Come See About Me by C.K. Kelly Martin

Release Date: June 2012
Publisher: Self-published
Pages: 369
Series: n/a
Review Source: won eBook

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Twenty-year-old Leah Fischer's been in a state of collapse since the moment police arrived on her Toronto doorstep to inform her that boyfriend Bastien was killed in a car accident. After flunking out of university and cutting herself off from nearly everyone she knows, Leah's saved by Bastien's aunt who offers her a rent-free place to stay in a nearby suburban town.

Initially Leah keeps to herself, with no energy for anyone or anything else, but it's not long before her nurturing neighbours begin to become fixtures in Leah's life and a much needed part-time job forces her to interact with other members of the community. And when Leah is faced with another earth-shattering event, her perspective on life begins to shift again. Soon Leah's falling into a casual sexual relationship with Irish actor Liam Kellehan, who has troubles of his own, even as she continues to yearn for her dead boyfriend. Clearly she's not the person she thought she was—and maybe Liam isn't either.

My Thoughts:
I loved this! 'Come See About Me' contained so many aspects that I love, including that it...

• Fits into the new adult category
• Has a Canadian setting, more specifically Toronto & Oakville, so it basically felt like reading a book about home
• Contains a whole lot of UK & Ireland love, with Leah working at a imported goods store, and with Liam, an Irish actor
• Has a famous actor on the down-low subplot (yes, I am totally smitten with these types of plots, and Liam fits the bill oh so well)

Besides all these aspects that I always fall for, I just couldn't help but be drawn into the emotion of the story. You almost ache with loss yourself as you read about Leah trying to deal with the death of her boyfriend. You see how unhealthy Leah's lifestyle has become, and yet you can understand why she feels so lost and alone, because you see through her recollections how strongly she and Bastien felt about each other.

Equally emotional is the slow burning connection that Leah makes with Liam, who is also dealing with pain and loss of his own. I feel like the way they connected was so realistic, because neither of them started out wanting to let someone in emotionally. They couldn't deal with something serious or long term, so they connected in the way they felt was practical. Of course as the reader you can see their feelings weaving together under the surface into something more.

This book was so perfect for me in this moment, so I'm so glad I picked it up. C.K. Kelly Martin has an immense talent for writing layered characters who you root for and relationships that are absolutely beautiful. I can easily label 'Come See About Me' as a favourite of 2012 because of the connection I felt with the characters and the setting.

Note: I feel like I should mention, because this is a YA review blog, that 'Come See About Me' is a new adult book with quite a bit of sexual content. I feel like it was done tastefully, and it was important to the story and the characters, but I did want to bring that up since I know not everyone prefers to read it. You can read a great guest post from C.K. here on A Tapestry of Words where she discusses older characters, the concept of new adult, and the sexual content in the book.

The Cover:
Nothing spectacular, but I like it in general. The emotion is definitely right for the story.

Rating:
[5/5]

Find Come See About Me by C.K. Kelly Martin on Goodreads. You can view all the purchase options at ComeSeeAboutMe.com.