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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Something the author duo that is Erin Watt is doing very well is write addictive, angsty stories that keep you invested even if you want to scream in frustration. In One Small Thing it wasn't any different. I wanted to slap the whole cast of secondary characters - all of them without exception did awful things and behaved like lunatics.
I saw a lot of readers complain about Beth's childish behavior and yet she was actually the only one behaving like a seventeen year old. She rebelled against her parents who took protection to epic albeit insane proportion. Honestly, the things they made her put up with would have many girls on the verge of adulthood acting out. Did she make stupid decisions? Hell yes, but given the golden cage she lived in I was surprised she never totally screwed up. I also thought there was a lot of growth throughout the story - she admitted to making mistakes and tried to fix them. Also, she listened and while she not always acted the way I wanted her to it was understandable as well.
Chase was a beautiful character. Guilt-ridden but good to the chore. He was good and wise beyond his young age. That's what his single big mistake left him with. His remorse was so hard to watch, him being bullied at school for his big f*ck up was so incredibly maddening. I wanted to hug him close.
On the surface, Chase is hard— all muscles, tough sinew and bone. But underneath, he has a tender heart. It aches for us. What he wants and what I want are at odds with what we should be wanting.
As mentioned all the secondary characters were jerks to a certain degree and they left me shouting at my Kindle. Which I did pretty much all the time because I didn't get much reprieve. If it weren't Beth's parents making her life impossibly hard it was her best friend or her sister's boyfriend.
I actually loved how Erin Watt showed us how cruel teenagers can be and how they rally to descend like a pack of wolves on an innocent victim because, dammit, nobody deserves being treated like this. To remind the reader to speak up when they witness bullying was well placed. One thing that I missed a bit was a real romance. While I understood Chase and Beth's connection I didn't get to see much of them as a couple - maybe this was intentional though as to not distract from the story which focused a lot on the heroine and was also only written in her point of view.
One Small Thing might not compare to the quality of The Royals but it's still entertaining to read. Elle Kennedy and Jen Frederick definitely make a very talented duo who I'll come back to to read more of. There are a lot of lessons to be learned in this book and I'll wrap this review up with one of my favorite quotes:
I focus on what I can control, and what I have to live for. Because there’s always something to live for. Something to be thankful for. Something to look forward to. That’s the biggest lesson I learned from Chase.
Before I read this book I would've said no one. But now I guess it's not entirely impossible. First of all, let's not forget that it was an accident. He didn't set out to kill her, he went on a joy-ride and she got killed, by accident. I actually think Chase is a pretty great person, if not the only good person in this book. But I guess that was the point the writer wanted to make, that even though he caused a horrible thing, he is still a good person.
Beth was okay, though annoying from time to time. She's a teenager so I guess that can be expected. Did I get why she fell in love with Chase? Uhh yes. Does it make sense? Absolutely not. But this is a book and hey, stranger things have happened. I liked that she saw who Jeff really was pretty fast. I liked that she thought it was not a good idea for Scarlet to be in a relationship with him, it was obvious he was a controlling asshole. What I did not like was that she got mad at Scarlet everytime she picked Jeff's side instead of Beth's. She was obviously scared and under his influence. I'm glad that all turned out okay in the end though.
Not much more to say about Jeff, I hated him.
Beth's parents were definitely overprotective and suffocating her. Things went way too far but I do understand how scared they were of losing their other daughter. And that they didn't like their daughter hanging out with their other daughter's killer, yes obviously that's not normal. I did think that after a whole book of them spewing hatred towards Chase, I think it was weird that they were (kind of) okay with him at the end of the book? Specially her dad, who was so mad the whole time I thought he would kill Chase on sight.
The rest of the school.... honestly what the fuck. What was their problem?? I did not understand their hatred at all. These kids were all horrible.
My favorite thing about this book is that a couple of days before I started reading it I was thinking about how much I love animals and that I would love it if I could read about a couple working at an animal shelter and falling in love and I CANNOT BELIEVE I got that with this book.
