Return to Sender/Return to You by Julie Cross – Reviews
Links to order Return to Sender: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
Description:
If only summer could last forever…
Karen and Jordan might be out in the open with their relationship, but that doesn’t make it any easier for them to face events looming in the future. Like Jordan leaving for college halfway across the country. Or Karen’s win at a big international gymnastics competition setting the bar high for her future and adding pressure like she’s never experienced before.
But when Nina Jones (aka-US Gymnastics Dictator), makes plans for Karen and teammate Stevie to train at a gymnastics camp for a month—the same camp where Jordan coaches—romantic summer interludes replace their fears of being apart. Both Jordan and Karen know that when fall comes, some very tough decisions will have to be made, but for now, it’s stolen kisses, racing hearts, and whispered words
Review:
Return to Sender by Julie Cross is her return to the lives of Karen and Jordan, whom we met and loved in Letters to Nowhere. I loved Letters to Nowhere and was thrilled when Julie decided, due to the wonderful feedback, to continue their story. However, in Return to Sender, Julie will be doing short stories, as we follow Karen in her quest to rise up in the Gymnastic world. If you remember my review of LTN; being part of this world, watching them practice, and fight to make the National team and eventually make the Olympic team was great. In the middle of this, we spend more time with Karen, as she recovers from the loss of her parents, and trying to move on. We continue to fall more in love with Jordan, who is such a great character, as he is the perfect young man for Karen. He wants to take things slow, as she is still very much deep in her emotional grief, and vulnerable. Jordan loves Karen, and she too loves him. But gymnastics is everything for her, and this is where she must concentrate, and Jordan is always there for her.
For her own counseling, Karen’s therapist still has her writing her letters to nowhere to allow her to express her emotions. Very nice touch. What is nice about this series is watching Karen daily, as she handles the pressures of her gymnastics hopes, especially after coming off winning an international competition; as well as trying to come to terms with her parents’ death. One of the most emotional moments was when Karen went to help clean out her old home with her grandma, her best friend Blair and her therapist, Jackie. We watched Karen fall apart as she put on her mothers jewelry, and especially when she sat in the closet surrounded by her mother’s clothes. I loved when Blair joined her in the closet, then they both picked an outfit to try on. It was the perfect cleansing of her soul.
Return to Sender allows us to follow Karen and Jordan, as their relationship grows. We also get to see how Karen will do on her quest to make the Olympics, as well as to follow the daily life of elite gymnastics. Letters to Nowhere gave us a full story, and Julie now allows us to continue this story in what is probably the best way…a little glimpse at a time. This is well written story of two young people slowly falling in love; a young girl trying to cope with tragedy and life; and a background of what it’s like to be an Olympic hopeful gymnast; it is family and friends being there for each other. I look forward to reading more about Karen and Jordan, and learning more about this fantastic look at gymnastics.
Links to order Return to You: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
Description:
How many dreams can you chase at once?
Even with bad boy, TJ, disrupting their morning workouts, Karen and Stevie’s daily battles with each other are sure to bring both of them closer to a national title at next month’s championships. It’s the kind of feud that creates winning results.
Until a fall from the uneven bars shakes Karen’s rock-solid confidence. Not only does she balk every time she so much as attempts a routine, she’s also facing all this without much support from Jordan. After receiving some bad news, Jordan’s reluctance to listen to reason causes Karen so much frustration she begins to avoid him, needing space to deal with her own issues. He needs someone to force him to make the right choice, he needs his dad to intervene and Karen knows this, but is torn between her loyalty to Jordan and her concern for her coach’s son. Even though both paths lead to the same person—Jordan—it feels like she’s choosing between two different people.
And then there’s the growing tension between TJ and Stevie. They’re obviously on the verge of either ripping each other’s heads off or ripping each other’s clothes off. It’s hard for either Jordan or Karen to tell where those two are headed. Tension is building from every possible outlet and there’s bound to be an explosion of some kind in the very near future.
Review:
Return to You by Julie Cross, continues with short stories the lives or Karen and Jordan, our heroes from Letters to Nowhere. I really do enjoy this young couple, and watching them in their daily lives, especially Karen’s quest to reach the Nationals, and eventually the Olympics. The only problem I have with the short stories is that it is difficult to do reviews. The description above more or less tells it all.
Karen and Stevie continue to practice under the eyes of the National coach, Nina. But the crux of the story is both Karen & Jordan having their own issues. Jordan is there with his friend T.J., helping coach young kids at camp. Jordan is sick, with constant fevers, and Karen is having a difficult time, since she fell off the bars. With all this going on, T.J. and Stevie are at each others throats, but it is the arrogant T.J. who tries to help Karen, since Jordan is nowhere to be found.
Though you know how much they love each other, you can sense tension in Karen and Jordan’s relationship, mainly due to each of their issues. They key element of this story is the main background of the gymnastics, and trying to prove they deserve to go to the Nationals. Julie Cross is an excellent writer, and this is wonderful story that continues. Return to Sender was a great continuation, and Return to You is good, but I felt it needed a bit more meat. Perhaps I am not getting enough of this story in the short format, as I know that I love Karen and Jordan, and the fabulous gymnastics background.
Reviews by Barb
Copy provided by Author
