Gus (Bright Side Book 2) Kindle Edition

I waited a very long time to read this book because Brightside wrecked me. But this book was so good. Healing good. Makes you remember why Brightside was so good, good. Gus had a rough go of it in the beginning of this journey. I was really afraid of what was going to happen. But then he starts to change. Starts to heal. Them “impatient” comes into the story. I really loved their journey. The journey to healing. The journey into become that lead man of Rook. Loved the small things like the sticky notes. Loved how they made it work.Also loved how loving Audrey was. How she opened her home to Scout and Pax. How she helped them thrive. I loved how Gus reconnected with Keller and Stella. Also how Audrey found someone. This book truly was amazing. Don’t be afraid to read it.

***SPOILERS AHEAD: If you haven’t read Bright Side yet (and why haven’t you? It’s AMAZING!) read further with caution – there are spoilers. Gus is a continuation of the most epic story and my Top Favorite Read of 2014! ***“There is something epic that happens every day if you look hard enough for it.”This is the epitome of Gus by, Kim Holden. We pick up right where we left off in Bright Side; one of THE most beautiful and gut wrenching stories I’ve ever experienced. The relationship between Gus & Katie is a thing of beauty – true love for one another and a friendship that requires zero work. These two, cut from the same cloth should be the goal of every friendship. Gus, now on tour with his band Rook is faced with the reality that he has to go on without his , Bright Side. Katie was more than just his friend – she was his first and only love. Gus loves fully – like every person should, with open uninhibited arms. He and Katie were soul mates, lovers and she pushed him to be the best person he could be. He’s just not sure how he’s supposed to go on stage every night and sing the songs she helped create.“Bright Side wasn’t only my best friend; she was like my other half… the other half of my brain, the other half of my conscience, the other half of my sense of humor, the other half of my creativity, the other half of my heart. How do you go back to doing what you did before, when half of you is gone forever?”When the pressures of rock stardom come knocking on his door things start to slowly unravel. But when the alcohol flows freely and girls are throwing themselves at you left and right, it’s inevitable that Gus finds himself over indulging; too much, too fast. Not only is Gus running away from the pressure of being on tour, and shouldering the success his managers are banking on – he’s also running away in an effort to cope with the giant gaping hole Katie’s death has left in his life.“I can’t stop thinking about her. Nothing specific, nothing I can visualize or recall. It’s just pain and emptiness. Darkness. The light, the bright light is gone.”When things start to really veer off track Gus starts to feel himself falling into the pit of cliche rock stars. The decisions is made and his manager hires him a personal assistant/babysitter named Scout. But when Scout moves onto the tour bus, Gus learns very fast that she’s not going to be batting her eye lashes at him, or swooning over the band. She barely utters two words to him. She’s there to do a job and could careless about what she assumes is just another spoiled, over indulgent rock star. She’s there to make sure Gus knows what state they’re in that day, if he looses his cell phone? She replaces it and leaves it on his bed without a word. Most of their conversations are back and forth on post-it-notes. Scout is getting ready to graduate from college – this job will afford her a paid adventure, a favor to her uncle and a much needed geography gap between she and her ex-boyfriend. Gus & Scout; what is there to say? They get off to a rocky start, but Gus being Gus? He’s all for a challenge – a challenge that will leave their lives to intertwine in the best possible ways.“I knew I wasn’t alone. I haven’t written like that since Bright Side was around. I always feel her in my heart these days, because that’s where she lives. I walk around with her inside me every day. And it doesn’t hurt anymore. But the presence I felt tonight wasn’t internal. It was physical. Tangible. Like someone was in the room with me, feeding me. Little did I know, she was just on the other side of the door. Filling my soul.”Gus absolutely melts me – any bitterness I have lingering in me about me – he melts right away, seriously. He has a heart the size of the state of California – always going above and beyond the call of duty for his friends and family. He’s Epic like that.This book is FULL of everything I adored about Gus in Bright Side and then some. I started Gus about a week into one the WORST reading slumps I’ve ever suffered since starting this blog two years ago. I didn’t read or pick up my Kindle for about 2 to 3 months. There was something seriously off – so I shelved it until my husband and I went on vacation for three weeks to visit his family & friends in Wales. This I’m hoping would rejuvenate my love for the written word, 10 hour plane rides – train rides – patio in the garden SCREAMING for me to lounge in all day with my Kindle – and I was right.I started Gus from the beginning again- sitting on the train on our way to Cardiff, I figured I would read it start to finish in the three hours it would take us to reach Cardiff, because I didn’t just read Bright Side, I practically devoured it in one sitting. I apologize to all the passengers on that rail car, as I started blubbering 5 pages in. Everything from Bright Side came flooding back and there were times I had to stop myself from full-on-sobbing. My husband giving me weird looks and shaking his head at me knows – this is what I do. Because one of my absolute favorite things in this world is reading a story that makes you feel. And that’s exactly what Gus did. I could give you a laundry list of emotions I felt while reading this story. I had tears streaming down my face from sadness, happiness and of course laughter. But I’m glad I shelved it when I did, so I could give it 100% of my full attention that it deserved. And it was sooooooooooooo worth the wait.You will fall in love all over again with Gus & Scout. Katie may be gone – but her spirit is VERY much intact – in every single page of this book.

