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oitb 's review for:
Drowning Erin
by Elizabeth O'Roark
I really freaking loved this book, despite its flaws. Second books usually exhibit a pretty steep dip in quality, but I loved this as much as "Waking Olivia," if not more, and I really loved "Waking Olivia."
There are several things about Elizabeth O'Roark's writing style I really dig:
- Short chapters. Sometimes, writers seem to write for the sake of fulfilling word count, or needlessly tacking on unnecessary plot, stretching out inner monologue that doesn't need to be stretched. O'Roark is a good self editor / works with a good editor, and I always appreciate that, as an editor myself ;)
- For this book in particular, I really dug the switch between Erin's present tense POV and Brendan's past tense POV as it built towards a present tense POV. So clever and it was just so incredibly effective at building out the Brendan character.
- Her lovely characters. I love that they can be conflicted without being overdramatic 0r needlessly heavy. Specifically in this book, I really loved Brendan <3 I think a lot of authors often fail at writing alpha males without making them flat and having them Only Be One Way, and I liked that while Brendan was definitely more alpha than beta, he was respectful of boundaries and (mostly) communicative with his thoughts. It drives me when straight male characters try to be silent and noble in their intentions, suffering for the sake of suffering, and I liked that Brendan wasn't like that.
That said, I do think the book has two weaknesses.
- Erin. I liked Erin from "Waking Olivia" and I generally enjoyed her story. She seemed like a good example of someone who, as O'Roark wrote, sanded down her personality too much for the sake of a relationship that was never going to work, and then has to learn to build those edges back out with the help of the hero. And I liked her journey with Brendan where she got to do that—I LIKE that hero is the one that helps her discover/rediscover herself, because it's so often the case that the heroine has to help "teach" the heroes that.
And Erin is really funny! Really. Her line about "fufleek" is one of the funniest, snappiest barbs I've read as of late.
But Jesus H. Christ it was rough watching her be so swallowed by insecurity sometimes. I guess it's ... realistic, in some ways? The way some people lose themselves so much for the sake of a false sense of stability, and then really struggle to come out of it. But it was still frustrating to read...
-...which leads me to my second discontent and the book's second weakness. GotDAMN the last fourth of the book was a slog to get through. Erin's serious indecision between Rob and Brendan was so, so, so tenuous. It is ridiculously unbelievable that she would even consider Rob over Brendan. That felt more of a writing weakness than a lack of reality. It slowed the book down and took away pages and pages of what could've been more of a resolution between Brendan and Erin, which felt just too damn short.
There are several things about Elizabeth O'Roark's writing style I really dig:
- Short chapters. Sometimes, writers seem to write for the sake of fulfilling word count, or needlessly tacking on unnecessary plot, stretching out inner monologue that doesn't need to be stretched. O'Roark is a good self editor / works with a good editor, and I always appreciate that, as an editor myself ;)
- For this book in particular, I really dug the switch between Erin's present tense POV and Brendan's past tense POV as it built towards a present tense POV. So clever and it was just so incredibly effective at building out the Brendan character.
- Her lovely characters. I love that they can be conflicted without being overdramatic 0r needlessly heavy. Specifically in this book, I really loved Brendan <3 I think a lot of authors often fail at writing alpha males without making them flat and having them Only Be One Way, and I liked that while Brendan was definitely more alpha than beta, he was respectful of boundaries and (mostly) communicative with his thoughts. It drives me when straight male characters try to be silent and noble in their intentions, suffering for the sake of suffering, and I liked that Brendan wasn't like that.
That said, I do think the book has two weaknesses.
- Erin. I liked Erin from "Waking Olivia" and I generally enjoyed her story. She seemed like a good example of someone who, as O'Roark wrote, sanded down her personality too much for the sake of a relationship that was never going to work, and then has to learn to build those edges back out with the help of the hero. And I liked her journey with Brendan where she got to do that—I LIKE that hero is the one that helps her discover/rediscover herself, because it's so often the case that the heroine has to help "teach" the heroes that.
And Erin is really funny! Really. Her line about "fufleek" is one of the funniest, snappiest barbs I've read as of late.
But Jesus H. Christ it was rough watching her be so swallowed by insecurity sometimes. I guess it's ... realistic, in some ways? The way some people lose themselves so much for the sake of a false sense of stability, and then really struggle to come out of it. But it was still frustrating to read...
-...which leads me to my second discontent and the book's second weakness. GotDAMN the last fourth of the book was a slog to get through. Erin's serious indecision between Rob and Brendan was so, so, so tenuous. It is ridiculously unbelievable that she would even consider Rob over Brendan. That felt more of a writing weakness than a lack of reality. It slowed the book down and took away pages and pages of what could've been more of a resolution between Brendan and Erin, which felt just too damn short.