Close Enough to Touch by Colleen Oakley [Review]

One time a boy kissed me and I almost died...And so begins the story of Jubilee Jenkins, a young woman with a rare and debilitating medical condition: she’s allergic to other humans. After a humiliating near-death experience in high school, Jubilee has become a recluse, living the past nine years in the confines of the small town New Jersey house her unaffectionate mother left to her when she ran off with a Long Island businessman. But now, her mother is dead, and without her financial support, Jubilee is forced to leave home and face the world—and the people in it—that she’s been hiding from.

One of those people is Eric Keegan, a man who just moved into town for work. With a daughter from his failed marriage who is no longer speaking to him, and a brilliant, if psychologically troubled, adopted son, Eric’s struggling to figure out how his life got so off-course, and how to be the dad—and man—he wants so

 desperately to be. Then, one day, he meets a mysterious woman named Jubilee, with a unique condition...

Close Enough to Touch is an evocative, poignant, and heartrending exploration of the power and possibilities of the human heart.

6 THE FEELS STARS

A Librarian Meets a Single Dad

This is my first Colleen Oakley book and it won’t be the last! I can’t describe to you the FEELS I received after reading Close Enough to Touch. Gah, this novel is EPIC, FANTASTIC and HEART-WARMING. It had everything I looked for in a feel-good novel with well developed, but slightly flawed complex characters, a thought out storyline and just pure adorableness all around.

I had ZERO expectations going into this book. I thought the cover was quirky and the summary intriguing, but I never thought in a million years how emotional I would get.

Jubilee almost died when she got her first kiss. No joke. She isn’t like normal girls. She has a rare allergy.

She’s allergic to PEOPLE. It’s when she touches people she can get a rash or skin irritation. She might even die from it. 

I was hooked from the first chapter. I instantly knew I liked the writing style. It has a very sweet, no fuss kind of flow. I liked the beginning where I got a glimpse into Jubilee’s life and how she’s copes with her allergy. 

Jubilee is a great Heroine. Her situation is kind of sad, since she lives alone and doesn’t leave her house, EVER. She hasn’t left her house in nine years and you wonder what kind of person she is. She loves to read as her books are her only friends.

Then you have Eric. He’s is a total stranger, but he’s the other half of the story. He’s a divorced dad and has a 14 year old daughter. His daughter lives with his ex-wife. Eric also has an adopted son, Aja. I really loved Eric’s dynamic. First off, I love single parents, so Eric was my kind of guy. He’s a WONDERFUL father and tries really hard to connect with both of his kids. Aja is a part of the story too and you feel for him as well.

The more you read, the more you realized that these people are very complex, very flawed, but very lovable. They somehow all connect and meet and it becomes this wonderful story, filled with emotion, hope, pain, laughter, angst and love. 

I love the interaction between Jubilee and Eric. It’s kind of awkward and VERY cute. Jubilee is trying for the first time to be on her own in the real world and she doesn’t know how to react to Eric. Eric is a single dad trying to survive the day to day life, but there’s something about Jubilee that makes him want to get to know her.

This isn’t a insta-lust love story, but it’s a TRUE romance story with a slow burn

I totally get the cover now and I can’t believe I judged this book before I got it. It just goes to show it’s important to try NEW authors. You never know when you will find your next book hangover. 

AN ARC was provided

AMAZON - TBR March 7

Colleen Oakley’s debut novel BEFORE I GO was a People Magazine Best New Book Pick in January 2015, an Us Weekly “Must” Pick, a Publisher’s Lunch Buzz Book, a January 2015 Indie Next List Pick and deemed “an impressive feat…an immensely entertaining, moving, and believable read” by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Formerly the senior editor of Marie Claire and editor-in-chief of Women’s Health & Fitness, Colleen’s articles, essays, and interviews have been featured in The New York Times, Ladies’ Home Journal, Marie Claire, Women’s Health, Redbook, Parade, and Martha Stewart Weddings. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, four kids and the world's biggest lapdog, Bailey.

http://www.colleenoakley.com

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