3.5 stars
I don't write many reviews (I wanna change that though) so I hope this all made sense.
After a number of so-so reading experiences lately, I really needed an Erin Watt book. This duo’s writing is always so addicting and One Small Thing was no exception.
It says in the synopsis that Chase played a part in Beth’s sister’s death and I think it’s pretty obvious what that is. It doesn’t take long for the book to reveal it, either, but I’ll still try not to spoil it. I have to admit that this particular kind of trope is usually not one I go for. However, it worked for me here. I liked the conversations it brought it up. How differently people grieve. How people move on. How people judge. The topic of forgiveness. There was a lot more depth to this book than I expected there to be.
Though some of Beth’s behavior drove me a little crazy, I did find her a likable character. I wish she was more honest and she definitely made a lot of misguided decisions, but once she realized how poorly she was behaving she took steps to change it. And I loved Chase. I just loved him. I know he has some pretty obvious flaws, but I still thought he was pretty perfect. He was just so sweet and smart and a little tortured. I definitely shipped them and their moments together were my favorites of the book.
Overall, I really enjoyed One Small Thing. Though it was a little heavier than I was expecting, I thought it had a good message. I liked the main characters (especially Chase) and the romance. I did find everything to be just a little too predictable, though. Pretty much every development I guessed far ahead of time, so even though the writing was addictive and kept me turning the pages, the plot itself seemed a little drawn out and then things wrapped up very quickly at the end. However, the positive message and my love for Chase makes up for those aspects for me.
Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars
Although this is a problematic book it dealt with a lot of hard issues that made up for the overdramaticness and sometimes hard to believe plot.
This is a book where the main character falls for her sisters killer!
I know right? It sounds unbelievable..
Chase is actually the only decent character in the book as the main character is quite annoying and stupid at times. Her parents are so over protective and she just lets them do anything to her and doesn't react except internally.
Chase is a fully developed, flawed character who you can't help but root for. Even though he's made huge mistakes he has learnt from them and has served his time. I don't think the relationship would work in the real world as it seems quite one sided from Beth's side and it seems she's pushing for most of the relationship.
Overall the writing was easy to follow and i fell hook, line and sinker for Chase.
Big. Fat. No.
It was cringe-worthy.
Lizzie / Beth, it was awful inside your head. The name thing was nonsense.
These 2 stars are for the sparks of talent I glimpsed in this. My first book by this duo and because it seems to be their least popular I will check out something else!
Content Warning: Abusive relationship, attempted rape
Erin Watt is definitely an auto buy author for me! Started out reading The Royals last year and quickly became obsessed with anything written by Erin Watt. When I heard about One Small Thing, I immediately got excited. I skimmed the synopsis and knew I needed it right away. Imagine my surprise when I open my email to check tracking and see an email stating that I was given an ARC of it. I had forgotten that I had signed up for it with the blogger link, but I'm so glad I did.
One Small Thing didn't disappoint at all. I started out reading this book and feeling super giddy about a possible cutesy romance and then everything got flipped! Man, did it get flipped! It had been awhile since I had read the synopsis so I forgot the specifics behind the story, so my shock was high when things were revealed.
The characters in One Small Thing are just amazing. Beth is so freaking good in the sense that she's kind and beautiful and that she has a sense of vulnerability that makes you connect with her. In my eyes, Chase is just as good. He feels the guilt of what happened. He suffers through things because he feels guilty.
I loved that this book was just told in one point of view. It made it easier to stick inside the mind of Beth, but it was also written in a way that we didn't need to be inside Chase's head to know what he was thinking.
During the story, you're faced with making the decision if people are able to be justified in how they're feeling at certain points in the story. For me, that's yes even though I didn't agree with some feelings of people.
My main complaint of One Small Thing is the ending. Everything was going great for me until the last chapter and then I was let down a bit. I was hoping for more closure, but was left feeling unsatisfied. It felt a bit rushed and in the end felt like the author was telling us what happened instead of showing us. Overall, I really enjoyed the story and would definitely reread.