BOOK REVIEW: FINDERS KEEPERS (Lost and Found, #3) by Nicole Williams

Finders Keepers by Nicole Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was supposed to be reading Hallowed, Book 2 of Unearthly Series and suddenly I remembered that Finders Keepers’ release date was September 16. It is Garth Black’s story, so I really and totally need to read it first before anything else! And I didn’t regret reading this first …

To start off – I WAS FREAKIN’ RIGHT AS TO WHO HIS LOVE INTEREST WILL BE! OMG! I KNEW IT! I EVEN INCLUDED THAT ON MY NEAR AND FAR REVIEW! I KNEW IT THAT IT WASN’T JUST THAT FVCK UP MOMENT OR AN A-HOLE MOVE! THERE’S SO MUCH TO IT! ‘CAUSE IT WAS A FREAKIN’ SLIP UP OF HIS HIDDEN/PENT UP FEELINGS! DFSFJSFNJSN! (Not that I’m saying what they did was right … But dkfsdjkfnsd they were feeling the same thing at that freakin’ time already!)

Let’s get started …

You’ll be introduced to Garth Black as the villain of the series because of the fact that he screwed his best friend’s girlfriend, which made me hate him, his guts and his actions. Now comes the second book of the series and the readers see him in a new light. I immediately joined him in his Garth Black boat because of his witty comebacks, love and support he showed for his best friend, Jesse Walker.

Garth Black annoyed the hell out of me in Lost and Found and I ended up LOVING him in Near and Far. That’s just how much his character developed and how I felt towards his character changed in the course of two books. And that’s a great reason for me to be jumping up and down for the release of this book. Up and personal with Garth Black, since this book is in his perspective!

From my review of Near and Far, I said that "He isn’t just this guy who screwed the girlfriend of his best friend, there’s more to him than that" and this book proved me right. Garth Black grew up without LOVE surrounding him. A non-existent mother and a drunkard, abusive and good for nothing excuse of a father. He puts up this mask of a sarcastic, annoying, strong, a-hole type of guy. But deep inside he's just broken - he sees himself as a person who is unworthy to be loved.

His entire life there were only two people he considered as a family/friend - Jesse Walker and Josie Gibson. He cared for them deeply and even did a very martyr move which is to repress his feelings towards Josie so that he won't be in the way of the couple. Garth thinks that Josie deserves a man who could make her happy, a man who could provide and a man better than himself, so he did it. And for that my heart goes out to him ... *weeps*

But that unfaithful/blissful night between Garth and Josie happened and that was the game changer for everyone's life. Life for them seems like righting itself already. Lost and Found (Book 1) and Near and Far (Book 2) happened ... then we have this book.

Finders Keepers is filled with the twists and turns in the life of Garth Black. This book is such a great read. He lost and gained people in his life, able to strengthen his bond with friends and most importantly he rekindled his relationship with the woman he love. I felt the angst, pain, joy and every single emotion that passed right through his character. It broke my heart. It made my heart swell. It was soooo good. Highly recommended. Actually I recommend the entire series.

Rapid discussion from here:

1. GARTH GARTH GARTH GARTH I FREAKIN' LOVE GARTH! The story of his life made me weep - in the hands of his father, the constant judgment the society has been giving him and how vulnerable he gets when it comes to his love life.

Yes, he may have crazed ass vices - liquor, girls and numerous brawls all over the place. But he's still human who goes through different obstacles in life which pushed him to those stuff. And he's still human who has emotions, needs to be cared for, needs to needed and needs to be love. (ssssh I'm having a super Garth moment, weeps)

Anyways, Garth Black is now a changed man and damn happy with his girl, Josie Gibson!

2. Josie Gibson. I JUST WANT TO THANK FOR THE EXISTENCE OF HER CHARACTER! For showing Garth the love that he deserves ... (Dagnabit, I need to stop already!)

3. The Best Buds - Jesse and Garth. It was so much fun reading the banter and the advice giving sessions of these two. It's their own girly moment, so cute!

4. Two misfits - Rowen and Garth. Good thing, Rowen is here to knock some sense into the head of her fellow misfit. Their bond really clicked because of the circumstances they've stumbled upon their lives. And it's good to have that certain person in one's life.

5. 3 & 4 builds this fifth point. The characters are now well-developed and basically readers got the idea of how their character and relationships work. I mean the dynamics of it. I'm completely attached to them!

“I wasn’t the guy who fell in love with you this past winter… I was the boy who fell in love with you that day on the school bus when we were five. And I’m the man that always will.”- Garth Black

6. Seeing this romantic, sweet, caring, vulnerable or should I say the flip side of Garth Black is just dream like. I just can't imagine that I finally get to witness something like this out of his character. Surreal. I'm so happy for him though, he deserves to have a happy life.

7. The most striking part of this book is when Garth was having his speech and the words were just tumbling out of his mouth. I WAS WEEPING THAT ENTIRE SCENE, my heart was just aching so much! GARTH AND JOSIE FEELS

“Who we choose to love, and who chooses to love us has nothing to do with being deserving or undeserving. It has to do with who you simply have to love and who simply has to love you.” – Garth Black

8. Oh and before I leave .... there's a wedding in this book! Read and find out!

I'm off! x

View all my reviews
Originally posted on Goodreads (September 17, 2013)