Review: Sad end to the series...
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 19, 2013
My Thoughts:Let me begin my review by saying that I truly enjoyed this series and I'm sorry to see it end. It was very well written with quite a few highs and lows, and moments of heart-clenching sweet and face fanning sexy.Now, that being said, I'm sadder that the Ross Siblings series ended with Take Me On, which was the weakest book for me. I had several issues that kept me from loving this book. The biggest one was Gabriella. Girlfriend was just a difficult pill to swallow at many moments in the story. In some cases she was too brash and downright rude, whereas in others she felt too Pollyanna "woe is me." I understand life dealt her a bad hand but her emotions and reactions swung like a pendulum...even before her little surprise. She was super assertive with Ian and I actually disliked that level of forwardness. Call me old fashioned but I like the man as the pursuer in my romance and that just was not the case here. I also disliked how Gabby "bounced" between Mark and Ian when she thought Ian was lost to her. Her heart totally belonged to Ian at that point in the story, but she seemed too ready to allow Mark to be his replacement. What happened to all her grandiose talk of "going it alone"?!?! It felt too much like she was using men as a crutch in her life. That is how she met Ian, after all. And, when she finally confessed her love to Ian it was so impotent that it felt rote instead of emotion-filled like it should have felt.Beyond Gabby, I just never felt any kind of connection between her and Ian. Sure, they sizzled between the sheets but it never felt deeper than a strong lust between them. I appreciate Ian doing what he did with her family and that one scene at the Ross house was the most evocative in the entire story.And, I just have to say...what happened to Gianna Ross in this story? I absolutely loved her in all the other stories. She was sweet and sassy and the perfect storybook mother...except in this story. She was downright judgmental and critical of Ian without even knowing him. Her snobbish response about him hooking up with Gabby for her money sounded more like a comment Candace's mother, Susan, would utter. It was so mean and hypocritical, and she was doing to Ian what Susan did to Brian--a crime that Gianna had no problem calling BS on. So, it stung a bit that Gianna turned into THAT person.Sadly, I was left feeling a little, "meh" at the end of this one. I'm glad all the Ross siblings got their happily ever after but the end of the series left me feeling a bit...unfulfilled. But, I do look forward to seeing what Ms. Lynn does next.Ratings Detail:Rating for female protagonist: 3★Rating for male protagonist: 3★Rating for secondary characters: 3★Steam Level: 4★Plot Viability: 3★General Storyline: 3★Story Ending: 3★Ease of Reading: 4★Book editing: 4★Cliffhanger: NoOverall rating: 3★Would I recommend this series: Yes.Would I continue the series: Yes.Would I read other books by this author: Yes.