Shel: This book has been on my radar for months now; Bright Side came to me at a special time in my life--a time when I was losing someone special and I needed that book--even if I didn't ever realize it at the time. Having the companion, Gus, available to read just as I was finishing school for the year also came at the perfect time; one chapter of my life is transitioning into a new chapter--how interesting that it felt like the same thing was happening to Gus. Court: Which is why I am a sissy and avoided these books like the plague. I knew the writing was brilliant. I knew that the story would be beautiful and captivating...but I also wasn't ready emotionally. Going through the same things in real life sometimes either is a good or bad thing to also have it in my books...but now I was finally ready, and it was a beautiful companion like Shel said to the first book - and really gave a new look to this man and his friends, but also a closure that was unexpected.Shel: I'll admit I was a little hesitant because of the emotional toil I was anticipating but I cannot imagine that any Bright Side fan will be anything but in love with Gus and his journey from utter sadness to complete joy. Court: I think that it is easy to love him because he was a great character initially...but now we get to know him so much better. He has an amazing life, and really struggles to cope with everything that happened with Kate. It was so real, and realism in this story is completely and 100% necessary.Shel: The first part of this novel felt emotionally empty and distant and numb--which I think is what Holden was aiming for? I think it mimicked how Gus was feeling--the only way he could cope with the raw pain of losing Kate was to shove it down and distance himself from feeling everything. After some really epically poor choices while on tour, Gus makes one fantastically brilliant move concerning Scout (aka Impatient) and as he begins to finally accept and settle in to life after Bright Side, we get to see the Gus we saw glimpses of before..and this is where the novel just lights up from this bleak world, to one of living and vivid color. It doesn't happen in the span of one page but slowly over time and the pacing of his transformation felt right. Court: It is a beautiful thing. The journey is not always easy, but I like how the writing style really allowed us to follow the first year "after". That word is such a scary thing, and Gus' world was really different to what he'd known his entire life. Scout really, really surprised me. She had this whole other thing happening in her life, and these two you will come to find will just blow your mind.Shel: While this is truly Gus' journey to reclaim his happiness, it would be completely crazy to overlook the contribution Scout had to his story. She frustrated him and distracted him. She made him laugh. There was a since of mystery about her story and who she was. She was honest and real and good; all things that Gus needed. So while this story was his, it was also hers. We got to know Scout and discover her story and love her for all that she was and all that she gave to Gus and his mom. Speaking of Gus' mom, I loved how Kim Holden included all of the secondary characters from Bright Side (and a few new ones!) and allowed us to know them more and to see how they were doing. (And I can't help but hope that a few more characters from this series get books...I can think of THREE right now that I'd love to know more about). Court: I am not sad that Franco is already out and I just bought it, so that I can jump right into that! BUT, yes. There is so much room to expand on this series, and still hold on to Kate's legacy in their lives - but also see a new and really beautiful side to Kim's writing... She can go literally anywhere with these characters and there is so much potential. I am in awe of her.Shel: I'm so glad I found this writer and this series--I've somehow managed to find them at the exact time I needed to read them. The wisdom and hope and thoughtfulness that is woven with such care is what will push me to read and recommend them again and again. Thank you for these characters and their stories, Kim Holden; I wish I could adequately find words to convey my appreciation and gratitude for what you've given me in these reads but since I can't...I'll just try to embrace the philosophy and do epic. <3 Court: Do epic. Yes. let's do that. And I may've went with the old adage "this too shall pass, like a kidney stone, but it shall pass" when I thought of sitting down and actually reading this but now that I've done it I realize I had no reason to be scared. Shel number one doesn't steer me wrong, and Kim Holden has our back as well. Read this, and live it. Beautiful boy, and beautiful book. In awe. Still.

