SYNOPSIS
The heart-stopping conclusion to the New York Times and USA
Today best selling series.
Five years, six months, eight days….
It’s been eighteen years since Abigail was born with a hole in her
heart. Five years since she collapsed on the soccer field. Five years, six
months, eight days since she found out she was adopted.
Abby has spent five years wondering about the family she never knew and
waiting for her eighteenth birthday. When Abby shows up on the doorstep of
Chris and Claire Knight, her birth parents are overjoyed to see the little girl
they lost eighteen years ago.
One summer is all they have to make up for the years they lost. But a
summer of love soon turns into a summer of heartache.
5 Star Review by Jen Skewes
Cassia Leo has completely done it again!! The Shattered Hearts series is by far one of
my favorite series. I could not wait to
get my hands on Chasing Abby and see what happens when Abby turns 18 and finds
out who her biological parents are. I
honestly did not know much of the storyline or where this story would go. I just couldn’t wait for that moment when
Chris and Claire finally get to meet their baby girl that they gave up 18 years
ago. I knew it was going to be emotional
but nothing prepared me for the emotional journey that I was about to embark on
when I started reading this book.
Abby has found out that she was adopted when she was 13 but
did not know who her biological parents were.
When she turned 18 it was her choice as to whether or not she wanted to
find out who they were and if she wanted to meet them. Abby had some reservations about meeting them
mainly due to fear and her insecurities.
I can only imagine how difficult it must be to meet the people who gave
you up for adoption. Not knowing why
they did it but at the same time afraid to find out why. But meeting Chris and Claire Knight was
something that she had to do for herself, even if it scared the heck out of
her.
I don’t want to go into more detail than that. This is Abby’s story but it is also the story
of the family that she is surrounded by.
We see Abby finding out that she was adopted. The decision to meet Chris and Claire and how
that decision affected not only her but her adoptive parents as well as The
Knights and their family.
Abby had her loving parents and her best friend as well, but
there was one person in Abby’s life who was her rock, her world and her
everything. And that was Caleb. OH my sweet and amazing Caleb. No words can even begin to describe how much I
loved him. That boy completely captured
my heart from the very beginning and he held onto it until the very last
page. He loved Abby and would do
anything to protect her and make her happy.
He was there as her best friend, caregiver, boyfriend and
protector. She was his everything and he
would move heaven and earth for her.
Their love reminded me of Chris and Claire when they were younger except
I honestly believe their love was so much deeper. It was heart warming and it just melted my heart to see how much they
loved each other, even at a young age.
I loved the woman that Abby grew up to be. I wasn’t a big fan of her adoptive parents
and the truth is I tried to put myself in their shoes and tried to understand
some of their actions but I think at times they may not have ben completely fair to Abby. I just loved Abby so much and at times I
sympathized with her. There is not doubt
they loved her but I think they needed to give her the benefit of the doubt
sometimes and trust her decisions. I
think Abby grew up to be an amazing young woman.
Chris and Claire have waited 18 years hoping that one day
there would be a knock at the door and they would come face to face with
Abby. No matter how much they wanted it
to happen I don’t think anyone is really prepared for that moment. It was emotional to say the least. I loved that we get to see Chris and Claire
at an age and a time in their life that I could completely relate to. I loved seeing them just as in love as when
when they first met. We went trough
their journey with them. From their
meeting, to their break up to their reunion and marriage. And now we get to experience this important
moment in their life through their eyes.
This is what I loved about this book. We did not just see this story
from Abby’s point of view. We saw it
from all sides, Chris and Claire as well as her adoptive parents. And never at any point in the book did that
become confusing. The story flowed
nicely and the writing was flawless.
Next to Bring Me Home this is by far my favorite of the series.
Chasing Abby was a beautiful story of love. And it
wasn’t just a story about the love of family but the love between a boy and a
girl. This was a very emotional story, and at times it completely shattered my heart, but I wouldn’t have had it any other
way. Ms. Leo took us on one beautiful and emotional
journey and managed to put back all the pieces of my heart in the end. Words cannot describe how much I loved this
book. I thought about it for days after
and get goose bumps just writing this review.
It is the perfect conclusion to this series. Another amazing job by Cassia Leo
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cassia Leo grew up in California and has lived in three different countries. She loves to travel and her dream is to one day score a record deal based on her awesome shower singing skills. She is the author of the Shattered Hearts series (Forever Ours, Relentless, Pieces of You, Bring Me Home) and the Luke, Knox, and Chase series.
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CHASING ABBY – Excerpt
CHAPTER EIGHT
AMY RIDES HOME with Caleb and me after school. An
April storm swooped in while we were in third period. The smell of the rain and
the sound of the drops tapping on the vinyl convertible top is soothing after a
long day of fake smiles. Amy and Caleb are the only people who know about the
significance of today’s date. Everyone at school was wishing me a happy
eighteenth birthday, completely oblivious as to how unhappy today actually is.
I haven’t told Caleb or Amy, but I’ve already
made my decision about opening the safe-deposit box.
Caleb pulls into the driveway, next to my dad’s
silver pickup truck, and turns off the engine. The silence that follows brings
a smile to my face. They’re both waiting for direction from me.
“Let’s go. I’m sure my mom is pacing the living
room, waiting for me to walk through the front door.”
Caleb laughs, but Amy shakes her head. Her wavy
brown hair is damp at the ends from the rain and the light freckles on her nose
are showing through her makeup, but she still looks great. My makeup is
probably all gone.
“Is your mom going to freak out?”
I push the passenger door open and a few
raindrops fall on my arm. “Amy, this is my mom. Of course she’s going to freak
out… on the inside. On the outside, she’ll pretend like everything is okay.”
