The Wright Brother by Marie Hall

From the moment I opened my eyes I could only see the world in shades of gray. There was no noise, no sound, nothing. Deaf and colorblind, I was a loner. My world was bleak, silent and empty, until her. Until I met my neighbor, Elisa Jane Adrian. I want her. I need her. The fractured part of me feels whole when she's around. Like the world isn't so dark, isn't so bleak, and so still. I know it's impossible, but when I look at Elisa I swear I can see color, can hear the gentle inhalations of her breath. I know she feels it too, this magic, this desperate desire... 

I first saw him when I was three. Julian Wright was different than any other guy I'd ever known. He sees the world in a way I know I never will. But he intrigues me. The way he looks at me with his sea green eyes, how he hypnotizes me with his smile.

It's dangerous these feelings I have for him. Reckless and stupid. I'm so much older than him, I know better. And I'll fight these desires, no one will ever know how I feel. I'll even pretend to myself that I'm not as hooked on him as he is on me.

I'll move away to Ireland, I'll forget him, but that's the thing about the Wrights, they have a way of getting under your skin, into your soul, and no matter the time or distance, once a Wright sets their eyes on you, there's no going back...ever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm torn on this one. There were things that I absolutely loved about this story, and then other things that drove me absolutely nuts. What I loved about this story was Julian. He was such a fascinating and enigmatic character. I could feel a pull, a desire to know more about him, just like Elise. I wanted to see the world through his eyes, to jump inside his creative mind. Unfortunately, Marie didn't give us this opportunity. The story is told from the perspective of Elisa, who I have to say got on my nerves on more than one occasion. She seemed to be the cause of many of her own problems, and I had a hard time sympathizing with her. In fact, on more than one occasion, I found myself frustrated with her inability to get out of her own way. The story follows both Elisa and Julian from childhood to adulthood, so I think a lot of the angst was supposed to steam from "growing pains," but it just felt dragged out at times, and I wanted to shake Elisa. In the end, I was happy with the story's resolution. Overall, this was not one of my favorites, but it is a quick and decent read. It's also a standalone, so no worries about getting tied down to a series.