Review: To My Hero by Danielle Sibarium

To My Hero by Danielle Sibarium 
Release Date: April 2013
Pagecount: 260 pages
Publisher: KFR Communications
Source: Author in exchange for an honest review
Buy It: Amazon | B&N

Description from Goodreads:
It would’ve been different if I had courage, even an ounce of it. But I was a coward from the day I met you, Ryan Crowley. I still am. In the end it doesn’t matter. The bottom line is the same. It’s my fault.

When the unthinkable happens Carly Cavanough is left beaten, betrayed, and devastated. Her best friend doesn’t understand. Her parents won’t listen. Everyone in her life turns against her. She’s alone. Completely alone, except for Ryan Crowley, the boy she’s been crushing on for years. She won’t admit to him what she can’t admit to herself. But he understands without words. He knows more about what she’s going through than she can possibly imagine and he knows what it will take to start the healing.

With Ryan’s help Carly begins to piece together the fragments of her once perfect life and embarks on a journey of love and healing, just long enough for the rug to be pulled out from under her again. Can she find the strength and will to pull herself together to save Ryan and herself when their lives are on the line?

I tend to be a fan of books in second person POV. I haven't really read a bunch written that way (the only two coming to my mind right now are Stolen and this one, though I am certain there was at least one or two more), so I don't have a huge pool to prove this, but I do know that I love the idea of a whole book written TO one person. And that is what this book is--one big letter (blog, technically) to a guy. Her hero. And yeah, I loved it.

The writing was very well done. It wasn't glaringly obvious that this story was written TO someone, except for every now and then. And by that I mean that I didn't spend the whole time being annoyed by seeing "you" did this and "you" said that. The writing was done well enough that I was immersed in the story enough that all the "you" talk didn't bother me. Plus, the story was so intense. Right away, I felt the impact of the story, and that held true throughout the whole thing. Danielle Sibarium also did a great job of approaching a serious topic, from the situation to the characters' actions and reactions, the situation worked and the serious tone was felt.

The plot hit the ground running, which I was thankful for. There wasn't a supremely long amount of time spent introducing us to everything. We just hopped in and caught up as things moved along--I was cool with that. I didn't get bored with the beginning of this book in the slightest, which is honestly an accomplishment. Beginnings can take some time to truly win me over sometimes. 

Carly wasn't a bad MC. I felt like she jumped to conclusions sometimes, like when she stopped being friends with her best friend so easily, and I thought she kind of needed to stop being so pessimistic, but I'm going to excuse the majority of her annoying qualities because her situation had to have been a struggle. I mean, DANG. It was cray cray. But she handled it well, and I liked that. The only thing I really fault her for is ever distrusting Ryan. He was clearly a good guy, and he was clearly 100% there for her no matter what. She needed to chill out before accusing him of stuff. Speaking of Ryan, I totally heart him. He was an awesome hero to have, and Carly was so lucky to know him. I respect this guy something fierce, and I loved reading about him. If there were ever a book boy who deserved a whole novel written to him, Ryan could definitely be the one.

The romance was slow at first, understandably, but the gap in which the romance would normally fit was filled with sweetness. Caring. All Ryan. Once they started being actually romantic with each other, things were so, so great. Ryan was patient and kind, and I approve of this couple so much. I would approve of just about anything that made Ryan happy. That's how much I adore him.

There were, of course, a few things that I did not like. Carly's best friend, first of all. I think she gave up to quickly on trying to figure out what was up with Carly. I understand that she had a problem with Ryan, but wouldn't she care enough for her friend to at least put some more effort into helping her? And Carly's parents. It felt a little far fetched that they'd jump into siding with her ex-boyfriend so easily. I mean, I get they had issues, but that was crazy. I did like that her parents seemed to not totally suck at the end, but still. And lastly, the whole drama with Ryan's ex-girlfriend. I kind of felt like that was over the top. We didn't need that little extra thing. I get that we needed something to test their trust for each other, but I didn't feel like that was the right thing. 

Overall, I highly enjoyed To My Hero. It's a well written story that seethes intensity the whole way through and is filled with characters I felt for, especially Ryan. I was already a fan of Danielle Sibarium, thanks to her Heart Waves books, but I am now seriously looking forward to when I get to read another novel by this author. :)

 Actual Rating: 3.5 hearts