[Emily’s Review]: The Difference Between Somehow and Someway by Aly Martinez

The world gave me everything.

After surviving a plane crash, I was lucky to be alive. It was a harsh truth, but one that changed my perspective on how fragile life could be.

So when a fellow survivor caught my eye, I owed it to myself to take a chance and follow my heart.

Bowen Michaels was guarded and broody, but I saw through his well-formed armor. Much like me, he was broken and lost, but together we found our way through the darkness.

For a brief moment, wrapped in his arms, it felt like maybe he was right about fate and we’d been destined to find each other all along.

But when buried secrets of the past erupt, igniting us both, it was hard to believe we’d been fated for anything other than failure.

The world gave me everything.
And then it took it all away.

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

WELL WELL WELL.

That was not an ending that I saw coming… AT. ALL.

I am a big Aly Martinez fan and I have really been enjoying her series.
The books are short, and being released one month apart and they are easy to read.
And, as usual, they throw a ton of little twisty twists at the reader when we least expect them.

The Difference between Somehow and Someway is the second book in this trilogy.
If you thought the big reveal at the end of book one was bad, just wait until the cliffhanger at the end of book two.
I for one, was wholly unprepared for it. 

***WARNING: Due to this novel picking up directly (I’m talking with in seconds) of where the previous one left off, there are probably spoilers in this review. IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOMEBODY AND SOMEONE THEN STOP READING THIS REVIEW NOW.***

If I was told to pick a “type” of book series to read for the rest of my life. I would pick a duet. Forever and always. Stand alone novels leave me wanting more, sagas are endless and make me feel tired. Trilogies are a challenge that not many authors do right- they are either meant to be a saga or should have been a duology. Duets are that sweet spot. We get just enough to satisfy us, but it leaves us wanting just enough that we go back and re-read the set again later.
Duets are just better guys. It’s a personal opinion. But one I stand by.

So, while every single thing that happened in this book is necessary and important to the plot and characters. I definitely think that this installment in the trilogy could have been sliced right in half and then consolidated. Aly could have easily given these books to us as a duology.

This book was a little heart breaking, a little sexy and a little surprising.
Of course Bowen is a perfect angel. I would expect nothing less from him.
Of course Remi figures out the sordid omission that her entire support system kept from her. 
Of course Remi made Bowen out to be the bad guy (which I hated every minute of).
OF COURSE THE BAD GUY IS A SHOCKING TWIST THAT ALY LEAVES DANGLING IN OUR FACES UNTIL THE NEXT BOOK IS RELEASED.

If the first book gave the readers an inside look to Remi’s mind and Sally’s trauma. Then The Difference Between Somehow and Someway is Bowen’s back story on the plane crash and his recovery from the damage that Sally did to him. Ever the tragic hero, Bowen delivers on his book boyfriend status over and over again.

I hate to give too much of the plot away with a synopsis because so many important things happen in this novel, and so many surprises are thrown at the reader.
I don’t want to give away too much of the plot.
Just know that this book picks up right where it’s predessor left off and it throws you right into the thick of it. 

I still think this book should have been the end of the first and beginning of the second books.
So, I gave this book 3.5 stars.

Emily

Emily is a coffee loving, cat snuggling, hairstylist and book-a-holic.
Having always been a voracious reader and devouring books at a breakneck speed, joining the bookish and blogging community seemed like a natural next step. She loves giving recommendations to friends and family and then very gently (and not forcefully at all) asking for their opinions after they complete each chapter.
Her reviews tend to be goofy, a little sweary, on the more impassioned side and maybe sometimes a little self deprecating.
Emily typically enjoys reading almost every genre, including (but not limited to) monster romance, literary fiction, rom-com, contemporary, LGBTQ+, low/urban fantasy, paranormal, dystopian, sci-fi, gothic romance or basically any book that will make her cry.