Invincible: Book 7 of The Fragile Line Series

 Engaging, Gripping, Emotional

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Young Adult – with themes of abuse

Invincible – Book Seven of The Fragile Line Series by Sarah Dawson Powell- author

When friendships, relationships and bonds have been stretched to breaking point, and candour is all that remains, how long can the inevitable be delayed? When emotions have been tested to their absolute limit until they run dry, what else is there to do, except for repeating the mistakes of the past?.. When patience has been tested repeatedly and the time for honesty is long overdue, surely it is the obvious choice? When everything comes to a head, the truth is all we have….the fallout is out of our control…..

I was highly anticipating book seven after the conclusion to book six and as predicted, Sarah has delivered another turbulent, erratic, intriguing, emotional instalment.

Sadie has made the decision to leave her relationship with Ryan, although I was personally left wondering how long that would last, as Sadie can never be without a man in her life, however secure or insecure that particular scenario is. We left Jenny feeling relieved that Logan had no sign of being anyone else’s baby but Cory’s. However, as readers of The Fragile Line will know by now, things are never that simple for this brittle bunch. Ryan appeared to be changing his ways, but how would he react to the power once again, shifting in Sadie’s favour after she exercises her right to choose after having it denied for so long. To make it all the more perilous, Mile 258 are due to embark on a tour, presenting the challenge of Ryan, Sadie, Trevor and Corey on a bus together for weeks at a time. Clearly none of them had thought of the logistics of this predicament. With Sadie the only female in the band, initially her only real threat is Ryan, but then her only real friend is Evy. How will she handle it? As only Sadie can, of course.

Corey is desperately trying to stay faithful to Jenny, not only for the sake of his relationship with the woman that he is planning to marry, but for the sake of Angel and Logan, but with uncertainties on his mind, he is torn and makes this much, clear to Jenny in a way that doesn’t seem to resemble Corey at all and more true of Ryan. Like the ‘old Sadie’, Jenny is submissive which is frustrating. I really wanted her to defend herself.

In typical ‘Sadie style’ she uses her close quarters with the boys to turn it to her advantage, putting them on the back foot, playing with their emotions to see how far she can push them, which backfires when Ryan reverts to type in the worse way, not once but twice. Ryan’s behaviour is far more, hard hitting than ever before, and not just where his ex-girlfriend is concerned.

Sadie’s connection with Corey is pushed to an emotional crossroads, when on several occasions, they’re feelings for one another are questioned by others and they are forced to examine their situation. What will they choose to do after he accompanies her to ‘visit’ a past love?

She gambles with what she knows is a tumultuous situation with Trevor. Thankfully and for the most part Trevor seems to have moved on, although it’s clear that he can still be manipulated.

Although Sadie has, as far as she sees it made this powerful statement by once again separating herself from the man with whom she had a volatile existence for seven years, she still continues to need the comfort, reassurance and some form of connection with one of her male companions. The only one who seems to be content for Sadie to be Sadie is Dave, the description of whom, threw me completely off-guard! Sadie’s behaviour I found to be selfish, thoughtless and destructive, both for her and others. From getting to the point where I was starting to warm to her, for most of this book I had completely changed my mind. She constantly fails to grasp the seriousness of situations and what she does to other people, and now she has a stalker which worryingly doesn’t seem to faze her at all!

Book eight allows the reader to get to know Dave better and I am glad he is accepting of Sadie with all her faults and hope that he will turn out to be a positive influence in her life.

Eric meanwhile, having thought he was a relatively straight forward guy, appears to enjoy stirring the pot and seeing how far he can take it. Telling tall tales to Rainie knowing that he will inevitably tell Jenny, and sending confusing signals to those he knows are vulnerable, and have a hard time interpreting them. Just what game is he playing?

When Sadie decides that the time has arrived for some tough talking to prevent losing her ‘best friend’, although I am really not sure that the use of this term with what seems to be little meaning behind it, is reciprocated….how will the girls fare when they hear some difficult home truths?

The only I tweak I would perhaps like to see is less of the explaining what has happened in previous books. To my mind, it is logical to follow a series from book one, and if a reader chooses not to do this, it is not the Author’s responsibility to fill in the blanks! On the positive side, massive kudos to Sarah Dawson Powell for not skirting the ‘song lyric’ issue and being brave enough to play this scene out in full. Really impressive!

‘Invincible’ is a thoroughly engrossing read in a series that is most definitely keeping me hooked!