Soulspark

by Eliza Tilton

Dealing with the loss of her mother, seventeen-year-old Jessica Stone tries to find an escape from pain by secretly medicating herself with Xanax, but the anxiety increases, crushing her and her grades.

Then she meets Caleb Jonas, the pastor’s son at her mother’s church. Between his cute dimples and love of fast cars, Jessica is completely smitten, and the feeling is mutual. But dating a Christian boy isn’t easy. He doesn’t party, and he never goes past first base. Jessica struggles with his faith, since it makes her question her own, but for the first time since her mother’s death, she can breathe. Life is finally shifting into a state of happiness.

But the differences between them grow until one act of betrayal threatens to rip them apart forever. Hurt and love collide into a storm neither can break free from, and Jessica must decide if she’s ready to trust her heart, one last time.

Genres: Contemporary

Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

USA Today Bestselling author Eliza Tilton graduated from Dowling College with a BA in Visual Communications. When she's not arguing with excel at her day job, chasing after four kids, or playing video games, she's writing fast-paced young adult fantasy and paranormal tales. Check out www.elizatilton.com for more of her books or follow her on tiktok @elizatilton where she shares tons of bookish stuff.

Reviews

[Andra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loss...Grief...Despair...Anxiety...Panic Attacks

Peace & Calmness from unlikely places and people...Faith Restored...Friendships Renewed...

This book pulled out so many emotions. Jessica and Caleb, both affected by past events, form a bond after a chance meeting. I love reading characters who grow together and are taken from a seemingly impossible depth of despair into restoration and love.

[Tenna Chatman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and rocky coming of age book

Things get complicated in these teen's lives. Just when things seem to be falling into place for Jess, her world is turned upside down again. Lies and deception try to ruin relationships but can God help reveal the truth?

[Michelle Monroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Received a free copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion *

I really loved this story so much! It has just the right amount of heartache, angst, friendship and love to keep me glued to the pages.

The characters are so well written that I often found myself in anguish and tearing up right along with Jessica. It can't be easy, especially on a teenage girl, to loose both her parents. Her dad, several years ago to a horrific car accident. And her mom just a few months ago to cancer. Now, she is staying with her Step dad and Step brighter until after her senior year and she goes away for college.

--They didn’t understand the panic attacks were uncontrollable. How do you stop a hurricane? You can’t. It comes and rips everything open until you’re left with nothing but a bleeding heart.

Jessica has anxiety so crippling that she starts to self medicate herself with Xanax her friend swipes from her mom. It's not right, and she knows this, but she is in such turmoil over her mothers death and the physiatrist she is seeing won't give her the medication she thinks she needs.

At a time when she was most lost, Caleb moves to town. His father is the new Preacher at the church her mom always attended. While she wants to spend more time getting to know Caleb, her anxiety is a factor in her returning to the place her mom loved so much.

Jessica is mad at God, she feels He abandoned her mother when she needed Him most. As she gets to know Caleb more, and slowly try to get over her anxiety, she wonders if God truly is to blame. And she starts to heal.

--With Caleb’s strong hand on my back and Pastor Jonas’ powerful words, the past months of burden and loss began to crumble. Warmth spread through my body, and the constant shaking of my bones slowed. Would I finally be okay?

Then, things spiral out of control. She feels she has been betrayed in the most awful way by the ones she loves the most and now she has to find it in her heart to forgive and move on.

Then, just when it seems Jessica is on the path to forgiveness and pulling her life around, BAM - the author throws in some twists and turns, and to be honest, that just sealed the deal for me! I love it when an author can pull you into a story so much that you expect certain things, and then they change the story slightly and make it even more interesting. Jessica doesn't know who to trust and what to believe.

If you want a great YA read, about a girl who is coming to terms with her mothers death, faith, friendship and finding love and forgiveness (not only for others, but for herself as well) and an unexpected twist, then I think you may like this one.

