I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
“If you’re to be mine I need all of you to be mine, because all of me is yours.”
Play On is Samantha Young’s newest novel, is an absolutely stunning novel about love, life and growing up that left me with a book hangover for days afterwards.
With her dreams and hopes battling against the expectations of both others and herself, 18 year old Nora O’Brien is trying to figure out her life; but one thing she does know? She wants more.
Fed up being stuck in a not so healthy home life in a small town in Indiana, Nora decides to elope with a charming Scottish tourist and moves to Edinburgh. Only 3 years later she’s questioning whether that was the right thing to do – Then, while volunteering as a children’s entertainer at the local hospital she meets sexy music producer Aidan Lennox and together they discover a happiness in their otherwise dull lives. That is until Aidan seemingly disappears.
Now a year later Nora has used the anger and sadness from being abandoned by a man she thought loved her, to pursue her dreams and is finally content. Until Adrian makes a reappearance – and for some reason he’s none to happy to see her again.
“You would think after numerous attacks of grief the human body would be unable to process any more sadness. But our hearts have an annoying amount of endurance.”
I was absolutely captivated by the intricate relationships Samantha Young has created and loved the juxtaposition between Nora’s relationships in the novel and how it shows that not everybody who loves you is good for you, and that they don’t always show their love in the best ways.
Play On is divided into three parts and is set over the course of 6 years, and I felt the pacing of the novel was well timed – although I would have liked more interaction between Adrian and Nora in Part Three before the final resolution.
I loved how strong Nora is as well as her character arc; going from a young eighteen year old girl who just wants to not be in the same small town all her life, to becoming self aware “…I was an adult. I didn’t have ignorance or childish naïveté to fall back on as an excuse for my mistakes.” And finally to the woman who powers on from loss and tragedy to go after what she wants “It hadn’t been an easy road to get here, and by God, I would hold on to what I had with everything I had.”
I also loved the chemistry between Nora and Aidan and getting to see their relationship grow & develop over time from two people who really didn't like each other very much, to two people who are completely in love with one another.
“Just because it takes more than falling in love to find yourself doesn’t mean that losing yourself in another person can’t be fucking beautiful. I promise you, Pixie, being lost in each other for the rest of our lives will be the best thing to have ever happened to either of us.”
Play On is a wonderful novel that had me hooked from the first page till the last. Samantha young has weaved a range of emotional material that will have you laughing, smirking and crying through the story as you read along with Nora as she overcomes life’s ups and downs and learns to go after what she wants.
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