Review: Not bad, not bad at all!
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 27, 2014
Review:I haven’t really read any new adult in a long time, so this was a good change from everything else I’ve had on my plate lately. And while I liked it overall and think it’s a decent addition to the genre, I shouldn’t in the future read anything for a while after finishing a Susan Elizabeth Phillips book. While the latter may always have faults, everything else kind of more or less pales in comparison.Anyway, back to this story and the aspects I liked:The international setting and multicultural characters were different and out of the usual “comfort zone” I’ve come across a lot in new adult.I thought the chemistry between Maggie and Samir was not maybe exactly explosive, but it was definitely such a slow burn that it made me basically long for the scrapes of moments they were together. And each and every one of those moments had me on the edge of my seat, they were the worst kind of teases, but then again, I like tension, development and the wait, if it’s worth it in the end. I’m really starting to get fed up with new adult where the main couple meet and more or less are joined by the hip from then on and are pretty sure that it’s big love (even though most of the time I don’t really understand what exactly makes him or her so irresistibly awesome to fall in love from first glance… or the second).I liked the ending, it was somewhat of an open ending, but there wasn’t much to speculate on how things stood. So, I don’t think it’s completely necessary to read the second book, but I will do it anyway so it doesn’t matter.And, the things I didn’t enjoy:Hugh, oh my god, what a bore. Plus, the supposed romance between him and Maggie was an even worse bore. There was no excitement, no anticipation, no attraction, …. nothing. They were a snooze fest together. And him being handsome, hot and wealthy does not automatically mean it would be great. I couldn’t help but be glad when his parts were over and Maggie could get back to flirting and desperately trying to resist Samir.Maggie annoyed me from time to time as well due to her inability to choose, her blinds she had on regarding the two guys in her life and supposedly being so innocent and then clubbing and kissing random guys like it was all in a day’s work. Still, I liked her more than I wanted to give her a piece of my mind.Why was there a need to have a love triangle? I don’t think it added anything to the story and the book would have been more than fine without that blasted triple terror plot trope. Then again, there was no insta love, attraction maybe, but no insta love, so yay for that!Characters:Apart from the main three, Maggie also made a lot of friends including the seemingly mean ice queen Fleur and the nice and supportive Mya. The made up a team of good casual/serious friends that were there for each other. I also hope that Fleur finds someone nice for her and, luckily, there were already some promising hints, so I hope those would be more explored in the next book.Overall:In some way different and in other ways the same old new adult. Still, I liked this book (it had a type of romance I usually am most fond of) and will check out the second one to come out in the summer.