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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Everyone around Erin was making her feel like she was drowning. There was only one person, who made her feel like herself and it wasn't someone she wanted that person to be. Erin and Brendan fought like they wanted one another, but they did not see they had chemistry. I did not like Timothy or Rob. Rob was a selfless man, who only thought about what he wanted. Brendan thought about what Erin wanted.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat. I was going back and forth to see who I thought Erin would end up with.
☆☆☆☆☆
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!
Read more from this author? Yes!
Happy Reading!
Melissa
This book kept me on the edge of my seat. I was going back and forth to see who I thought Erin would end up with.
☆☆☆☆☆
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!
Read more from this author? Yes!
Happy Reading!
Melissa
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
fast-paced
I didn’t like this. the MMC was an asshole. the FMC was a doormat. the mutual pining was forced and painful. and then I didn’t like the way the author casually threw in characters who falsely accused a character of sexual assault.
emotional
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The author's note in this one acknowledges how difficult it is to follow up a successful release like Waking Olivia, this book's predecessor. I can't help but agree that this book suffers from the pressures of that phenomenon.
O'Roark is a great writer and this is the first contemporary of theirs that I really struggled with. The concept itself is something I can get behind, but it's a really delicate story to tell. It's a concept that easily turns the readers against the characters if not careful, and that's what happened to me here.
Essentially, the narrative gets stuck in a constant loop of a weak willed heroine justifying really bad behavior from all the assholes in her life, of which there are plenty, including the hero. I became so frustrated with these people. And considering the weight of realizations all these characters need to face, the actual writing didn't deliver the intensity I wanted. The hero had so much groveling to do and he got off easily.
This was an angsty book for which there was very little payoff. I was left feeling like the reading experience was too much emotional labor for no reward.
O'Roark is a great writer and this is the first contemporary of theirs that I really struggled with. The concept itself is something I can get behind, but it's a really delicate story to tell. It's a concept that easily turns the readers against the characters if not careful, and that's what happened to me here.
Essentially, the narrative gets stuck in a constant loop of a weak willed heroine justifying really bad behavior from all the assholes in her life, of which there are plenty, including the hero. I became so frustrated with these people. And considering the weight of realizations all these characters need to face, the actual writing didn't deliver the intensity I wanted. The hero had so much groveling to do and he got off easily.
This was an angsty book for which there was very little payoff. I was left feeling like the reading experience was too much emotional labor for no reward.
I think I would have liked this more if they hadn't spent most of the book trying to make Rob the bad guy. Why not just have him admit they've grown apart and it's better if they both move on? Why must they have these guys hold on tight? Oh yeah - to make the guy who treated the MFC like crap and screwed anything that moved for years, look better :- I love me some angst but sometimes these authors go overboard with too much angst. Erin's family was a shit show and let's face it - Brendan could handle it better than Rob could. That pretty much sealed the deal for me in regards to choices.
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I absolutely loved this book!! The only reason it isn’t a 5 star is that the miscommunication was just a bit too much towards the end, so many issues could have been solved if they just had a conversation with each other. And the Rob chunk at the end was just a big no from me. I found myself just skim reading any chapter that involved him. But I loved Erin and Brendan so much!
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
The tension built within this book is palpable. EO’R just knows how to spin a plot in such a way that you don’t notice the water around you getting warm until you’re nearly fully poached.
While I normally hate the “I pretend to hate you because I have the feels” trope, this is done on different levels with both Erin and Brendan - each have their hangups and their history that causes them pause for vastly different reasons, both have times they break their control and have to backpedal instead of using their words, and it creates this delicious push/pull slow burn environment that has you shouting “JUST OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND MAKE WORDS COME OUT”.
I’ve also been known to be annoyed at characters like this but who among us wasn’t a lunatic in their 20’s?
Julia of @entirelybonkerz (IG) keeps recommending EO’R as a fantastic author and I’ll be damned if she can’t miss with that reco.
While I normally hate the “I pretend to hate you because I have the feels” trope, this is done on different levels with both Erin and Brendan - each have their hangups and their history that causes them pause for vastly different reasons, both have times they break their control and have to backpedal instead of using their words, and it creates this delicious push/pull slow burn environment that has you shouting “JUST OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND MAKE WORDS COME OUT”.
I’ve also been known to be annoyed at characters like this but who among us wasn’t a lunatic in their 20’s?
Julia of @entirelybonkerz (IG) keeps recommending EO’R as a fantastic author and I’ll be damned if she can’t miss with that reco.