[Review] The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Goodreads Description

I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.
Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.
Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.
Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.
The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

I first heard of The Sea of Tranquility when I saw Hootie (Amanda) tweeting it up. She raved and raved about it. Shortly after I noticed a few of my other friends, Andrea & Autumn were falling in love with it. So fast forward a few weeks later, I happened to stumble across this title on NetGalley. I couldn't resist my little finger from clicking request and was actually surprised I was accepted, but so grateful. I might not have known what I was missing out on. I fell in love with absolutely every part of this book.

First!!! The cover. I love this cover, I looked at it for months before I realized what the silhouettes were made of. Now having read it, that detail makes the cover even more fitting. Awesome Covers = Happy Me!! There is another cover which is equally as pretty and perfect. Not sure what one is the correct one at this point.

Nastya is one of your main Characters. It bounces between her pov and Josh's. She's been through some tough stuff. That's actually a weak way of putting it, but you will see. Tough doesn't even remotely describe it. She is literally broken, and my heart bled for her. I'm not going to pretend I understood her. I understood parts of her, but not all of her actions. That didn't keep me from connecting with her though. I couldn't help but love her. I wanted to jump in this book and make everything better.

Josh Bennett. I'm in love. What girl in the world doesn't want a Josh Bennett in their life? He also has his baggage, but nothing compared to Nastya's. I loved watching their relationship grow. They are so far from perfect and their flaws are what made them so believable. It's slow going, just the way I like it. I'm a firm believer that friendship should come first.

Side characters, I won't elaborate too much for fear of spoiling, but I loved just about all of them. Drew, he was the comic relief. He made me laugh constantly, but he's more than just that. Just you wait and see. He's pretty awesome.

I didn't know what I was getting into when I started this. I'm having a serious book hangover right now. Lately I'm loving these books that can evoke emotion in me. I laughed, I cried, I felt so many things, I'm exhausted in a totally satisfied way. The ending.... Perfection. I hope that's not too spoilery. I just can't leave this review without mentioning that. I highly recommend The Sea of Tranquility to everyone. After reading this, I will never be the same. These are the kinds of books that stay with you. These are the kind of books I love. Seriously, go check this one out!

Amazon/BarnesNoble

Side note, while writing my review I decided to listen to Vanessa Carlton. It seemed fitting since she's a piano player and all. This song came on in my playlist, and I just had to share it with my review.