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A review by reader_fictions
Finding Center by Katherine Locke
3.0
3.5 stars
Katie’s debut novel, Second Position, really impressed me. As such, I was really looking forward to Finding Center. Ultimately, Finding Center was less good for me, not because of a change in quality but because of the subject matter. I do think that Finding Center continues to be very strong in all the ways that Second Position was.
Why did I not like this one as much?BABY. Aly spends most of the book pregnant, something I pretty much saw coming, since I’d just read the prequel novella. Locke’s set up a parallel between Aly and Zed when they were young and now. As pregnancy/baby plots go, this was really well done. I did still like the book, which is definitely a point in Locke’s favor. The fact that they kept calling it the poppy seed was super cute. Still, I just don’t care as much about the baby as I do other things, so my heart wasn’t in this one the same way.
Aly’s struggles with her mental health, and Zed’s to a lesser degree, continue to be my favorite part of this series. New adult loves the whole “tortured past” thing, but so often doesn’t deal with it. In Locke’s books, it’s clear that love is not the solution to psychological issues; in fact, it can make dealing with them more difficult sometimes. Support obviously helps, but you have to worry about the other person’s issues and how your issues affect them and on and on. Though Locke retains a new adult, rather melodramatic tone, it is this that makes her books feel so much more realistic.
Also, if you were disappointed by the lack of sexy times in the first book, there are many more to come in Finding Center. Pun intended.
Katie’s debut novel, Second Position, really impressed me. As such, I was really looking forward to Finding Center. Ultimately, Finding Center was less good for me, not because of a change in quality but because of the subject matter. I do think that Finding Center continues to be very strong in all the ways that Second Position was.
Why did I not like this one as much?
Aly’s struggles with her mental health, and Zed’s to a lesser degree, continue to be my favorite part of this series. New adult loves the whole “tortured past” thing, but so often doesn’t deal with it. In Locke’s books, it’s clear that love is not the solution to psychological issues; in fact, it can make dealing with them more difficult sometimes. Support obviously helps, but you have to worry about the other person’s issues and how your issues affect them and on and on. Though Locke retains a new adult, rather melodramatic tone, it is this that makes her books feel so much more realistic.
Also, if you were disappointed by the lack of sexy times in the first book, there are many more to come in Finding Center. Pun intended.