EXPERIENCE BLOG TOUR: Against All Odds by Aliaa El-Nashar

Against All Odds by Aliaa El-Nashar

The Story revolves around:

-A boy called Damien who seems to have it all. He's rich, good-looking and athletic. He's also arrogant, obnoxious and a major player. Damien is one of 5 children who seem to not get along, until one day Damien meets Alexis and his life is turned inside out.

-A girl called Alexis who has trust issues due to her parents. Her best friends mean the world to her, and she refuses to date anyone that doesn't fit completely in her 'Perfect Guy' list.

They're thrown together a lot and start to face inner demons they've hidden away for so long.

This book was so unbelievably cute!  It starts out a little slow, but it quickly picks up speed as more characters are introduced.  The story opens and we are introduced to Damien.  He is a rich kid, and a bit cliched as the party boy that uses girls.  You never really see this side of him though, so it's not hard to forget his past.  When Damien meets Alexis his whole world is turned upside down.  As he puts it, it's love at first sight.  Alexis, on the other hand, has trust issues.  The only people she's close to are her best friends, Cameron and Eddie.  She has a crazy little list of what qualities the perfect guy should have, and she won't even consider dating a guy that doesn't meet all of them.  The relationship between Damien and Alexis falls into the dreaded "friend zone", and Damien is determined to move past that.  But this book is more than just a love story.  It's also a family story, and a quite beautiful one.  Damien and his siblings, Taylor, William, Owen and Jane, don't really get along.  Actually, they don't really talk at all, not since an accident when they were all children.  But as circumstances keep throwing Alexis into Damien's family they realize he's not the only one that has changed since she came into their lives.  I loved Damien's family, especially his sister, Jane! 

This story can be heartbeaking at times, but it's also very heartwarming.  Watching the transition between Damien and his siblings is so sweet.  It's obvious that the indifferance they show is not how they really feel.  They actually care for each other.  I really enjoyed Against All Odds.  There are a few things that seem a bit quirky while you're reading, but it's obvious that it's the cultural differances of the author, Aliaa El-Nashar.  It's not distracting though so I was still able to enjoy reading.  This is Aliaa's first novel, and I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with in the future as she really polishes her skills.  It's obvious she can come up with great stories!

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I had the recent pleasure of inteviewing Jane, Damien's sister.  What a lovely girl!

FoSW:  Given the nature of your relationship with your brother and his personality and reputation, what were your first thoughts when you realized just how Damien felt about Alexis?

Jane:  It was really weird to be honest. I mean, that was Damien, my brother, who broke the heart of many a girl. He was careless and reckless with their emotions and never remembered their names or gave them a second thought. It felt like poetic justice that he'd fall so hard for the one girl that didn't seem to be interested in him, it was certainly worth every moment seeing him so flabbergasted. I was so confused though, and curious, what was so special about her that had him twisted in knots?

FoSW:  It was obvious from the beginning that you really liked Alexis. What was it about her that you liked so much? Did you realize right away how she would change your family?

Jane:  Well, to be honest she had already changed the family before I'd even met her. That was the main reason I was excited to see her in the first place. This girl, who was the reason my brother allowed us into his room, to jest with him again, to just sit and talk, to attend my birthday party long enough to see my reaction to the gift she'd chosen. I of course never realized how far she'd go, but that was an incredible start.

What I liked about her was how she was down to earth, she wasn't threatened by us or our wealth. Many girls my brothers dated were either intimidated by our family name or took it for granted, but she did neither. She'd treated us like she'd treat any other friends. She was very sweet and friendly, but you could tell she was guarded. Though I guess I would have liked her anyway with the way she made my brother edgy.

FoSW:  I loved your reaction to the bracelet that Alexis helped Damien pick out for your birthday. Have you added any charms to it?

Jane:  Yes, actually I have! It's a beautiful bracelet let's face it, not to mention it showed how well my brother knew me, even though it wasn't he who picked them out. He still remembered stuff about me when I was sure he hadn't been paying attention for years. I bought a charm with a videocamera on it and another with a pretty high heel shoe. I can't wait to buy more though!

FoSW:  I'm dying to know about you and Eddie. I see a bit of a love triangle there. I'm extremely curious about what's going on with you two. Can you gossip about that?

Jane:  There's not much to tell really. I mean, I guess it's pretty obvious to everyone that I have a huge crush on him, it's not like I can hide it. I try to keep my snide side on alert to at least regain some dignity when he's around. But honestly, I've never seen a male specimen like him before. He's stunning, but also sweet, caring, funny and very smart. Not to mention, he has such a sad history, all you can think of is to try and wipe it away for the time being, even though he tries not to show his true feelings.

Edmund is a mixture of my twin brothers Will and Ty. I am convinced that's why they get along. He's so charming and irresistible like Ty, but has sworn off girls like Will. Not that Ty is always dating or anything himself, but he's gone to more dates than Will.

The love triangle part is awful because I absolutely adore Cam. She's an amazing friend, and the way she looks at Eddie, you could tell she's halfway in love with him. I feel guilty, because whenever he catches her looking at him, he just hugs her and you could tell he felt sorry and sad for the way she felt, knowing he could never return those feelings. At least with me, our battering helps calms things down a little bit.  I'm doing my best to get over him. I'll let you know what happens with that.

It was really nice talking to you Leigh Ann! Bye!

FoSW:  Thank you Jane!!

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