The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden (The Coincidence #1) by Jessica Sorensen

"In the existence of our lives, there is a single coincidence that brings us together and for a moment, our hearts beat as one."

Callie's world is shattered on the day of her twelfth birthday and she has spent the last 6 years trying to hold it together and become invisible. Kayden might appear to live the perfect life, but looks are deceiving and suffering in silence and shutting down are the only ways he knows how to survive.

Callie and Kayden have gone to school with each other for years, but Kayden never really paid attention to her. On the night of Kayden's graduation party, Callie happens to be in the right place at the right time and saves Kayden's life. She then disappears off to college, hoping for a new start, but Kayden cannot stop thinking about her. When he ends up at the same college as Callie, he is determined to get to know the girl that saved his life. As Callie and Kayden get closer, they realize that they both are hiding dark secrets. The pull that Callie and Kayden feel for each other is undeniable and both must learn to trust and open up again if they are ever going to save each other.

I originally came across this book as a recommendation on Goodreads and after my good friend Erlynn over at Books Hug Back insisted that I read it without delay, I decided to pick it up. I loved it! Be prepared for some heavy subject matter if you pick it up. The characters are dealing with some pretty heavy stuff including rape and child abuse, but they are raw and real. I enjoyed the author's style and liked how the perspective of the story switched back and forth between Callie and Kayden.

Fair warning there is a fantastically tortuous cliff hanger that left me with my mouth hanging open, tightly gripping my iPad, and gasping with shock. There appear to be two more books planned for this series with unclear publication dates - sometime in 2013. It is going to be tortuous to wait for the next book as I really want to know what happens next, but such is the plight of a bookworm. If you don't handle cliff hangers well, you may want to wait until the whole series is out, but this is definitely one you do not want to miss. If the end result is anything other than Callie and Kayden riding off happily into the sunset however, I might find myself a disappointed (and angry) reader...just saying ;)