Early Book Review of The Wright Brother by Marie Hall

From the moment I opened my eyes I could only see the world in shades of gray. There was no noise, no sound, nothing. Deaf and colorblind, I was a loner. My world was bleak, silent and empty, until her. Until I met my neighbor, Elisa Jane Adrian. I want her. I need her. The fractured part of me feels whole when she's around. Like the world isn't so dark, isn't so bleak, and so still. I know it's impossible, but when I look at Elisa I swear I can see color, can hear the gentle inhalations of her breath. I know she feels it too, this magic, this desperate desire...

I first saw him when I was three. Julian Wright was different than any other guy I'd ever known. He sees the world in a way I know I never will. But he intrigues me. The way he looks at me with his sea green eyes, how he hypnotizes me with his smile.
It's dangerous these feelings I have for him. Reckless and stupid. I'm so much older than him, I know better. And I'll fight these desires, no one will ever know how I feel. I'll even pretend to myself that I'm not as hooked on him as he is on me.
I'll move away to Ireland, I'll forget him, but that's the thing about the Wrights, they have a way of getting under your skin, into your soul, and no matter the time or distance, once a Wright sets their eyes on you, there's no going back...ever.

********************

As a disabled person I love discovering books featuring characters that represent me.  With The Wright Brother we have an amazing and understanding hero and his angsty and rocky road to romance with the girl who's been a part of his life since the day he was born.  With its heartbreaking moments of peer pressure weighing on their connection readers are kept on the edge of their seats praying for a HEA.

Champion swimmer Elisa has been a part of the Wright triplet's lives since they were born and had an undeniable connection with Julian, the quiet and contemplative brother who happens to be deaf and colorblind.  As children she sees them as her brothers and their lives become inexplicably entwined with hers.  Between her and Julian in particular there's a special bond where they have their own way of communicating.  As they grow older their connection deepens and that's when things become complicated.  Elisa starts seeing Julian in a less than brotherly way, but because he's two years younger she fights an attraction that's clearly meant to be.  As the years pass their relationship has its ups and downs with moments of deep and profound connections along with gutwrenching breakups that ultimately coalesce in Elisa discovering the true meaning of love.  Elisa is a character that is at once admirable as well as frustrating.  As the story was told from her prospective we got to see her feelings and thoughts in-depth as they evolved through the years which left me disappointed in her at times.  She was always accepting of Julian's disability, learning sign language, as well as having their own special language.  She was drawn to him completely but let their age difference consume her which led to wishy-washy and hurtful life choices.  She would push him away while bringing him closer and I felt that she led him on at times.  She never made the sacrifices he did for their happiness which lessened my opinion of her further.  I also never felt she was as deeply committed as he was in their relationship as her head was easily turned by a pretty boy late in the story.  Though she was older in age I felt she was more childish in understanding feelings.  When describing Julian it was all about his looks at first with deeper impressions coming much later.  Ultimately she became an adult worthy of the amazing Julian, but I wish her journey in getting to that point hadn't been so frustrating through misunderstandings of her own making.

Ms. Hall's depiction of Julian's disability was nicely handled and seamlessly incorporated into the story.  He was an engaging and strong-willed character and was put through the emotional wringer by Elisa's poor choices.  He had bouts of depression and loneliness that we barely saw but defined who he became and I truly wish the story had given us more insight into his thoughts as he was the stronger and more likable character.  I would've liked to see the world through his colorblind eyes and see into people's souls beyond their words.  Julian always knew he wanted Elisa and gave her the time to realize the truth of what they meant to each other.  He was steadfast in his love and he's now my new book boyfriend as he's deliciously sexy and sweet in his words and deeds.

At times the storyline took on a soap opera feel, especially with Mandy's fit of jealousy over Julian's attention to Elisa as well as Ava's jealousy over Elisa's swimming talent.  This distracted from the overall romance and was an attempt to elicit sympathy for Elisa that didn't really work for me as I desperately wanted to see more of Julian.  His life and career was taking off and we never got to see it as the story was focused on Elisa.  Along on this rollercoaster ride to HEA is a memorable cast of secondary characters that range from insightful parents to supportive friends to the charming, fun, and flirty Wright brothers, Christian and Roman.  I hope to see their stories told as they too had emotional ups and downs, hidden behind humor, but equally engaging as dealing with a disabled sibling isn't always easy.  From start to finish I was fully immersed in this story and its melodramatic romance but often left frustrated and disappointed by Elisa.  She was at times superficial and subtly self-centered but in Julian's presence she shined.  Julian is an enigmatic hero who spoke volumes with his silence.  He was sexy, supportive, and wise beyond his years.  The unrelenting sexual tension between him and Elisa crackled which ultimately led to super steamy and sensual sexual interludes between the two.  Ultimately, because of Julian, I enjoyed this story and its depiction of disability and growing up though I wish we'd seen more of it through Julian's eyes.  Once again Ms. Hall has successfully tugged at my heartstrings with her imperfect yet perfect for me hero and I hope to revisit the Wright brothers as their stories deserve to be told.

My rating for this is a B.

*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.