Once again, I'm at a lost of words and experiencing various emotions at the words of Jay Bellmore to this review will be added later as i AM travelingAfter finishing Something Like Summer, I had, not only tears in my eyes, but high expectations of Something Like Winter I was afraid wouldn't be met.Let me just say, this book met, and exceeded all expectations! I loved it so much! It left me with a huge smile on my face! The Seasons series is by far one of the best book series I have ever had the pleasure to read.I really enjoyed Something Like Winter, and I was trying to figure out if I enjoyed it more than Summer, but I couldn't really compare the two because they fit together so well. I was fascinated with the idea of getting Tim's perspective of him and Ben's relationship! In Summer I found Tim's actions to be irredeemable, he should never have left Ben and manipulated Ben and Jace's relationship. I even talked about how stalker-ish Tim was and how it was stupid for Ben to lust after Tim. After reading this book I regret all hatred towards Tim, every cruel thought I ever thought about Tim I take back. Tim was broken, searching for the thing that would mend his broken heart and that something was Ben, I can't believe I would ever think that Tim was selfish and rude, he was just a lost boy, looking for somebody to love.I loved seeing Ben and Tim's relationship develop from Tim's point of view. It was amazing to finally have another piece of the puzzle that is their relationshipOne of my favorite scenes, and one of the most heartbreaking was when Tim came out to his family (yes this is out of chronological order, I'm sorry). Tim's family situation was relatable to me and it was interesting to witness their reaction to his coming out. You could feel Tim's anxiousness as he told his parents, and you could feel his shock of rejection, followed by his anger when he learned that their religion was going to turn them away from their son. You also could feel the sense of relief that Tim felt; this mixture of emotions made this scene amazingly powerful. I really liked seeing the new experiences and "extended scenes" of Ben and Tim's relationship. Seeing new parts of a perfect relationship only made me fall in love with them as I had in Summer, just in so many more and different ways. Reading Winter was harder emotionally because you knew the story. You knew the struggles Ben and Tim faced and you couldn't do anything but attempt to postpone the inevitable. Having Ben and Tim break up again ripped my heart to shreds. Reading Summer I was furious at Tim for leaving Ben, but with this newly developed opinion of Tim, lost in, and scared of, the world I couldn't do anything else but bawl my eyes out. I expected Ben and Tim's teenage relationship to be the heart of this book but it wasn't. I expected the book to have a lot more of their teenage years than it did, but I wasn't disappointed, just intrigued to see the rest of Tim's life. **Part 2/3/4 (MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD)**Travis... I hate Travis... I hate Tim for wasting his time on Travis! I can 100% understand the fear Travis felt, and I think Tim did too, which is why he kept pursuing him as he did BUT he was annoying, rude, and I wanted him to leave as much as Tim did. It frustrated me that Travis couldn't accept himself even when they were completely alone, surrounded by barren land. I suppose that was Bell's intention, to create a character that showed Tim's closeted self to himself, but oh my gosh I hated him.I can't tell you how excited I was when he left, even if it meant Tim almost dying because then Eric could come in and save the day!Eric was such a fascinating character and I was intrigued by his past and wanted to hear all of his stories! I wanted to have a book that documented parts of Eric's life. He was one of the most interesting characters and I can't believe he's gone. Going into Tim and Eric's relationship, much like Tim and Ben, I knew that Eric was going to die of cancer in multiple forms. I tried my best not to become attached, to not put any of my emotions into this relationship that was going to end in heartbreak. I failed. I was as surprised and heartbroken as Tim was to hear of Eric's cancer, and more than a few tears were shed as Tim let the love of his life go.After this we know that Ben comes back into Tim's life and Tim starts it meddle with Ben and Jace's relationship in an attempt to win Ben's heart. While I was reading Something Like Summer, I was quite annoyed with Tim's constant, and obnoxious, attempts to steal Ben from Jace but while reading Winter I didn't feel this anger with Tim any longer, understanding that he did it all out of love and what he thought was right. Then we get to RyanI liked Ryan, sort of. He was charming and cute, which was what Tim saw in him, however, I just wanted Ben to come back and to sweep Tim off of his feet again and to save him from the hellish lifestyle that Ryan had created for Tim. I understood, and could feel the war Tim was having with himself over his true feelings for Ryan, and I'm glad he got rid of him in the end. My favorite part of the entire book was when Tim and Ben get back together! I'm not going to lie, I fangirled when they started seeing each other again. I have to say that Jace's death sent a pang of agony throughout my heart, he was a good man, but I was slightly relieved because Tim and Ben were finally together! I really enjoyed seeing the afterwords of Ben and Tim's relationship. I loved them going to Mexico City and meeting Tim's grandmother. You could see how they both had developed since their teenage years, especially Tim, who had grown to know and accept himself. The epilogue left me smiling like an idiot, a huge development from Summers tragic ending and I couldn't have been happier. Writing this, my eyes are becoming misty know that this book will be the end of one of the best love stories I have ever read. I was trying to decide if I liked Summer or Winter more and I couldn't chose.. I want to read them both again, to fall in love with the story once more. I picked up Something like Autumn from the library. I'm afraid I may not like it because Ben and Tim are my favorite characters but we'll see! Somethings that I did not like about this book that hadn't changed were:1) The length (personal preference). This book was longer than Something Like Summer (which I wish was a good 600 pages longer), but there were scenes and situations that I felt were redundant and could have been cut shorter. 2) The writing style. I mentioned this in my review of Summer, but the characters don't really grow as they speak as they age. Adult Tim sounds, and thinks, the same way that teenage Tim does and vice versa. I would have liked a minutely heightened maturity with the narration BUT I really have no complaints otherwise. A solid 10/10 goes to Something Like WinterThank you guys for reading! Comment below for suggestions of books, or just to chat about this amazing book, another series or anything else. Thanks for Reading,~Prestin M Something Like Winter blew my breath away.It was one of the very few books that has engrossed me so much into the characters and their lives, that I cried through every heartbreak.One thing I really liked about this book that despite it being a companion book it had so much to offer despite the fact that Ben and Tim’s relationship continues to form the backbone of both the books (Something Like Summer and Something Like Winter). This book has so much to offer about Tim’s journey. His endless efforts to make sure that he doesn’t end up a disappointment is far to endearing and quickly uplifting is the realization he makes that making people accept something that isn’t him doesn’t mean he is accepted because they don’t even know exactly what it is they are accepting.Somehow all his relationships with Eric, Travis, his parents, Ryan and even Jace serve such an important background to what kind of man he is. This definitely made me fall in love with Tim Wyman and I finally understand the pull.And like the cherry on the cake I was so happy to learn more about Tim and Ben’s life after Jace’s death. I felt betrayed by Something like summer for leaving me hanging so this book definitely provided some much needed closure.Three words.Poignant. Breathtaking. Unforgettable.
What do You think about Something Like Winter (2012)?
Very beautiful story. My favourtie characters in this book are eric his friend, machelleo.
—Esmeralda