Caleb grabs my shoulder as we stroll up the
front walk, then he gives it a soft squeeze. “Whatever you choose is the right
choice. Don’t let anyone make you believe otherwise.”
I smile and, for some reason, the $4,000 guitar
lying in his trunk comes to mind. Of course Caleb thinks that whatever I choose
is the right choice. He thinks I’m so special I actually deserve a $4,000
guitar. I could probably run away tonight and Caleb would tell me I made the
right choice. Of course, if I ran away tonight I’d probably end up spending the
night with Caleb at the apartment he shares with his twenty-three-year-old
roommate. So that’s a bit obvious.
“Is your dad supposed to be home right now?” Amy
asks as I reach for the doorknob.
“No, he probably left work early. It’s a big day
for them, too.” Pushing open the front door, I’m a bit surprised to find my dad
standing in the foyer, as if he were waiting for me. “Hey, Dad.”
He clears his throat and smiles. “I know I
wished you a happy birthday this morning, but I’m going to do it again.” He
extends his right hand forward and I see the gold key lying flat in his palm.
“Happy birthday, sweetheart. This is yours now.”
I draw in a few deep breaths, then I reach forward
and take the key from his hand. I curl my fist around the sharp metal,
squeezing as it digs into the soft flesh of my palm. Looking up into my
father’s blue eyes, the barely disguised grimace crinkling the skin around the
corners, I tuck the key into the front pocket of my jeans.
“I’m not going today,” I say, smiling so he
doesn’t think this was a difficult decision to make. “I don’t know if I ever
will, but thank you for trusting me to make the decision on my own. I love you,
Dad.”
I wrap my arms around his thick waist and he
squeezes my shoulders so tight it hurts. “I’ve always trusted you, sweetheart.
I know you’ll make the right decision for you.”
“What’s going on?”
My mom’s voice is soft and laced with worry, but
it still grates on my nerves. I love my mom, but her inability to trust that I
would make the right decision has broken something between us. I don’t know if
I’ll ever hear her speak and hear the same voice that sang me to sleep every
night until I was eight years old.
“I’m not going,” I say, letting go of my dad.
Her eyebrows knit together, but there’s a spark
of hope in her eyes and a slight curl to her lips. “Why not?”
I blink a few times to hold back the tears.
“Because I’m afraid of hurting you.”
“What? That’s silly.”
“No, it’s not. I can see how much you want me to
leave that part of me in the past. Even if you don’t say it, I can see it in
your eyes.”
“I’m sorry, Abby. I just—”
“No, you don’t have to explain, Mom. I
understand.” I sniff loudly as I wipe the tears from my face. “You don’t want
to lose me. And I’m lucky to have you. I know that… I don’t want to lose you
either.”
She shakes her head and takes my face in her
hands. “Oh, honey. You’re not going to lose me. You’ll never lose me.” She
kisses my forehead and tucks my hair behind my ear. “Yes, I’m afraid of what
this will do to our family going forward, but it’s natural. We fought so hard
for you, Abby. I just want to protect you. I want to protect this family.”
“From what?”
She presses her lips together as she considers
this question. “I don’t know. But please don’t let my fear influence you. This
is your decision, honey. Your father and I will support you no matter what you
choose to do.”
I nod and she takes me into her arms. I allow
myself to cry on her shoulder for a moment, before I excuse myself to my
bedroom with Caleb and Amy. Closing the door behind us, I immediately take a
seat on my bed while Amy sits at my desk and Caleb sits next to me.
“She’s hiding something from me,” I say as Caleb
grabs my hand.
“Our parents probably hide more things from us
than we do from them,” Amy replies, opening up my laptop. “Do you want me to
respond to all your birthday greetings on Facebook?”
“Yes, please.”
“Not the ones from guys,” Caleb adds, and I
shove him. “Are you sure you don’t want to see what’s inside that box?”
I nod quickly. “I’m not ready. I’m actually glad
my mom made me wait. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to face the people who
gave me away.”
“What if they had no choice?” Amy says.
“No choice? In what kind of world would they
have no choice? Of course they had a choice. Maybe it was a difficult
one, but it was still the choice they made. Why do I even want to meet someone
who didn’t want me? My parents want me. They’ve always wanted me and now I’m
going to risk hurting them just to satisfy my curiosity? It doesn’t make
sense.”
“You’ll know when you’re ready,” Amy says, an
automatic response as she scrolls through my Facebook profile and responds to
hundreds of birthday wishes.
“That’s bullshit.”
I look up at Caleb and he’s staring straight at
me. “What?”
“That’s bullshit,” he repeats. “You’re not going
to hurt your parents. And you know that.”
I try to let go of his hand, but he tightens his
grip. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know better than you do. I had a mother who
didn’t want me. Really didn’t want me. But you… you don’t know what your
birth parents felt about you and I think that’s what scares you the most. Not
knowing.”
The soft tapping of Amy’s fingers on the
keyboard of my laptop stops. I bite my lip as I try to deny that what Caleb
just said is true, but I can’t. He’s right. I’m not afraid of hurting my
parents. I’m afraid of hurting me.
AUTHOR BIO
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cassia Leo grew up in California and has lived in three different countries. She loves to travel and her dream is to one day score a record deal based on her awesome shower singing skills. She is the author of the Shattered Hearts series (Forever Ours, Relentless, Pieces of You, Bring Me Home) and the Luke, Knox, and Chase series.
Come chat with her on
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorcassialeo
You can also follow
her blog at http://cassialeo.com to stay up to date on new releases and giveaways.
Thanks for reading!
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