![]() ![]() If they weren't sluts, they were bitches or "twits", every woman is an enemy to Tate in this book - even her "best friend" isn't immune. She walks onto every scene, describing the others as "slutty looking girls". For one, I feel it is always best to avoid stupid phrases like "queen bee of the mean girls", but it was when she referred to everyone Jared was with as being "slutty" because they were all over him that I felt like someone had really lit my fuse. ![]() Being inside her head was like waging a war against every other female because of the things they wore, the things they said, and the guys they were with. Tate views everyone but herself, her parents and Jared with utter disdain. Jared harassed Tate for years and yet her best friend advises her to get together with him and, when she doesn't, decides to have a go herself!įorget the best friend, let's get back to the high-and-mighty queen of preciousness herself. It's like a requirement for the protagonist's best friend to encourage them to forget about all the bad stuff a guy has done, just forget that he's a total jerk because he is SO HOT. On that subject, this seems to be incredibly common in NA books: BBF (Bad Best Friend) Syndrome. God, she was the very meaning of insufferable. The problem I had, the HUGE fucking problem I had with this book was the protagonist. With just this, I would have given at least two stars, maybe even three on a good day. This stuff wouldn't have been enough for a one star rating on its own. And using his hot body as an excuse for forgiveness didn't work because that's not a good enough reason and I don't find this an attractive description of a man: "I doubt you even wait until the condom's off before forgetting their names." There must be something wrong with me.īut anyway. But instead of being humanized, Jared is sexualized first. That would have made it a better book and a more believable story. The main problem - and I shouldn't be surprised by this - is that the author doesn't attempt to humanize him first. The reasons for his behaviour make sense, but his progression back to how he was before and the HEA don't. But I'm not really able see a) why Tate forgave him so easily and b) why he changed back so abruptly (I don't think Tate's class monologue was a convincing enough reason). I feel a bit strange about it because, on the one hand, I can see why he behaved like he did and I can find some level of forgiveness for him. It wasn't really a story about bullying, it was just about them each trying to get one up on the other.Īs for the second reason I was attracted to this book, Jared (the guy) did win me over to some extent. What this book then became was a showdown between two beautiful people who clearly wanted to shag but decided the best kind of foreplay is that where they antagonize the hell out of each other. Then we cut to a year later when she comes back from a year studying in France, determined not to let him win this time around. It was sad, it was awful and I felt sorry for her. For the former, the book started by using a chapter to give us an example of the way Tate had been bullied for several years by a guy who used to be her best friend but turned on her. The book didn't really deliver on either of those. I really liked the idea of the book for two reasons: 1) I wanted to see how the author handled the subject of bullying and 2) I was intrigued by the promise of a bully being turned into someone we could love. The negatives were flying at me on every page and, after a while, I couldn't ignore them. This book's description didn't sound like the others that are all virtually identical. I'm looking for the NA books which are different and actually tell a good story, even if it is a romance. Despite what you may think from my reactions to most books in the NA experiment, I don't just spend my time looking for things to bitch and moan about in these books. I don't even remember the last time I wanted to like a book this much. I was ready to make excuses for it, try and justify the bad and pretend the good overshadowed it. I was ready to be forgiving of the small negatives. I'm going to work my way through some of the popular New Adult books and see if I can weed out the crap and hopefully find some surprising gems. I am conducting what I'm shelving as a "New Adult (NA) Experiment". ![]()
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