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A review by bookdevouringmisfit
Blurred Lines by Lauren Layne
2.0
2.5-3 stars
The friends to lovers trope has always been my favorite because I’m a firm believer that a romance rooted in friendship is a love that will last a lifetime. Now isn’t it just my luck that I know an author who is a champion at writing them? Lauren Layne can write every other trope that I love and make them more refreshing and enjoyable. Every time I read her book, it always feels like a breath of fresh air no matter how already trite the plot is. At least, it was that for me before I stumbled upon this mess of a novel.
Blurred Lines has the fun and humor covered, not to mention the off the charts chemistry between Ben and Parker. It is so unlike Abbi Glines’ novels—which are overdosed of angst and drama—therefore I’m not sure why the blurb compared this to her works since Layne’s books have always had the right combination of humor and fun in them with no non-sense drama. Plus Layne writes impressively hot and sexy scenes which can never make me cringe at all.
What this book fails to deliver is the characterization. Honestly, most of my problems stem from the protagonists and their sheer stupidity. And I just wouldn’t click with a book if I don’t click with the main characters first.
Now let’s go to the things I liked first: Blurred Lines showcases how Lauren Layne is very spot on in creating a genuine friendship between a boy and a girl. It’s very easy to believe how real Parker and Ben’s relationship is with their amazing banters and authentic dialogues. They’re so cute together when they’re not being idiots. They have these house rules (which are mostly for Ben) and moments where Parker had to “train” Ben in a lot of things which show how amazing they are together. So. Cute. Even when they began with their FWB situation, you can really see how evident their trust is for each other because there is no awkwardness between them but just pure, unadulterated fun.
Too much to love and yet why did I feel a bit underwhelmed when I finished reading this? Why the lack of feels? Why is there no sudden urge to reread it again just to savor all the fun moments?
Well the thing is, what I hated far outweighed those things that I loved. So what did I hate?Ohmygod there’s just too much!!! Hmm…let’s see. There’s the characters’ stupid decisions near the end of the book (especially Parker’s which I really didn’t like), the unnecessary drama that came with it, and both the main characters’ insecurities that got the best of their real feelings. Basically, just about almost everything the two MCs did when they're being idiots. Seriously, it was only the first chapter and my slut-shaming senses were already tingling. Parker refers to Ben’s one-night-stands as girl toys, degrades and makes fun of them and she also thinks she’s so much better than them because she would never, ever sleep with Ben. Well, guess what? She did. She even married the guy for goodness’ sake. What a hypocrite. She also called this one girl Airhead just because she has the word monogrammed on the back of her sweatpants.
Dishonor! Dishonor on your whole family! Dishonor on your cow! Not to mention dishonor on the whole womankind!
I'm sad to say that this is so far my least liked Lauren Layne book. I usually feel bad when I rate a book poorly by a favorite author of mine that I sometimes up them, but with this one I will do no such thing. Still, there were fun moments that made me grin like an idiot one too many times. Lauren Layne’s books have always had that effect on me. Unfortunately though, this wasn’t a very memorable read and I have no desire to reread it because it made me cringe a lot of times, too.
I’m still going to look out for whatever book she writes next and I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll have a better experience with it than what I had with this one and that there’ll be no slut-shaming anymore because it’s already 2015, people! Feminism is cool. Everyone should try it.
An arc was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The friends to lovers trope has always been my favorite because I’m a firm believer that a romance rooted in friendship is a love that will last a lifetime. Now isn’t it just my luck that I know an author who is a champion at writing them? Lauren Layne can write every other trope that I love and make them more refreshing and enjoyable. Every time I read her book, it always feels like a breath of fresh air no matter how already trite the plot is. At least, it was that for me before I stumbled upon this mess of a novel.
Blurred Lines has the fun and humor covered, not to mention the off the charts chemistry between Ben and Parker. It is so unlike Abbi Glines’ novels—which are overdosed of angst and drama—therefore I’m not sure why the blurb compared this to her works since Layne’s books have always had the right combination of humor and fun in them with no non-sense drama. Plus Layne writes impressively hot and sexy scenes which can never make me cringe at all.
What this book fails to deliver is the characterization. Honestly, most of my problems stem from the protagonists and their sheer stupidity. And I just wouldn’t click with a book if I don’t click with the main characters first.
Now let’s go to the things I liked first: Blurred Lines showcases how Lauren Layne is very spot on in creating a genuine friendship between a boy and a girl. It’s very easy to believe how real Parker and Ben’s relationship is with their amazing banters and authentic dialogues. They’re so cute together when they’re not being idiots. They have these house rules (which are mostly for Ben) and moments where Parker had to “train” Ben in a lot of things which show how amazing they are together. So. Cute. Even when they began with their FWB situation, you can really see how evident their trust is for each other because there is no awkwardness between them but just pure, unadulterated fun.
Too much to love and yet why did I feel a bit underwhelmed when I finished reading this? Why the lack of feels? Why is there no sudden urge to reread it again just to savor all the fun moments?
Well the thing is, what I hated far outweighed those things that I loved. So what did I hate?
She walks past the table to the fridge, and I cringe when I see the fact that she has airhead monogrammed on the butt of her baby blue sweatpants. Really? Really?
Her expression softens lightly, and I resist the urge to slap a little sense into the poor girl. I want to tell her that his winks are a dime a dozen, but what’s the point? She has airhead printed on her sweatpants for God’s sake.
Dishonor! Dishonor on your whole family! Dishonor on your cow! Not to mention dishonor on the whole womankind!
I'm sad to say that this is so far my least liked Lauren Layne book. I usually feel bad when I rate a book poorly by a favorite author of mine that I sometimes up them, but with this one I will do no such thing. Still, there were fun moments that made me grin like an idiot one too many times. Lauren Layne’s books have always had that effect on me. Unfortunately though, this wasn’t a very memorable read and I have no desire to reread it because it made me cringe a lot of times, too.
I’m still going to look out for whatever book she writes next and I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll have a better experience with it than what I had with this one and that there’ll be no slut-shaming anymore because it’s already 2015, people! Feminism is cool. Everyone should try it.
An arc was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.