Inside Out (Book 3 in the Off the Map series)
Lia Riley
Release date: Dec. 2, 2014
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Synopsis
INSIDE OUT by Lia Riley (December 2, 2014; Forever E-Book; $3.99)
Lia Riley made New Adult readers fall in love with her breakout debut, Upside Down. Sideswiped, the second of her series, made readers clamor for more. Now, with INSIDE OUT, Lia Riley brings her evocative Off the Map series to a stunning conclusion.
When Talia first moved from California to Australia to study abroad, she never dreamed she'd find the love of her life. Bran understands her like no one ever has before. And despite the numerous challenges they've faced, they've always managed to figure out how to stay together. But this time they'll face their toughest hurdle yet. Is their love strong enough to keep them together?
Excerpt:
Who was I when I first fell in love with Bran?
A person who had courage to stare down an unfeasible situation and say, Sure,
I’m up for the challenge.
Who was I when Bran threw himself at me like a wounded animal, all claws,
abandonment fear, spit, and fang?
A person who accepted that the moon has two sides, light and dark.
Who am I now?
I feel like a lost soul rocking in the corner, fresh out of ideas.
Bran pushes me through the long line until it’s our turn at the passport desk.
“How long do you plan to stay in the United States?” The customs official glances
from Bran’s face to his passport photo and back again.
My stomach squirms like a writhing snake. We’ve avoided any discussion about
future plans, focused instead on the short term. I had to accept the reality that I couldn’t
return to the Peace Corps, even with the medical separation. I was too sick, too shattered.
Our discussions about the logistics of leaving Africa were easier to concentrate on than
the looming issue of what we were going to do with each other. I treated the topic like an
abandoned lot, filled with weeds and rusting cars, a subject to walk past and pretend to
Now a stranger is forcing the issue.
“Until this one gets better.” Bran cocks his head in my direction.
The woman scoots forward, peers at me with a faint frown. “May I see proof of a
return ticket, sir?”
Bran digs out the photocopy of his itinerary. When we bought the tickets, he had
to borrow money from his dad. He hasn’t said much, but I know the fact must eat at him.
Add another bitter drop to my guilt bucket—soon it’s going to overflow.
“You’re on a temporary tourist visa.” The customs agent flips the passport to a
blank page and stamps with obvious relish. “You have three months, starting now.”
Here we go again.
Visa issues.
Ticking clocks.
People imagine international romance is excitement, hot accents, and adventure.
They don’t want to hear about the bureaucratic drudgery that threatens to harden the
arteries of even the most passionate hearts.
I thought I was going somewhere.
Nope.
I am an idiot Icarus who flew too close to the sun.
Bran leans forward, his lips hover an inch from my ear, his breath a hot caress on
my cool skin. “You okay, Captain?”
“Fine.”
“What are you thinking, thinker?”
“I’m just sitting here, a sitter.”
We roll past an American flag overhanging a framed photo of the president. His
smile seems smug, as if to say, You really thought you’d get away?
Yes, sir. I kind of did.
“We’re up next.” Bran hands a final customs form to yet another officer who
waves us toward big silver doors that open and shut like gnashing teeth. On the other side
is California. I can’t shake the disorienting sense we’re heading in the wrong direction.
“Ready?”
Nope.
Bran crossed an ocean for me. I have to find the way out of this black swamp, but
I’m manacled to an island of self-doubt, and the tide is rising.
About the Author:
After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, Lia Riley scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. She and her family live mostly in Northern California.
You can stalk -- er -- Find Lia Riley at the following places.
My Review:
Inside Out is book three in the Off the Map Series, the conclusion of Bran and Talia's story. This story will do as the title implies and turn you inside out with emotions. Inside Out is mostly about Moving on and Growing up. Both Bran and Talia have to decide where they are headed next in life and make plans to get there. They also both need to work on closing out the past and being able to move on from it.
I have loved watching Bran and Talia's realationship grow and change throughout this series, but I think that this final book, may take the emotional cake. There was lot going on, especially at the beginning and it wrought out emotions in me at each turn. I was glad to find that both Bran and Talia eventually end up with closure over parts of their pasts.
Inside Out was also full of comic relief, Hello Chester (You'll understand that when you read). There were a few more people brought in this story, we got to see more from their side of things, such as Talia's parents both. It was great to be able to see things a bit from their perspective after knowing how Talia felt about them from previous books.
In the end, I found Inside out to be an impressive ending to a trio of great stories. It was a passionate, sometimes melodramatic, heart-warming, heart-wrenching, tale of life and love and all that happens in the middle.
Truth Circle: I loved this book.
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