-almost as if I knew that day, July twenty-third, was going to be the last day I would ever be the person I was.
I really fell for Kandi's eloquent style of writing. There were so many quotes that I highlighted I had a hard time choosing which ones to use. I'm already scoping out this author's backlist and keeping her in mind for her future releases.
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