Review: It was okay but...
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 05 15, 2013
"Three things I knew unequivocally. Ryan hates Valentine's Day. He's tried to kill himself. And it all centres around an uncle he never talks about"  - LilianaNot sure if this quote was inspired by Twilight, but it sure does sound familiar....***Some Spoilers***THE GOOD:The story:This story is quite heavy & deals with several intense issues: suicide, teen parenting, autism and sexual assault. These issues were handled quite effectively - with all the characters behaving is very realistic ways. Ryan especially didn't deal with his issues well, and although I found his behaviour annoying sometimes, it always felt realistic.However, I'm not really sure about this being labeled as a 'college romance', as it's only occasionally mentioned that Lili has classes or study to do and Ryan doesn't even go to college. The only college related scene was one short frat party.The characters:Ryan's not really the kind of guy I swoon over, but I certainly can see his appeal. He's a strong testosterone filled cage fighter with anger issues. He is also tormented by past demons that threaten to destroy all happiness is his life.I really liked Liliana's character & loved the fact that she's Spanish - it's nice to see some cultural diversity for a change. Her life has also been rough having an autistic child at 14, a sick mother & a father who abandoned them shortly after. She has very little joy until Ryan enters her life.THE BAD:The romance:I'm sad to say I didn't really feel the romantic connection between these two. It all seemed very rushed to me. One minute she find's him with trying to commit suicide, the next thing you know they're dating & he's declaring his love for her. I do believe they were attracted to one another - in their inner monologue they say how hot each other are and badly they what to get together. But I didn't feel like there was anything real other than lust (at least not in the beginning) We are 'told' they are in love not 'shown'.The Writing:I believe the style of writing Hall was aiming for was, casual with 'youthful' dialogue. However for me, it felt very disjointed when reading. The dialogue was often missing words (although it was clearly intentional), which really distracted from what they were saying. This style of writing just didn't work for me."What you doing Friday night?""Complexion gone ruddy, his smile's huge.""I know. Didn't think you'd forgiven me.""I was never angry at you. House has been silent without you though."I also noticed a lot of little errors, for example:- At the beginning of the story Lili & Ryan meet on Valentines Day, it's then said they meet again 3 months later (May) and this is basically when they start dating. Later on, (the day after Thanksgiving) Ryan says they've been dating for 9 months, but 9 months after May would make it February, not November (correct me if I'm wrong here).- A year later on the next Valentine's Day, **spoiler**>>she says they broke up 3 months ago - November, but they actually broke up on Christmas Day.I know this is being very nit picky, but these sorts of errors are what prevent an okay book from being great (well for me anyway)FINAL WORD:Although the writing style and romance didn't work for me I can see others really enjoying this book. There are some really beautiful scenes involving Ryan, Lili & her son Javi that were quite touching. I will be interested in seeing the next book in the series which tells the story of Alex (who I liked a lot better than Ryan). So if the reasons I didn't like it, don't really bother you, I'm sure you will really enjoy this one.CONTENT:Sexuality: medium / sex scenes (not overly descriptive)Violence: medium-strong / Ryan is a cage fighter, flashbacks of sexual assaultLanguage: medium / regular use of f wordDrugs & alcohol: medium / Ryan drinks heavily in an early scene, other minor characters also get drunk oftenOther: **spoiler**>>there is a scene were Ryan tries to kill himself in the showerMore reviews at The Reading Realm Blog