Review: Steph Campbell does it again ... perfect!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 2, 2013
BTNL is the perfect follow on story for Quinn and Ben. It's not all hearts and flowers for them after the end of Grounding Quinn and BTNL shows that perfectly. There are misunderstandings, insecurities, obstacles and fears. BTNL is the story of how Quinn and Ben deal with all of those things and how they fight for their relationship.I shed a couple of tears while reading, I felt frustrated with both characters, I even bit off a damn nail (and I'm trying really hard not to do that now that I'm 31!) but I'd do it all again for Quinn and Ben.Back then, in GQ, Quinn was just such a tragic, messed up, emotional wreck. She was dealing with so much crap my heart ached for her and the way she thought of herself.Then, as you’ll know if you’ve read Grounding Quinn, she and Ben finally sorted things out on that special Christmas Eve.Fast forward a year, move our 2 main characters from Georgia to California, and we have the start of BTNL. Quinn and Ben have started afresh, left their dysfunctional/meddling families behind, and are now at college. Everything’s perfect, right? Nope!Ben is feeling a bit useless. He and Quinn are so settled now that he feels like she doesn’t need him anymore. He can’t carry out the role he always has – protector, knight in shining armour, good guy when things are bad.Quinn has finally got the stable life she so desperately needed/wanted/deserved. Things are great. Then Caroline – Ben’s persistent ex-girlfriend - starts calling him. Then Quinn is offered and accepts a place on a month-long cooking programme in Italy.How will they survive this month apart? What does Caroline want? Will Ben go to her? Will Quinn think differently after spreading her wings in Italy? Will she still need or even want Ben when she gets back?Gah, I just loved, loved, loved Beautiful Things Never Last! The one tiny negative I had at the end of Grounding Quinn was that I wanted to know more of their story. After they finally sorted things out I wanted to know more about them and how they were getting on. BTNL gave me what I wanted and let me feeling fulfilled at the end.Someone said to me recently that sequels are hard to write. Since I’m not a writer I can’t fully appreciate that. What I can say is that Beautiful Things Never last is a worthy successor to Grounding Quinn. It had all the elements I look for in a good, no, great, book – easy to read, flowing writing, great characters that I care about, and a plot that keeps me hooked. There were misunderstandings, and miscommunications, there were feelings of not being needed, and mistrust. There was passion, drama, and emotion. Ultimately there was the message that things can’t always stay the same but it is possible for love to last if you’re willing to adapt and change as your circumstances do.I loved seeing how Quinn had grown in the year since she’d left home. I loved seeing how Ben was free from his awful mother. I loved that Carter and Shayna were there as Quinn and Ben’s support system. I hated conniving Caroline – yeah, she’d been through a lot but her ultimate goal never changed and I think she definitely tried to play her recent trauma to her advantage. Ben’s mum? Yeah, I still disliked her too, even though I guess she did try a tiny bit!I don’t know if this review has made any sense but I hope it lets you know that you should definitely read Beautiful Things Never Last. Steph Campbell knows how to write stories that are full of passion and emotion, stories that keep you engrossed and rooting for the characters. Do you have those authors who’s work you just go to without even bothering to read reviews to see if it’s any good? Yeah, Steph Campbell is on that list for me.