This book was epic.Gus is epic.Impatient is epicThis was epic.I still want more Keller. I need his epic ending.

I will never be able to put in to words how much I cherish the man that is Gus. And how much I love and miss Kate. Do epic.

Don't read this book unless you've read Bright Side first.And if you have read Bright Side you will know Kate died. And she was Gus's best friend for almost all his life. You will understand the special connection they had. And you will know that Gus was in love with Kate - although they only had one night together and Kate was in a loving relationship with Keller when Kate died.How Keller and Gus managed to get past that with no jealousy and become friends is a testament to who Kate was and how she lived her life with so much love and positivity.The only time we get Gus's point of view in the first book is in conversation. Now we have access to his thoughts. I love that we get his memories of his night with Kate. I hate the scene where he takes drugs and thinks he is with Kate again. He is so broken and lost without her. It reminds me of the line in the song 'American Pie' the day the music died. And that's what happens to Gus.. the music dies with Kate. She was his muse as well as his best friend.Love getting to hear from Kate one more time in the message she recoded for Gus. And loved how well she knew him and how accurate she was in her predictions. And Kate helps bring music back to Gus with music she had written on his laptop.I love Kate Day in the studio.Loving Kate and Gus and their friendship/his love for her so much made me almost not want Gus to meet someone else. But the girl he meets, Scout, is totally worthy of him. A good person with a troubled past. She has a close relationship with her younger cousin and life altering physical scars as well as psychological. Kate would have approved and I guess its fair as Kate met her love in Keller.Gus and Scouts relationship begins with them not really liking each other and progresses to friendship. They first meet when Gus is at the height of his grief, on tour and not behaving well.I love how the relationship develops over time but would have liked Gus to talk more to Scout on a 1to1 basis about Bright Side. She learns about Kate by being surrounded by people who loved her. It must be a difficult situation living in the shadows of a dead woman who everyone loved so much. She is even staying in the room where Kate & Gus slept together and Kate died but that isn't ever mentioned. I guess Kate's love for Keller and Keller and Stella's continued presence in Gus's life make this a lot easier than if Gus and Kate had actually been a couple. (The names Keller and Stella always makes me chuckle).I love Gus and Scouts story... but I think the issue of her scarring and how it would feel for her to be scrutinised in the media as the partner of someone famous could have been addressed.I also love Audrey's story and meeting Gus's dad and the fact Keller & Stella stay in touch and become part of the family. I love Gus's bond with Stella.I would like a Keller book to see what happens to him. He's already survived losing 2 partners at such a young age.. will he get a HEA?Also would be good to have a Stella book!

