Review - Not Enough by Leigh Ann Lunsford

Not Enough
Parker Siblings Book 1

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Synopsis

Brielle Parker has her life in front of her; she just does not know how to live it. After years of not being enough for her parents, or the dreams she once had, how did one man Colby James show her she was actually more than enough?

Raised by her grandparents with her three siblings, Brielle was loved, no doubt. However, her grandparents were taken too soon, and she was left with her older sibling to try to raise her younger ones. She couldn't help but let the doubts take over her life. Would she ever be enough? Then Colby walked in and changed everything, and just when she was facing her fears and falling in love for the first time, Colby ripped her heart out.

Will they be able to get past their mistakes to live the life they both want? Did Colby finally break Brielle when all he wanted to do was protect and love her? You can rebound from some mistakes, but some you just have to learn from and walk away. The love they have is true and pure, but will they finally be enough for each other?

Review

Laura's Review

Brielle recently finished college and returns home to her siblings.  Since becoming estranged from her parents, and the loss of her grandparents, all she has left are her sisters and brother.  Various circumstances in her life have brought Brielle to the conclusion that she is “not enough” for anyone.  She goes out of her way to give everything she’s got for the benefit of her siblings.  Then Brielle meets Colby, who somehow manages to put some cracks in the walls she’s built around her heart.

Brielle is quite the complex character.  On the surface, she is a sassy-mouthed, take-no-prisoners kind of chick who will go to whatever extremes necessary to both protect and provide for her family.  She won’t tell her siblings what happened to cause her separation from their parents, so as not to deprive them of parents.  She continues to do cheer stunting at the family gym so that her younger sister won’t be afraid to do it herself, despite the fact that Brielle is recovering from a serious injury that she down-played to her siblings.  But the side that she won’t let anyone see is irreparably broken from multiple betrayals and the loss of the people she loved the most.  Just by the sheer number of times she says she’s not enough, you know that her damage is deep.

Colby is a pretty great book boyfriend, though not without his flaws.  When he screws up, he screws up big, even if it's not his intention.  But he can’t let Brielle go, and he does whatever he has to do to keep her. Even with their damage and flaws, or maybe because of them, you can't help but fall for and root for Brielle and Colby. I loved the way that music played such an integral part of their relationship and how songs were used to express the words that the characters could not.

Leigh Ann can write angst like nobody’s business (she writes a pretty good skank, too, but I’ll let you discover that for yourself).  She gets you invested in her characters, beyond Brielle and Colby.  Even though the Parker series is done, I wouldn’t mind a short story or something about the Parker grandparents, maybe about when their love first started.  Knowing how Brielle’s book ended, I can’t wait to see how things go in the next book, which is all about Addy and Tyler. This is a strong first book and I am anxious to see not only how the characters grow, but also how Leigh Ann's writing grows, as well.