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chelseaj91 's review for:
Finally Mine
by Lucy Score
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a fun book, right up until Gloria lost her mind and tried to run away while calling it the "smart choice". Not saying she couldn't have those fears/feelings/whatever, but considering she'd been growing through the book to see that wasn't the case, the fact that it only came up at the end felt very shoehorned in and unneeded.
Aside from the lunacy at the end, I liked Gloria. Yes, she'd made some choices and done things that maybe she wouldn't have had she had a clearer mind, but considering this started when she was 16, I don't blame her. I don't even blame her for being hesitant, except for at the end because that fear again felt very shoehorned in and only came about because of Luke's dumbassness, considering everything she'd done over the course of the book. I liked that she got herself a job and was good at it, that she volunteered to help with the 4th of July celebration and that when Aldo was stuck in his pity party, she was able to kick him out of it. I liked her relationship with Harper and Sophie and how she was able to find herself again. Again, aside from the lunacy at the end, I liked her a lot. It was a hard thing, but I liked when
Aldo was amazing. He had some lunacy issues as well, but at least his fit his character/situation and didn't feel shoehorned in. The feelings were still ridiculous, but understandable considering what happened. I liked his relationship with his mother and how once he was able to pull his head out, he was all in with Gloria. I loved the awkward Aldo that seemed to always come out whenever he wanted to be serious with her, because it was so adorkable and just super sweet. Plus, finding out when his crush had started and the fact that he was so distracted and walked into a set of lockers was kind of hilarious. Even though it was her fear talking, I liked at the end when he gave Gloria the space she thought she should be asking for.
I've seen some reviews of people that felt like there were too many scenes from the last book, just a different POV and that's kind of the point? Yeah, it might be the same situation/setting but seeing it from Aldo or Gloria's POV makes it a different scene because you're in another character's head. Like the frying pan scene, seeing it from Gloria's POV, seeing the strength she finally found, makes that a different scene than just Harper fighting off Glen and being upset about the dogs. We know Gloria beans him with the pan, but this time, we see her feelings and emotions instead of Harper's outside view. There's also some reviews where people were upset about Gloria staying with Glen for so long and no one helping. It would have been one thing if this was something that no one knew, then I'd question it. But it seems like this was a "worst kept secret" situation where everyone had a good idea but if Glen was smart enough to never do anything in public, there's only so much that could have been done, especially if Gloria was pretending everything was copacetic. I'm lucky and I've never been in that situation, but I do know it's not that cut and dry, even in a small town. It's hard to watch someone go through that, it is, but you can't help them if they don't want to be helped. Gloria needed to be willing to take the first step; it's mentioned that the Dr was doing things, helping her in parking lots and everything but if Gloria was only going along with "Oh I fell down" or "I just ran into a door", it becomes a "he said/she said" situation that could have made things worse for Gloria depending on how things went. Do I think it could have been handled a little better/differently in the book? Maybe a little, yes. But it's not that easy for someone in town to have helped her before she decided to leave, not without outright going after Glen and that again pulls in the "he said/she said/he said" depending on who did what and whether or not Gloria was able to see that she needed to take that step.
Aside from the lunacy at the end, I liked Gloria. Yes, she'd made some choices and done things that maybe she wouldn't have had she had a clearer mind, but considering this started when she was 16, I don't blame her. I don't even blame her for being hesitant, except for at the end because that fear again felt very shoehorned in and only came about because of Luke's dumbassness, considering everything she'd done over the course of the book. I liked that she got herself a job and was good at it, that she volunteered to help with the 4th of July celebration and that when Aldo was stuck in his pity party, she was able to kick him out of it. I liked her relationship with Harper and Sophie and how she was able to find herself again. Again, aside from the lunacy at the end, I liked her a lot. It was a hard thing, but I liked when
Aldo was amazing. He had some lunacy issues as well, but at least his fit his character/situation and didn't feel shoehorned in. The feelings were still ridiculous, but understandable considering what happened. I liked his relationship with his mother and how once he was able to pull his head out, he was all in with Gloria. I loved the awkward Aldo that seemed to always come out whenever he wanted to be serious with her, because it was so adorkable and just super sweet. Plus, finding out when his crush had started and the fact that he was so distracted and walked into a set of lockers was kind of hilarious. Even though it was her fear talking, I liked at the end when he gave Gloria the space she thought she should be asking for.
I've seen some reviews of people that felt like there were too many scenes from the last book, just a different POV and that's kind of the point? Yeah, it might be the same situation/setting but seeing it from Aldo or Gloria's POV makes it a different scene because you're in another character's head. Like the frying pan scene, seeing it from Gloria's POV, seeing the strength she finally found, makes that a different scene than just Harper fighting off Glen and being upset about the dogs. We know Gloria beans him with the pan, but this time, we see her feelings and emotions instead of Harper's outside view. There's also some reviews where people were upset about Gloria staying with Glen for so long and no one helping. It would have been one thing if this was something that no one knew, then I'd question it. But it seems like this was a "worst kept secret" situation where everyone had a good idea but if Glen was smart enough to never do anything in public, there's only so much that could have been done, especially if Gloria was pretending everything was copacetic. I'm lucky and I've never been in that situation, but I do know it's not that cut and dry, even in a small town. It's hard to watch someone go through that, it is, but you can't help them if they don't want to be helped. Gloria needed to be willing to take the first step; it's mentioned that the Dr was doing things, helping her in parking lots and everything but if Gloria was only going along with "Oh I fell down" or "I just ran into a door", it becomes a "he said/she said" situation that could have made things worse for Gloria depending on how things went. Do I think it could have been handled a little better/differently in the book? Maybe a little, yes. But it's not that easy for someone in town to have helped her before she decided to leave, not without outright going after Glen and that again pulls in the "he said/she said/he said" depending on who did what and whether or not Gloria was able to see that she needed to take that step.