GUS (Bright Side, #2) by Kim Holden5 stars!!“Grief. Anger. Grief. Anger. Grief...Anger.”After you have read something as perfect as Bright Side you are always going to be nervous reading the sequel, I mean, how can something so perfect ever be matched or even topped? Well, I needn’t have worried at all. As soon as GUS landed on my kindle I was all in from the first to last word. Kim Holden does Gus proud in this book and she has given us a story that was honest, real, emotional, intense and so heart-breakingly genuine that you just fell in love with these characters all over again. Kim Holden has once again touched my heart, I felt it all, the grief, the desolation, the turn around, that eureka moment and all the happy that follows. This book was perfectly balanced and I was so thankful that it rang true to life, losing someone that you are extremely close too is not something that you get over easily and it was never brushed aside, it was raw, but it was perfect.Gus as you could imagine really struggles in the beginning and this is where I felt Kim Holden really hit her stride. As I said above, I felt his pain, I felt his emotions, and I felt his devastation. Gus really struggles to find himself. Bright Side was his other half, his soul mate, how could someone possibly go on when one half of them is missing? I have to say I was really worried about Gus, I knew that this was going to hit him hard, but to see how vulnerable and broken he was, was soul crushing at times. I always knew that he would have to hit rock bottom before he could start his painful clamour to the surface and the way this book was written made that journey all the more honest, genuine and unequivocally believable.“Bright Side wasn’t only my best friend; she was like my other half...the other half of my brain, the other half of my conscience, the other half of my sense of humour, the other half of my creativity, the other half of my heart. How do you go back to doing what you did before, when half of you is gone forever.”Gus in the beginning was a shell of the man that we loved and knew, he couldn’t write, he couldn’t play, he just existed and even then that was up for debate at times. I wanted him to watch the DVD, I wanted him to see what and who he had become, Bright Side wouldn’t have wanted this, he needed to know, he needed to be told but he just wouldn’t listen. He needed to work through his pain and even Bright Side herself had anticipated it, it just went to show how bone deep their connection was, it was beautiful. Stunningly beautiful.“I don’t know to be Gus without her, dude. I’m effing lost as s***.”We finally get that little sliver of light in the form of Scout, I am not going to say too much about Scout but she was the wake-up call that Gus needed. He made her life hell, but she gave back as good as she got. The journey that these two went on was honest and real, no insta love, not even instant friendship but none the less a beautiful, sometimes hilarious read that will have your emotions all over the place. In the beginning these two were by no means perfect together, but they worked, they worked well, they were just what each other needed, they were there for each other, the right place at the right time. The way Kim Holden develops their relationship before your eyes was inspiring, that character connection resonates deep within and once again we have another character that you cannot help but love.“He doesn’t live life, he feels it. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen grief strangle him. And I’ve seen happiness make him glow with a brightness so intense it’s almost blinding. That’s what makes him so special. It’s not his talent or his looks. It’s how much he feels.”Once again though Bright Side is not forgotten, this book was a celebration of her life, how life became after Bright Side but no-one would ever forget, forever at the forefront of people’s thoughts and memories and forever uttering or thinking “what would Bright Side do”? Every time she was mentioned the tears came, I just couldn’t help it and my thoughts would wander back to that orange book that decimated me last year.It was great to catch up with all the characters, no-body was forgotten in this book, while this book is predominantly all about Gus, Gus’s journey would never be complete without his friends and they are all there as one big happy family, even Keller. This is what I loved, Kim Holden brought them all together, they were a unit, they may have lost the anchor that held them tethered together but those friendships were for life and life means life.This was one emotional journey, but it was a necessary evil, the good far outweighs the bad and the journey that Kim Holden takes you on to get there was well worth the tears and the tissues. You have to sit back and salute Kim Holden, the woman is a genius, Bright Side was EPIC, Gus was EPIC, this author is just EPIC. This woman knows how to nail character connection; she brings these people to life. She knows how to nail emotions, she makes me cry even when not intended but most of all you live and breathe it all and that is what I love in a book. I want it to be an experience and this is one experience I will never ever forget. I totally and utterly loved Bright Side but I can honestly say I loved Gus just as much.“Not good things...but epic things. And I’ve fallen in love with epic. It’s the only way to live.”Amazing job Kim Holden, you should be so proud, not only did you do Gus Hawthorne justice but us the reader too. You gave us a raw, emotional, yet uplifting story that will have mended many hearts. But I can’t reiterate enough how much I respect the honesty in this book, it made it for me. It was real, it was believable, dude...it was EPIC.

