Review: didn't quite work as i expected
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 27, 2013
The Temptation of Lila and Ethan. Jessica SorensenReview from Jeannie Zelos Book reviews.Well, in spite of being lost past that age group I do love to read some NA contemporary romance, because its usually full of the  strong drama and emotion that I love. I'd met Lila and Ethan in other JS novels of course, so was keen to read their story. Sadly though for a huge swath of the first half Lila just seemed so...whiny. Real “poor little rich girl” syndrome. I get that she had a horrific past, awful parents, no support after what happened to her – in fact  the opposite of what she needed from her family but...the constant mulling over and over and over the past in her head, and the sluttiness of her behaviour came as a shock. The drug addiction too – I’m sure it would be far harder to defeat after all those years, than the simplistic way it was overcome in the book. Overall she didn't seem the same person I’d been reading about before. Similar difficulty with  Ethan, I knew he had problems in his past, and it was good to understand some of his history but London? She came out of the left field, we'd never heard of her before and yet she was such an important part of his past and he wasn't sure if he still was in love with her....It seemed she was there just to add some drama, if she'd been that important how come no-one had mentioned her before?So, that’s the bits I struggled with – what did I like?  Well, it's a typical JS novel, well written and easy to read, with characters and problems that feel real and happen in everyday life. A story about love lost and found, about overcoming problems and moving forward with life. It did have lots of drama and emotion – just not very strong – it kind of felt a bit one paced to me. I like to be on edge of seat wondering what will happen, but this book it felt really like I knew what was going to be. That’s why the lower star rating, its an excellent read, just didn't have the pathos, the giddy joy, the surprise factor I’d expected.Stars: three and a half.ARC supplied via Netgalley