Review: A sweet and sexy coming of age story... with a not-so-sweet twist
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 28, 2013
Curve is the story of seventeen year old Cass. She’s a normal girl with a normal life. She’s in her last year of school and anticipating going to college in a few months. One night at a dance, Rob, the popular guy she’s had a crush on forever begins to show her attention. Her best friend Neve’s older brother Flynn steps in and puts a stop to their dancing because it’s all about a bet. Creepy Rob’s friends bet him that he could get a picture of her breasts, Flynn overheard them and rescued her before things could get too far. Of course, Flynn has other reasons for rescuing her beyond the fact that she’s his sister’s best friend, but she doesn’t know that at the time.“What do you want me to say, Flynn? That I am so turned on right now I am struggling to even string a sentence together? That, even though we probably would regret it, I don’t want to stop? That there is no way I’m going to be able to sleep in your bed tonight without replaying every second of that? I’ve never so much as kissed a boy before and you have got me ready to give you everything so quickly – it’s scary how much I want you. So sorry if it’s not the response you were after. I’m doing the best I can.”From there, the book almost feels split into two parts. There’s the charming parts where Cass and Flynn spend a lot of time together casually until feelings start to surface and the creepy parts with Rob and his bully friends and the rumors Cass has to deal with at school. As Cass and Flynn are beginning to learn each other in a different way and grow together as more than friends, the threats and bullying come to a head one night as Cass is at work. Rob is a Grade A sleaze. I wish Cass had been more upfront with everyone as to the depth of what she was dealing with from Rob. Perhaps the incident could have been avoided. What I will say is that I think the situation was handled responsibly by the author and the characters involved. It was dark and unexpected, but handled positively.“The temptation to ring him was overpowering. I wanted to hear his voice saying my name. I wanted the sound of his laughter. I wanted to listen to him breathing. I wanted him, but knew I couldn’t give in. Things had changed too much.”The fallout from the events with Rob had a huge impact on Cass and Flynn’s budding relationship, but only because Cass allows it to do so. Flynn was sweet and supportive and protective. He wanted to be there for her. She felt guilty and embarrassed and pushed him away. It was heartbreaking. It was disappointing, yet understandable. I just wanted her to be stronger, more like she was before.“The last few years of my life can be measured in moments spent with you. Yet you were completely unaware. Oblivious.”This book was sweet and sexy – minus the twist. It was a coming of age story. I loved the characters. Cass, Flynn and Neve all earned a place in my heart. The friendships, relationships and family dynamics were all wonderfully portrayed and realistic. I was captivated by the writing style. I loved that it was told not in chapters, but in days. They weren’t quite diary entries, but had that feel. There was no question as to how much time had passed. I read a lot of NA and YA lit, and this was refreshing and unique. I can’t wait to read Neve’s story.***I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All quotes come from the review copy and may differ from the final version.***