It took me a while but I got there, to the end. Partly because I couldn't see (had my eyes operated on), partly because I didn't want to let Gus go. Bright Side has been such and emotionally epic journey that I wasn't ready for it to be over BUT I am glad that Kim have us the chance to see Gus heal and grow and become an even more epic dude!Gus has made me feel so, SO much and I think so many different emotions that it has almost been like a rollercoaster ride that I didn't want to end. At one point I didn't think he was ever going to get his sh!t together or come to terms with losing a huge part of himself. But then he met girl Scout and her post its!There are books that intimidate you before you ever pick them up due to the reaction they have had with other people or the just the way they are talked about. This series is just that. The idea of getting THAT emotionally attached to a book and it's characters? Well it's one of the scariest feelings in the world! But I would go through it all again in a heartbeat just to spend time in Kim's world again.Remember people, Do Epic!

I was really broken after reading Bright side and this continued right after with Gus going through the motion. I cried, laughed and was consoled by this book.Scout was broken and scarred and didn’t really like Gus from the onset. I wasn’t sure Half way through the book that their connection would work because I wasn’t feeling any chemistry between them but I understood eventually why she was really what Gus needed in order to find himself again after the loss.This book was a slow burner but each page made an impact and it was really lovely to catch up with all the other characters from bright side especially Keller and Stella. It really was healing and what was needed. It’s an amazing series so far and definitely worth reading

I am in awe right now. Riding the euphoric wave of epicness. I also have a newfound love for sticky notes. Gus, in all its raw, honest and emotional prose, is quite simply... Sensational! Kate would be so proud!'Kate Sedgwick. That name holds so much power over me. The best kind of power: inspiring, encouraging and respectable. It's a name that I've always associated with badass bravery. It's a name that always meant anything was possible.' Gus HawthornGus is that sequel that can either make or break a series. I'm a true believer that Bright Side is one of the best books out there. It blew my mind. It hit every nerve, played on every conceivable emotion, and still lives with me today.I fell for Gus, the aspiring and talented rock star best friend who harboured deep love and respect for the girl who was his world for a long time. Letting her walk away was the hardest thing he ever did. Watching her fall in love with Keller was difficult, but he accepted it. But being there, witnessing taking her last breath so young to cancer is not something he was ever going to accept. Losing Bright Side made Gus lose a part of himself, and that is where this book and Gus' character really come into its own. Yep... Kim Holden NAILED IT!We are introduced to a few new characters in this book, while still reconnecting to some old faces. But our real heroine here is as lost, broken and scarred as Gus, and it wouldn't have worked any other way.Scout MacKenzie is a dark horse and I loved how her character was almost a whisper, non-existant and elusive, fading into the background upon her staged entrance. Quiet yet professional, she is hard to read, but it's obvious being the new PA to a wayward rock star was the last thing she wanted, as they get off on some very wrong footing. But like anything, Scout, aka 'Impatient' has her reasons and looks can be deceiving...As far as love stories go, this is a slow burner, because it is primarily one of healing and acceptance. There is no denying it, the first half of Gus is destructive, the theme grief...anger...grief...anger, and there isn't much let up. It's upsetting but necessary, because as time goes by, and new friendships are formed, you realise that Bright Side is still there, whispering in the shadows, still so fully alive in the hearts of all those she touched, that they have all become better people for knowing her. Honouring her memory is nothing short of uplifting. Inspiring.I finished this book well contented, and euphorically happy. Gus, in all his bad ass rock star get up, really is a mirror image of the girl he called best friend. She would be so proud of him, as he breaks through and comes out stronger the other side, allowing his heart to be filled along the way.The broken man becomes the saviour, hero and lover in this story, as you watch him grow, shine and rock the world of a broken girl and a lonely 17-year-old boy.His heart is so big, he even has time for an 80-something year old woman with a love of Bingo and... Arsenal. Yeah, you really need to meet Mrs Randolph, she is THE BOMB!I don't want to give too much away with regards to plot but it is written in double POV in diary form, so you can get a feel for timelines and how in the space of a year, the darkness can make way for light in the form of sticky notes, peanut butter saltines and grape juice, followed by a good dose of motherly love.I loved Bright Side, but now my book loving beating heart feels complete after reading Gus.Scout and Gus are unbreakable, undeniable, and I am so proud of Rook and the guys. Franco is a gem. I would love him to get his own book.Another resounding success for Kim Holden. Emotional, raw, and uplifting; Gus is quite simply... EPIC, Dude!'I've fallen in Love with epic. It's the only way to live.'