18 August 2023

Fuera de Contrato (Book I) – Valeria Liz Geden

Synopsis

Hannah has been awarded a scholarship to a prestigious firm on the other side of the country at a moment in her life when she only needs excuses to escape her home.
Adam is obligated to assist her in her induction process at the firm if he wishes to qualify for the promotion they have offered him.

Hannah is cheerful, spontaneous, and smiling.
Adam is arrogant, skeptical, and proud.

She is struck by news that upends her world.
He is tormented by a memory that won’t let him move forward.

She has a dream.
His have been shattered.

Hannah is trying to avoid her future.
Adam is trying to escape memories of the past.

There’s no more time to follow the rules of a contract.
He has boundaries, she breaks them.

Review

* Trigger warnings? Sex and strong language.*

Hannah knows she’s sick, and she also knows it’s much more serious than she lets on to her father and younger brother.

They already watched their mother die from the same illness, and she’s not willing to put them through that suffering.

But Hannah is much more than just an ill person. In reality, she’s an excellent law student who has just won an internship in New York, alongside her boyfriend… well, ex-boyfriend.

In New York, her new mentor awaits. Adam, whose life’s dream was to be a mentor… obviously not.
Adam is a great lawyer, but he’s a jerk who sees Hannah as a secretary or at best, a nuisance.

But the light that Hannah radiates is not lost on Adam. Just as his pain is not lost on her.

I must say I immensely enjoyed this book.

It caught my attention right from the start (starting with its beautiful cover), because the protagonist is of Japanese descent, and an attempt is made to incorporate some of the culture into the story.
Also, because the author is Chilean, of course.

The story intrigued me, but my taste leans more toward fantasy, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

This book made me cry from the very first page, which made me a bit hesitant to read it at a time when I’m quite emotional. However, I felt that this might actually be a good reason to start it.

I took a long time to finish it. Not because of boredom, on the contrary, the book captured me immediately.

I read it slowly because I felt I knew from the beginning how the book was going to end. And I really wanted to have the second part to read it right away (I failed due to the evil shipping).
But I also read it slowly because I was enjoying it.

The overly descriptive style bothered me at times when it felt repetitive, but most of the time, the writing was truly beautiful.

This is a story that shows us how we can move forward, no matter how difficult our lives have been. Especially if you have the right people by your side.

I highly recommend it, and I’m dying to read the second part.

PS: Aside from the story, reading the book was a struggle due to the font size… at least I know this has changed for the second part (and for subsequent editions – I have the first one).