Review: Love, yet......
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 28, 2013
****SOME SPOILERS****I've read both books in this series so far- this one and Access Restricted. I love them both so much, but at the same time there is a lot I don't love about them. Just way, way, WAY too much time in Lily's head and all the ramblings going on in it. I also agree with another reviewer who said way too much time spent on describing the scene/a room/a concert venue/etc. In both books I skimmed over so much, sometimes pages at a time- YET I still love these books because I LOVE what unfolds between Tristan and Lily. HOWEVER, there's not enough of them together in either of the first two books! Not nearly enough. :/ There's so much of the other unnecessary stuff I've mentioned, or pages of scenes with Lily and her friends, or people she's interviewing. It's just too much after a certain point. I'm hoping and praying that Miss Severin gives us more of Lily and Tristan from now on, in what I'm assuming will be the final book. I hope it is the final book anyway. I just want a HEA for Tristan and Lily. Please oh please Miss Severin.To me, the romantic leads- the H/h in a romance story should be the clear focal point of and in the story, and the rest secondary, but it's almost as if it's Lily's constant thoughts or descriptions of things/places that are taking up the majority of the story. This is such a beautiful, passionate, gritty, fragile-yet-strong, consuming love story. Tristan and Lily spend so much time apart as it is because of he being a super busy rock star and she a busy journalist. And in the first two books (esp the second one) there is much that should or needs to be said, but neither ever want to get too deep in discussion. Always putting off a discussion for later, and the very few times when they try to talk it's jumbled and they have a difficult time expressing themselves. Don't get me wrong- it works because of who and how they are. Because of each of their pasts and insecurities. It makes sense and adds to the story's tension well for the most part, but at the same time, now that they've finally committed to a bonafide relationship with one another after all the heartache after the concert (in book 2) and are now heading off on tour together, it's time for them to communicate- however hard it may be for them. Time for them to have deep discussions, work things through, fight for their relationship- no matter how rough or painful the path- no matter what anyone tries to throw their way, because they truly love one another and it's clear they are meant for each other. They may not be perfect people, but they're so perfect together. They are meant. Corny, but true. :) And then hopefully- finally- they'll have a beautiful, wonderful HAPPY EVER AFTER. Any other kind of ending will just suck quite frankly. And hopefully there'll be a great epilogue too. I hate it when a really fantastic love story concludes abruptly. Though I'm not too worried because I highly doubt Ms. Severin would end it like that.And so.... as much as I'm nitpicking and complaining in this review, I STILL LOVE THE BOOKS. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. Strange, but true. :)I love Tristan's and Lily's story. Every moment of it when it's about them and not the other stuff. Their relationship is sweet, passionate, raw, engrossing. I can't wait to read the rest of it. Miss Severin has such a unique writing style. Different from any I've ever read really. At first it was hard for me to get into her style of writing while reading Access All Areas. The first 30% of the book was way too verbose for me. It was rather frustrating and sort of hard to follow along in a way because of it, but by the middle of AAA that changed for me. And I "got it". I began to understand Lily's jumbled thoughts- the often cryptic and/or minimal dialogue between she and Tristan. And it's all really SO COOL, and Miss Severin is a BRILLIANT writer. Truly she is. It's just in my opinion she doesn't spend enough time writing about what matters most in this series- TRISTAN AND LILY. So I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that in the next/3rd (and hopefully final) book she does. And if she does then as far as I'm concerned- this series which is already one of my absolute favorites (don't let my complaints fool you! lol!)- will be PERFECTION.PS: Sorry, but now that I've reread this book again recently, I have to come back to add the one thing I did not like at all, in this book that I love so much....I hated that Lily even considered being with Dave after what went down with Tristan. I hated that she was so weak to the point she felt she needed a "safety net"/to be taken care of. She felt nothing for Dave. Her heart, her emotions all belonged to Tristan. I completely understood her hurt and pain over Tristan's behavior backstage. I understand why she left him. I would've too. But I'd rather she left him and stood on her own two feet, working through her broken heart and finding her own way. Not meeting with Dave to seriously consider his "proposal." I'd really like to think she would've come to her senses and said no to Dave, had Tristan not shown up at the restaurant to put a wrench in things. I know Lily has a slew of insecurities and issues (as does Tristan), but being so pathetic a woman as to be with a man you have no true feelings for, just for the sake of financial security and/or a job, should not be one of them. Lily is a better, stronger, more independent woman than that- even with all her insecurities. I just have to believe for my peace of mind when reading this book, that she would've told Dave no, regardless if Tristan came back to fight for her or not.