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lizzie1096 's review for:
Beneath the Stands
by Emily McIntire
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
This book had me in the first half but lost me in the second.
At the beginning of this, I was loving every second. Becca and Eli had the kind of banter that you can only find in a best friend's brother romance and I was eating it up. And when their tension finally snapped and they started hooking up, I was having a great time. But knowing what was coming from the knowledge we had from Beneath the Stars made it really hard to enjoy the sweet moments.
Especially because their downfall made zero sense. I understand that Becca struggled to stand up to her family but the way that she flip-flopped constantly made no sense. One second she had a firm backbone and lived for telling off her parents and then the next she was cowering to them. And this went on for the ENTIRE second half. It took until the literal last possible second for her to finally write off her parents and I just don't understand how it's humanely possible that she really went back to Tennessee with them after college and somehow lived under their thumb for half a decade.
Something I did like, was Alina & Eli finally making up. They both had their struggles and didn't know how to bridge the large gap that their mother's death put between them. Both of them were definitely at fault for their problems and it was nice to finally see them make up.
I'm excited for Jackson's book next... I do worry though that it's gonna be another second chance kind of romance and this series is already really heavy on that and miscommunication, so I'm hoping it's a little different.
At the beginning of this, I was loving every second. Becca and Eli had the kind of banter that you can only find in a best friend's brother romance and I was eating it up. And when their tension finally snapped and they started hooking up, I was having a great time. But knowing what was coming from the knowledge we had from Beneath the Stars made it really hard to enjoy the sweet moments.
Especially because their downfall made zero sense. I understand that Becca struggled to stand up to her family but the way that she flip-flopped constantly made no sense. One second she had a firm backbone and lived for telling off her parents and then the next she was cowering to them. And this went on for the ENTIRE second half. It took until the literal last possible second for her to finally write off her parents and I just don't understand how it's humanely possible that she really went back to Tennessee with them after college and somehow lived under their thumb for half a decade.
Something I did like, was Alina & Eli finally making up. They both had their struggles and didn't know how to bridge the large gap that their mother's death put between them. Both of them were definitely at fault for their problems and it was nice to finally see them make up.
I'm excited for Jackson's book next... I do worry though that it's gonna be another second chance kind of romance and this series is already really heavy on that and miscommunication, so I'm hoping it's a little different.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Death of parent
Minor: Injury/Injury detail