REVIEW: No More Confessions by Louise Rozett

No More Confessions (Confessions #3) by Louise Rozett
Stonesong, 2015
[Goodreads] [Book Depository]

Previous Installments: Confessions of An Angry Girl | Confessions of An Almost-Girlfriend

ROSE ZARELLI is done confessing because ​confessions are for people who have done something wrong. ​And I haven’t done anything wrong. Here, I’ll prove it to you.

1) After my mother got that call, I “borrowed” her car. (Because you can’t steal your mother’s car, can you?) I don’t really remember driving downtown, but I do remember…

2) …getting past the bouncer at Dizzy’s (I mean, it’s his job to spot a fake ID, so that’s on him)…

​3) …and then later, telling my mother the truth about the bar but lying about how I got in. (A truth totally cancels out a lie, right?)

After all, what’s a little duplicity when finding Jamie Forta is the only thing that’s going to keep you from losing what’s left of your mind?

See? Junior year is off to a great start.

I have not been shy about my love of Louise Rozett’s Confessions series. It tends to be on a lot of my Top Ten Tuesday lists, and I recommend it fairly frequently outside of the blogosphere as well. Rose and Jamie – and the other supporting characters – are all amazingly written and fleshed out, full of flaws and yet endearing. Rose especially is such a strong character, not only because she’s been able to sort of come to terms with her issues, but also continued to fight through them. She’s a good friend, someone who tries to do the right thing (but doesn’t always manage it), who is trying to pull herself up from the dark pit that her father’s death put her in. Her relationship with Jamie – while admittedly driving me bonkers – is so complex and strange, and yet – as the reader – you can’t help but hope they can figure themselves out. For me, at least, No More Confessions was exactly what I’d wanted, and yet, not at all what I was expecting.

The first two books in this series put me through the emotional wringer, and this installment was no different. Rose just made my heart hurt; the video of her dad, the way Tracy had become so distant to the point that she didn’t want to confide in her, the drama with her mom’s new boyfriend, and the fact that Jamie was once again being Jamie-ish really made things difficult for her. I loved that she was going to therapy and trying to apply what she’d figured out to her life and her relationship with Jamie, and really loved that she wasn’t always able to do so. It’s one thing to know what you’re supposed to do, and another to actually look at the person you love and actually do it. I found her struggles to be very realistic, and loved that we were privy to her inner struggles and conversations. She’s just so very real, and that’s honestly the only thing I can say without giving too much away.

And oh, Jamie. JAMIE. I knew from the beginning that I was going to be feeling Jamie-induced angst from this book and I wasn’t wrong. His struggles – and (incorrect) beliefs about himself – just broke my heart into pieces. I hated what he was doing, the choices he was making, and yet I couldn’t help but love him at the same time. For all of Rose’s struggles, she at least had support; Jamie, I think, was left to sort of flounder on his own, even though there were people around that he could have turned to and chose not to. The resolution of his storyline shocked and surprised me in all the best ways, even while it just made me want to cry at the same time. These Confessions books: so good at making me feel so many things.

All in all, No More Confessions was everything I’d hoped it would be. I loved being privy to Rose and Jamie’s story, and can only hope that there might just be one more book lurking in Ms. Rozett’s mind. If not, this is an okay ending – open-ended and ambiguous, but okay. Mostly I’m just greedy and am not ready to let them go. In the author’s acknowledgements, she wrote “To Rose and Jamie”. I can only agree with that statement. All the love – and thanks – go to Rose and Jamie. Thank you so much for giving me such an amazing story. ♥