The End of Feeling by Cindy C Bennett

Title: The End of Feeling

Author: Cindy C Bennett 

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Online Ratings: 4 out of 5 stars

*I RECEIVED THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW*

NO SPOILERS! 

Summary from Goodreads: 

Benjamin Nefer seems to have it all. He’s the most popular guy in school, the star quarterback with college scouts looking at him, his grades are near the top of his class, he can get any girl he wants . . . but he hides behind his dream life to mask the nightmare of his reality.

Charlie Austin is the new girl. Forced to move in with a bitter aunt, she only wants to protect her fragile mom from the world’s cruelty. When Benjamin sets his sights on Charlie, she’s armored against his charm—friends warned her about Benjamin’s game of pursuing and then dumping a long line of girls, not caring about the broken hearts he leaves behind. She doesn’t count on how single-minded he can be when she refuses him, or how charismatic, easing into her life through what he claims is just friendship.

Benjamin thought he could keep Charlie in the same place he keeps all girls—something to be used and then discarded. But Charlie has as many secrets as he does, secrets he’s determined to discover while keeping his own hidden. He realizes she’s the perfect girlfriend candidate . . . someone he can use to keep up the façade of a perfect life. Now he just has to keep his frozen heart from softening toward this unique girl, because if he doesn’t, his carefully constructed lies might just come thundering down around him, crushing him beneath the burden of feeling.

My Opinion:

The End of Feeling by Cindy C Bennett is a book I definitely recommend to YA romance readers. This novel was a romantic, contemporary which made my heart explode because of all the feels. I just can not get over how perfect and realistic this book was. The End of Feeling follows Charlie, short for Charlotte, the main female protagonist and Benjamin, the main male protagonist. Charlie story was quite unique and different from other protagonist's stories. Her mum suffers from a terrible disease causing her mind to function at a child's level. Seeing Charlie struggle to keep her mum safe was quite heart breaking. From terrible experiences Charlie had to face in life I can now conclude that she is definitely one of the most strongest protagonists I have ever read about. From being the new girl to being the core to her family we see her true, courageous self shining through the novel. Readers felt a great empathy and love for Charlie as Bennett's elegant writing style helped make her character relatable to. The male protagonist, Benjamin also faces many adversities in life, from being abused by his dad at home to being the 'player' at school. His character faced many challenges and due to this hardships he had to turn of his 'humanity'. I adored how Charlie and Ben's relationship was not forced in anyway and I loved their friendship as well. They both could relate to each other and help each other become better people. The character development from the beginning to the end of the novel in both characters was quite evident. This novel broke my heart many times and I cried heaps of times throughout this novel because of the "feels". This novel dealt with very strong themes such as abuse which is why I recommend this novel to mature YA readers. Cindy C Bennett has written a beautiful novel which definitely made me wanting more to read. I really wish Charlie and Ben's story was a series as I felt really connected with the characters and am dying to read more about them. The only fault in this novel which stopped me from giving this contemporary a full five stars was at times due to the duel narrative I felt I could 'hear' Charlie's voice in Ben's point of view. Other than that this novel was phenomenal and beautifully written. Thank you Cindy Bennett for sending me an e-arc, I really appreciate it. 

- Erisha <4