[Candy Smith]

Wow,I did not expect that twisted ending.The first few chapters were kinda slow but when it picked up you were on an emotional roller coaster as these teen learn to deal with past hurts that have left them scarred and present life that continuously challenges them to either trust or give up. Their reactions and situations are real life issues that many teens go through(except for the twisted ending). It reminded me of some of the struggles my daughter dealt with in high school and also reminded it me a bit of the movie To Save a Life. With the hurt of losing her parent,Jess's life is slowly swirling out of control yet she finds herself rooted and gains some stability in the arms of Caleb.Jess slowly finds her way back to God after hating him after she lost her mom.However,trusting God when your world seams to be crashing around you over and over is hard,But Caleb has a past that keeps him a little guarded and one night when things get heated faith in each other gets tested. Can they finally learn to fully trust each other or will they let their insecurity tear them apart? Will meeting Caleb be what brings Jess back to trusting God or push her to away from God forever?

[DianaC-Bookaholic And · Rating 5 out of 5]

●▬▬▬▬๑۩ 5 STAR REVIEW ۩๑▬▬▬▬▬●

The message was delivered, Soulspark is a beautifully, soul cleansing, story that will shine a new light to our turmoil life we live on.

Jessica Stone, a girl with a very hard life for her young age. Having lost both parents now she must live with her stepdad, Jessica had lost her faith in God, Caleb Jonas is a young man with a great faith that will be put in Jessica's path for a reason. Only their love and faith will win the battle with their demons they battle daily.

When I first started this book, I knew it was going to leave a mark but never did I realized I was going to find the answer I was looking for. This young romance is pure and so strong you'll be left with a deep mark in your heart and soul.

You will love this extraordinary youthful and purely love story.

https://www.facebook.com/Bookaholican...

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasnt really sure what to expect when I started reading Soulspark, I was kinda hesitant as it was a YA Inspirational Romance, however, this book was so much more than that. Soulspark was really amazing and very uplifting. It brought the reality of what today's society is like with teenagers and not only what their relationship is with their peers and parents but with God as well. I loved the way the characters connected, loved the real life situations they were enduring and most of all that I could relate and remember what it was like to be a teenager again and facing the difficulties it presents. Soulspark was def my top fave YA read this year. Eliza Tilton is an amazing writer and I cant wait to see what else she has in store.

[Ashley Cestra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soulspark was definitely one of the best reads of 2016 I've read this far! I was completely shocked by the ending, not expecting what happened at all! I'm pretty good at grabbing the storyline, I had no idea where this one went! None. Talk about a jaw dropping eye bulging moment! Although, the main character was a little shallow in places, I really enjoyed the characters and their dialogues between eachother!
I didn't actually cry while reading soul spark, but I certainly came close to it during a few of the many touching scenes! Eliza Tilton knows and understands the laws of writing I was pleased with the amount of descriptive used without boring each sectence! I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!

[Ashley Martinez (ilovebooksandstuffblog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I really enjoyed it for a while but I wasn't so crazy about the twist but that's just my personal tastes. In the end it was just okay for me. I did like the overall message and feel of the book.
I liked how the book dealt with some tough issues. It flowed really well and the characters were intriguing but I wanted to know more about them.
I received an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Craig Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this romantic tale. It was well written, with plenty of feel good moments throughout. The main character has a hard time transitioning with life changes, including that of her mother passing. She's fallen away from faith, and then she meets a young man who takes an interest in her, and brings her back to church. They go through some ups and downs, a lot of it to do with a lack of communication, but in the end, it was a fantastic uplifting feel good story. I really enjoyed it.

[United Indie Book Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the characters and story of Soulspark. I feel all the characters were well developed and multi dimensional. I really felt connected to them and grew to love them even if I disliked some. The storyline is written well and I was taken for an emotional ride when reading. If you love emotional romances this is a great read.

Review by Raychel

[Maureen McCormack · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can see my full review here: http://diariesofabooklover.blogspot.c...