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286 pages, ebook
First published December 11, 2013
"There's no Rocky montage for overcoming obstacles in life.
Not for me. Or anyone else. I've seen the best fall.
I've seen my own dad lose after fighting so hard,
struggling for so long. Can't you see, Hunter?
It's not that I don't want to get hurt. It's that I can't.
If I do, it's over. It's all over for me."
"We're both drowning, Hunter."
I sobbed, trying to push him away but he held me tightly.
"I'm flailing like an idiot and I'm just going to
pull you down with me! We're both going to drown,
can't you see that? I can't do that to you, Hunter..."
Hunter was unlike any guy I'd ever met - or probably would ever meet. He was a walking contradiction:
fierce yet tender, strong but damaged.
"Maybe a little pain now is better than a lot of pain later..."
"You're just drowning right now Lorrie. I saved your once, I can do it again."
I hate giving bad reviews and I hate to add a book to my DNF shelf even more. I do it very rarely maybe once or twice a year. I really tried to give this book a try even when I wanted to give up I would try to hold on just a little bit longer. I finally decided as much as I love to read I shouldn't waste time on something that I'm not enjoying. This being an ARC made it really hard for me not to finish. I really feel to give a good review you have to finish the book you are reviewing. Unfortunately I couldn't finish this one but I do think I read enough to give a fair and honest opinion. I stopped at 59%.
The book starts out with Lorrie returning to college after taking a year off to grieve for her parents. One parent died tragically and the other killed themselves from guilt and loss of the other parent. The weird thing was the parents had divorced years before this. Lorrie meets Hunter and they hit it off. They both admit to being attracted to one another but Lorrie says she wants to be nothing but friends and this is where the story goes downhill. Hunter agrees and they hang out. Every time they get closer Lorrie freaks out and pulls away. Most of these times that she did this were caused by her but yet she blamed Hunter and rejected him over and over and I mean so many times my head was spinning in circles.
Lorrie was annoying and acted much younger then her age. She also acted cheesy and awkward. The things she said and did were ridiculous. The first scene that sticks out in my head is the one where she went back to Hunters house to change after falling into the lake. When he wasn't looking she stole his trash and ran off. It was said that she was paying him back for the dry clothes he lent her (that she was stealing) by taking his trash out. It was really stupid.
I liked Hunter but he needed to get a spine and become a little alpha male. I think Lorrie would have been receptive to it if he had just taken charge and told her things were going to happen. I'm an alpha male lover though so I'm sure everyone doesn't think this. I got tired of him being treated badly.
The cover of the book also bothered me because it had so much potential. I just though the person looked too photo-shopped or plastic looking. I'm not sure why but the person looks too fake. I'm a fan of hot guy covers but this one doesn't look natural at all.
The reasons behind the way Lorrie rejected Hunter time and time again weren't clear. I know this type of storyline is expected to have some push and pull to the relationships but this just went in circles too many times.
I really hate giving bad reviews. I know this author has worked hard on this book and I appreciate being given the chance to read it. I don't think lying or being dishonest about it will help the author or the publisher in the long run so unfortunately this is how I feel about this book. The story had a lot potential and there were parts that I really enjoyed. Lorrie's character needs some work especially how she talks and the recurring circles that Hunter and Lorrie's relationship goes in needs to be tweaked. I understand her pulling away once or twice but this wasn't enjoyable. I would love to see this storyline revised. I would definitely buy the book to read it again if that happened.