Synopsis: Annabelle Spencer’s life is every girl’s dream. She has wonderful parents, great friends, and of course the perfect boyfriend, Jack Roberts. That all changes on her sixteenth birthday when her life comes crashing down around her. Her dream night turns into a nightmare when Jack is murdered right in front of her, and she’s kidnapped by his murderer, Carter Thomas, a big time drug and arms dealer.
After five months of being with Carter, she’s found, but the experience has totally changed her. She’s no longer the happy-go-lucky girl that everyone used to know and love; she’s now cold, hard and suffers from night terrors. It appears that Carter broke not only her body, but her spirit too. A shadow of her former self, her slogan for life is now: ‘If you don’t care about anything, then you have nothing to lose’.
Carter is currently serving time for the murder of Jack, a conviction that Anna helped secure. But his retrial is coming up because some key evidence appears to have been tampered with. Unbeknown to Anna, death threats are being received by her father, the Senator. It appears that Carter is still interested in Anna and will stop at nothing to get her back.
Ashton Taylor is brought in to protect her. He’s a newly qualified SWAT agent, a bright spark, the agency’s new golden boy. He is assigned undercover, posing as her boyfriend. His job is to help her through college and keep her safe until the end of the trial in eight months’ time.
For three years she has been the broken, damaged girl, refusing to feel emotion or pain, but can Ashton help her rebuild her life and finally deal with the grief of losing her childhood sweetheart? Will he be the one to make her see that life is, in fact, worth living and that not all men will hurt her?
All the while, the shadow of the trial looms over the both of them, taunting them, reminding them that it isn’t over yet. After all, Carter Thomas will stop at nothing to be reunited with his ‘Princess’.
Due to heavy subject matter and sexual content, this book is recommended for ages 17+
Nothing Left to Lose is a sexy New Adult romance dealing with love, lust, loss and grief. First uploaded on Wattpad, it surpassed 25 million reads before publication.
4.5 Stars
Review: This was a really amazing story about, as hokey as it sounds, love really helping someone heal from some pretty traumatic things. I don't think that I was prepared for how the book starts, and I was pretty traumatized by what happens with Annabelle's boyfriend, Jack, but it gives you a good picture for what Anna, herself, is about to experience for the next 10 months of her life.
We then move forward four years, when Ashton Taylor has recently graduated from police training as a SWAT member, and he is assigned to watch over Anna, as she is receiving threats from Carter, the man that murdered Jack and kept her for 10 months. Anna has, rightfully so, been acting out and pushing every one away since being rescued three years ago. She continually gets kicked out of colleges due to acting out, keeps getting re-assigned body guards because she doesn't know that she still needs one. But she is then assigned Ashton, but this situation is a little different. He is asked to pose as her boyfriend, rather than just her guard.
My one issue with this is that Anna kind of immediately opens up to Ashton, more so than she has with any other person in three years. A lot of people call that "insta-love" in books, but I do know that people will occasionally meet someone that they open up to for one reason or another. It's still a little bit of a battle, though, and Ashton works hard to get Anna to let him in. I do think that that is realistic for someone that has been through what she has been through.
This book surprised me at how long it was, and I have to admit that I did skim a little here and there, but I will say this. Ashton Taylor is one of the most amazing guys I've read about recently. He's totally an alpha male, but he was so not afraid to be real with Anna and to be vulnerable. There were a few times that he basically just said "look, I like you...please give me a chance". I wanted to slap some sense into Anna every single one of those times.
The nightmare comes back, however, when Carter, her previous tormentor, is released from prison. Anna makes some pretty crazy decisions, doing what she hopes will protect the most people, and Ashton is sent away. This was another place where I felt like the book was a little unrealistic. I don't think her father, who had become the President of the United States by this point, really would let her choose her guard, at age 19, when the one she had was doing a great job. This sets in motion some really sad things, however, but Ashton does not give up on Anna, and he fights for her - in more ways than one.
This is a great story, and I do recommend it - especially if you're a fan of the New Adult genre.
Jessica
