Review: Conclusion to Finn and Casey's story. This one was harder to like than the first. Rushed and abrupt ending.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 26, 2014
Review for Ramblings From This Chick. ramblingsfromthischick.blogspot.comJust Listen is part 2 in the Public Lives series by Clare James and is the conclusion to Casey and Finn's story. This one should only be read after you read Talk to Me and continues where that book left off. I was ready for this one right after I finished Talk to Me because I had to know what happened after the cliffhanger. I needed to find out where Casey and Finn were headed, so I started this one as soon as I got my hands on it. There is an ending to their story and I was glad to see what happened to them, but I did feel like this one didn't deliver what I had been expecting or hoping for.At the beginning of this book we are wondering what happened to Finn. As he is sent into a hospital, Casey is left unaware of what is going on and tries to get answers from Finn's friend Nate who seems to have dealt with this before. When Finn's ex arrives, things take a turn for the worse and Casey heads home. She decides to put some distance between them regardless of her feelings. But Finn is determined to get her to talk to him after he comes to. But between Finn's ex, his condition, and Casey's career there are still many obstacles in their way. Can they lay everything out and be completely honest with each other? Do they stand a shot once all their secrets are revealed?I liked Finn and Casey in the first book, but I felt like they both made some really obvious and large mistakes. They continued to make assumptions and judge each other unfairly in this book, and I felt like their communication was even worse this time around. I understand why Finn didn't initially tell Casey about his condition, especially after some of the things that she said. But I did feel like it went a bit too far before she was clued in. I also felt the same about her coming clean about her story and what was going on with her job. It just got too old and went on for far too long. Casey was harder for me to like in this story, and I felt like she needed to get over herself at a few points. She seemed to be upset about how things had gone with Finn, but she didn't really seem to be doing much about it. I kept waiting for her to make the big gesture or go after him and she just never really did. I will say that their chemistry and attraction was stronger than ever though. This one was way hotter and had a ton more steam.I think beyond the fact that they judged each other so harshly and had such horrible communication, the thing that really wrecked this one for me was that the ending was so rushed and abrupt. By the time they started to figure things out the book was just over. It took too long to get there, and the whole book was conflict without any real resolution until the end. By the time we got to an HEA, I honestly just didn't really care anymore. I wanted to see them get over everything and really learn and grow from it. I was waiting to see them actually be a couple and have some good moments between them beyond just the physical, and I felt like we never got that with them. It made it hard to really buy into a serious relationship between them where they are saying I love you and actually believe in their HEA. I really liked the first book, and I think this story had so much promise. I really thought that this one was going to be great, but unfortunately I think this just fell short. I think that the short length hurt this one and I might have felt differently if the ending would have not been as rushed and abrupt. I did like that all the questions were answered and everything was explained. I also liked that we still got to see both Casey and Finn's POVs and the fact that we got the past as well as the present. But for me this book could have been so much more and it's a shame that it ended the way it did.**Complimentary Copy Provided by Between the Sheets Promotions**