BOOK REVIEW ― Xander: The Beginning by Anne Mercier

Xander Book 1 by Anne Mercier

★ Buy Xander: The Beginning (Kindle)

We met at the age of eight. That day on the playground was a turning point in my life. She stole my heart with just a glance as she sang off key.

But nothing’s perfect.

I figured out pretty quickly she was too good for me, so I let her go.
I thought I was doing the right thing--until I realized I wasn’t.
She was my everything and without her I was nothing.

When we reunited, my heart became whole. My life had meaning. We loved fiercely and completely. Life was perfect.

The more success I gain with Falling Down, the further away I’m pulled from Tera. But she gains success of her own, and the distance grows immeasurably..

She wants me to live my dreams and I want the same for her. We both know our love is strong enough to survive time and distance.

Then the unthinkable happens and nothing will ever be the same again. 

Rating & Review

   

Please tell me this isn't a joke. Tell me it's real and you're not going to disappear from my life again."
"You're the one who pushed me out the door, Xan."
"I thought it was best for you, but what the f__k do I know?"
"You don't know sh*t if you think that was what was best for me. God. Don't you know you're what's best for me, Xander Mackenzie?

With each book that is released the Rockstar Series become a bit darker when compared to the initial books and relationships a bit more tangled and complicated than you could ever imagine.

It is said that the brightest of smiles hide the biggest of fears and in Xander's case this was absolutely true. Xander: Book 1 is set in the past when Falling Down were just kids and then moving on towards how they met two kids who so quickly became an extended part of the family and one of them ended up being Xander's forever girl.

The way she looks at me makes my heart beat so fast. Just that look fills me with so much warmth and love— love? Yeah, it's love. I've loved her from the minute I met her and I'm going to love her forever.

The first half of the book, Xander has you swooning like anything with his one-liners. I mean, damn! this guy is smooth as hell (which I already knew) but when it came to all things Tera — best friend, wife, soulmate — this guy didn't stop at anything to make her feel special and wanted.

The second half of the book... This is where I stop because that was one of the things I did not see coming for miles. This one incident not only changed Tera's but Xander's life too, in ways they never imagined. There were decisions that Tera took leading after the incident that I can somewhat understand. I can understand that the final decision she took was out of love. Can I completely understand where a person, or a character, were coming from in one of the most horrific situations of their life? Their thought process? No, and I am not going to pretend I do. I don't understand what goes in the mind of the victim. I can't empathize with the situation but I can most definitely sympathize and that is exactly what Tera evoked. The hurt, the pain, the utter helplessness and yes, humiliation.

I'd give up everything for you and never regret it for a minute.

There were a lot of questions that I had prior to the release of this book, say from Book 1 and I am so glad that Anne was able to, unknowingly, clarify a lot of those questions.

If you've been a longtime fan of this series, then I definitely recommend you give Xander a try. It is going to be unexpected, because duh! Xander but I can't even begin to tell how everything about Xander's behavior, from Book 1 till now, makes sense and you get a better understanding the why's and hows.

PS. Me sad when Xander sad. Me wants my happy-go-lucky Xander back. ❤️