ARC Review | The End of Feeling by Cindy C. Bennett

Fomat: e-ARC
Source: Publisher via Netgalley
Publisher: Skyscape
Publication: January 27, 2015
Pages: 304
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Benjamin Nefer seems to have it all. He’s the most popular guy in school, the star quarterback with college scouts looking at him, his grades are near the top of his class, he can get any girl he wants . . . but he hides behind his dream life to mask the nightmare of his reality.

Charlie Austin is the new girl. Forced to move in with a bitter aunt, she only wants to protect her fragile mom from the world’s cruelty. When Benjamin sets his sights on Charlie, she’s armored against his charm—friends warned her about Benjamin’s game of pursuing and then dumping a long line of girls, not caring about the broken hearts he leaves behind. She doesn’t count on how single-minded he can be when she refuses him, or how charismatic, easing into her life through what he claims is just friendship.

Benjamin thought he could keep Charlie in the same place he keeps all girls—something to be used and then discarded. But Charlie has as many secrets as he does, secrets he’s determined to discover while keeping his own hidden. He realizes she’s the perfect girlfriend candidate . . . someone he can use to keep up the façade of a perfect life. Now he just has to keep his frozen heart from softening toward this unique girl, because if he doesn’t, his carefully constructed lies might just come thundering down around him, crushing him beneath the burden of feeling.

My Thoughts

This book was everything that I was hoping for and more. I honestly couldn't put the book down once I started to read it. I believe that this book will hold the spot of one of my favorites throughout 2015. Yes, I only gave it 4.5 stars out of 5, but it still will make it's way to the top of my list.

The book is split - one chapter it could be Charlie's point of view and the next it could be Benjamin's.

Charlie has had a hard life growing up. She was made fun of for many different things and so when she moves to a new school she doesn't want anyone to know any of her secrets. I loved every inch...every single inch of Charlie's story. It was heart-wrenching, heart-warming and just wasn't what you expected from a 'regular' YA, Contemporary novel. One thing about Charlie that made me give this less than the five stars I wanted to was...Charlie was sort of mean to her aunt when she moved in. I know some of her reasons could make sense, but it just seemed so harsh to me. If someone was allowing me to live under their roof for free I would be a little more on the nice side.

Benjamin, like Charlie, has had a hard life growing up. Although, no one really knows about it. He is the tough, preppy football player who everyone admires and all the girls want to date. His exterior shows something that his emotions and inside won't let show. At first, I wasn't all for Benjamin; I was listening to what Charlie's friends were telling her and some of his comments were just not for me.

I grew to love the main characters throughout the book so much. Yes, they did some things that annoyed me, but I think that for this book to work the way it did we needed some conflict with them. Not only did I love the main characters, I loved Charlie's friends, her mom, her aunt, and I even enjoyed one of Benjamin's friends. I also enjoyed a few other characters along the way, but I can't mention them without spoiling some juicy information for you guys.

So here is the main reason for giving this book a half star short of the amazing five. The ending was really rushed for me. So much stuff had been happening to Benjamin and it just seemed so much to be put in only a few chapters. I am glad the author added these MAJOR components in I just wish there was more time spent on each of them. The ending I will say was one that I liked it was just rather rushed.