Review: Saving Brad

Saving Brad by Siobhan Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, time to confess, Siobhan Davis won me over: I am a Brad fan now.

Saving Brad is the fifth book in the Kennedy Boys series, and the second book to work as a standalone novel. As with the prior book, Loving Kalvin, I do believe it works best if you read the Kyler books prior to reading this one. In fact, I’m of the belief each and every book in this series needs to be read for the best experience. Whilst each relationship arc is wonderful alone, there are snippets seen throughout all the books. We get ideas of what is to come for the relationships in future books, we get to see how relationships from the prior books have developed, and these things work to make the standalone books all the stronger.

That being said, the Kyler books will not be for everyone. I completely understand why some people will enter on one of the standalone novels. However, for those to be following the series, this book will work to make a lot of fans happy. As my starting line stated – I’m now a Brad fan. Brad is one of the favourite characters in the series, and I believe the high demand for his story worked towards it being published early into the series, yet I was never a fan. It’s probably one of the most unpopular opinions surround Siobhan Davis, and yet I could never bring myself to like him all that much. His story intrigued me, I cannot deny that, but I never really liked him.

As you can see, things changed in this one. I went in tentative about it being Brad’s story, yet the snapshot we were given at the end of Loving Kalvin had me eager. It was a complex mix of emotions. So much excitement, yet it was somewhat reserved compared to my excitement for the other books. The more negative emotions, however, were quickly pushed away. Siobhan Davis pulled her usual trick – she hooked me early, and I found myself unable to put the book down. The characters, the events, the drama – the entire story – managed to dig deep into my very being and I could not put the book down.

Loving Kalvin was an emotional read on a number of levels, yet it pales in comparison to Saving Brad. They’re both deeply emotional in many ways, yet the situations dealt with in Saving Brad are much heavier. From the moment we were introduced to Racheal I had a few ideas about how her story would play out – things she said, things she had done, had me believing certain secrets would one day come to the forefront. When I found out she was to be the leading lady in Brad’s story, I wasn’t at all surprised when the synopsis pretty much confirmed my belief. Nevertheless, I was waiting on the specifics of the situation. Very quickly, we get to see how Racheal has a dark past and secrets that will rip anyone apart. I worked out the specifics of the situation quite early, but that failed to lessen the impact when the reveal came about – it was dark, it was emotional, and it worked so well in this story. There have been hints of darkness throughout all the books in this series, but I believe this one to deal with the darkest of issues. In other words, it is not a story for the faint of hearts. It will be a trigger for some, and it will leave emotional scars.

Whilst Racheal’s story is the darker element, Brad’s story is also highly emotional. As I’ve stated, his story has interested me throughout the series. I’m so glad we finally got to see how everything came together in that regard. It was emotional in completely different ways, working to pull your emotions in so many directions as each element of the story was presented. A lot of Brad’s story works to add the lighter tone to the story. There are still many dark moments to be found, but a lot of the elements are in the classical Kennedy drama sense.

As for the relationship between the two of them, I came to ship it more than I’d expected. They played off of each other so well, their different personalities and individual stories making for an explosive read. Alone they were both characters I was never crazy about – together, I lost myself in their story. It hit me hard in so many places, and it left me emotionally raw by the time I was done.

There were two things I wasn’t crazy about, if I’m honest, but I realise these things are a personal preference.

The first is some of the choices made by certain members of the Kennedy family. I’m really not going to say too much, due to spoilers, but certain things felt like a bit too much. When we return to the Kennedy home, I found myself surprised by the turn of events. I understand the choice, but it felt a bit too much to me – I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it. I understood, but it felt too much. The other is something to do with a reveal made by one of the characters towards the end of the book. Again, it was something I understood, but I wasn’t sure if I felt it was the right choice – at first I thought it was just the shock, but as I thought about it, I felt it jarred slightly with the image I had of the character. Both of these are things I can understand, I can rationalise the choices, but I felt as though it wasn’t what I ever expected to see of the family.

The other thing I wasn’t overly crazy about was the ending. Whilst there was closure, I felt as though things happened rather suddenly. I’m not going to go into detail, and I know why things played out the way they did, but I’m not sure if I was completely happy. To me, the latter part of the book had an almost romantic suspense feel about it. I love a good romantic suspense, and I set my bar rather high. I know this wasn’t a romantic suspense book, but the way elements towards the end slipped in that direction meant my expectation towards the ended was lifted. It did have the emotional impact of the rest of the book, but I wasn’t on the edge of my seat as action sequences of this sort usually leave me. I’m not quite sure what it was, but it hit me emotionally yet it failed to get my heart pumping.

Overall, however, I loved this one. I’m both surprised and glad that Siobhan Davis managed to win me over when it comes to Brad, as I honestly wasn’t sure whether it would be possible. Siobhan Davis managed it though, and I’m grateful. He may never be my number one favourite character in this series, but I’m certainly a bigger fan that I was prior to this one.

As a final note, I’m even more excited for the future books now. I’ve been a big Keven fan from early in the series and he completely stole my heart in this one – the sooner I get my hands on his story, the happier I will be. Honestly, he was a total babe in this one – my love for him has only grown. The snippet provided into Kaden at the end of this one has left me excited for his story also – I feel as though we’re going to get a Siobhan Davis spin on another popular trope, and I cannot wait for it.

Bring on the future Kennedy Boys!

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