Review: great debut novel
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 9, 2014
This was an great debut novel for Jen Andrews; I really liked the writing style and found this to be an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon!!Zoey got on my wick a bit, and man, she has some issues, and I can totally see why. The dream at the beginning was very well done, and gave you everything you needed to see why Zoey was such a screwed up mess, she has so many real issues and I really worry that this relationship is going to be codependent. I love the fact that she knew something was wrong and sort help for it, real help to, not just a friendly chat at a bar with her friends. I love that she wanted to take things slow, even if at one point I was screaming “Just get it on already.” But I can so see why she isn’t too quick to jump into anything. The girl has been burnt many times before!!I loved Andy and I loved that he was covered in tats, and into cars. Can’t get enough of that!! I loved him with the little kids too, seriously drool worthy, love a man that can get down on the floor and play with little kids!! He really did have a good ole kiwi bloke feel to him. He had his ups and downs in life and I can’t help but think they could have been explored more, but this is only book one and there is more to come.I loved how the little things were done right.  Andy is from New Zealand, so when he talked about his mum he said his MUM not his MOM.  You can really tell  that Jen has knowledge of NZ, how we talk, take off shoes off all the time, how we like to say mate and a few other things, although bro was missing ;) I love how she didn’t make Andy sound like Barry Crump (google him) and make us out to be all backward sheep farmers.I am not sure why but I just didn’t feel the love between Zoey and Andy, I get the instant attraction and then liking each other, but I just didn’t see the jump to love happen. One minute she liked him and he liked her, the next they were all in love? If she had come to that conclusion after New Year’s I think I would have found it to be a bit more believable, IMO. I am not a fan of instalove at all, I think it needs to be built a bit and I just didn’t see it here.To me some of the dialogue felt a bit stiff and wooden, not bad by any means, just a little off, and only really when she was talking to her dad and brothers. I love the interaction with her friends that was real and honest, I call my friends bitches and other not so nice names all the time.There is a cliff hanger at the end of this book to, but that didn’t bother me too much, for two main reasons 1: I knew about it ahead of time and 2: there are two more books to come, so unless it is something so outrages that is going to side swipe me, the cliff didn’t piss me off at all;)Anyway this really was a great story and I would recommend that is you like contempt romances you should read it, Jen is a debuting author and I see so much potential and talent there, she rocks, I think she has a great talent for knowing people. For instance with a sense of abandonment as a child it makes sense that as an adult Zoey would attach herself to the first man outside her dad and brothers that showed her any love at all. There are lots of little things about the human physic in this book that would be missed in others. She is also a really nice person.