★★★★★ 3
Too Many Problems Deterred My Enjoyment
Format: Kindle
Elle Kennedy's
was one of my favorite romances from 2015. I loved the progression of the relationship between the two leads and felt that the book handled the issue of past sexual assault really well compared to other books in the genre. Then came
. The romance in this story was not as compelling to me, but I appreciated how the author really put thought and effort into portraying the hero's struggle with familial obligations versus the pursuit of his dreams.
Both these previous books in the Off-Campus series depict college relationships and the struggles of emerging adulthood realistically--something that I feel is oftentimes missing in New Adult novels. It is rare for me to find books in the genre relatable (ironic, given that I was a college student less than a year ago and should theoretically be the readership these books are marketed to), which makes my enjoyment of Elle Kennedy's books especially precious. I was counting down the days to its release and finished it in a matter of hours. And it was...kind of meh.
The published synopsis really does not properly describe the story, so let me first quickly summarize the key points anyone needs to know: Allie is an aspiring actress who is trying to figure out whether she should aim for a television or a stage career. She recently broke up with her on-again-off-again ex-boyfriend and in her heartbreak, she cannot even imagine getting into a relationship with anyone else. She has a one-night stand with Dean, a rich college hockey star, who is only after casual sex. They decide to have a fling, but must keep it a secret because they have many mutual friends.
There were so many things that bothered me about this book, I actually had to make a list.
1. The gratuitous scene involving Dean in a threesome with two girls is unappealing and unnecessary. I am not marking this as a spoiler because it is a scene found at the very beginning of the book (2% into the Kindle version) and really does not have a point. I do not understand why this scene was not cut out or at least shortened in the editing process. What does it serve to do? To show that Dean is sexually promiscuous? It is pretty clear to the reader that Dean is sexually promiscuous. He mentions it all the time. Other characters mention it all the time. Girls hit on him and he flirts with them all the time. There is no need for us to read in explicit detail his fun fun times. Perhaps the scene is there to titillate the reader? It just made me feel very uncomfortable because I was wondering the entire time whether these two women were actually into each other or whether they were merely performing for his sexual satisfaction. We later find out that, yes, these two are in fact interested in having sex with each other as well, but that is later on. During the scene I remained unsure, which makes it kind of icky.
2. The old "she ruined my penis for other women" trope. This is a convention I hate in romances. Nothing pulls me out of the story faster than this because it is not realistic, nor do I find it particularly romantic that the hero cannot get sexually aroused by anyone but the heroine. People, no matter how in love (and Dean was most definitely not in love when this occurs in the story), can still be aroused by others. It is basic biology. No one has the voodoo genitalia that can prevent their partners from feeling sexual attraction to another person. It is whether your partner will act on this attraction that will make or break a relationship. This is especially important when your partner is someone like Dean, who makes it a point to never get into serious relationships. Whether he can actually commit to Allie is a serious question, but the author decides to wave this aside by giving Allie a magical vagina. I mean, if she's the only one his penis will respond to, is it any wonder they get together? She's his last hope!
3. Neither of the characters are particularly well fleshed out. It is as if Kennedy just listed a bunch of traits she wanted the characters to have in order to keep them interesting and then just decides to write in whatever plot points she wanted without bothering to explore the characters. For example, Dean is a rich playboy who does whatever he wants. His motto is to live by his own rules and desires and outside of a few incidents here and there, his life is pretty swell. The only potential problem in his life is that he plans to attend law school after college even though he does not have an interest in it. Dean honestly bores me to tears because for most of the book nothing is done with his character. He lives in his happy Dean world and if anything disturbs his world (Allie's magical, yet elusive vagina) he rushes to solve it with a gusto, and then settles back to his happy Dean life. I mean, does this guy even have any hobbies outside of hockey and sex? I guess the previous heroes in the series were caught up in hockey and sex too, but at least they were intensely serious about hockey. Dean isn't as interested in the sport, which is fine, but that means his main interest in life that we know of is sex. Which is kind of sad (this is the last time I will mention magical genitalia, I swear!), since Allie's basically ruined his willy from sex with other people. Seriously, though, Kennedy tries to give him more interesting things to do by having him volunteer to coach a boys' hockey team but this is really something his new assistant coach forces on him and even when he finds interest in doing it, it does not even begin to fill the blank canvas that is his life. The author then, again, tries to challenge and deepen Dean's character with the story's final conflict, but it just does not work for me (see below).
Allie's character is more interesting, yet more frustrating because of all the wasted potential. She's an aspiring actress who is struggling with her future career plans and worrying about how to take care of her father, who has multiple-sclerosis. Making it as an actress depends a great deal on luck and opportunity and very talented people can spend years and years without getting anywhere. It is a very risky career choice, especially when you have a dependent who requires close care-taking and high medical costs. But does the story focus--nay even attempt to address these potential problems? Noooo. Instead, Allie spends most of her time debating whether she should look at casting offers in L.A. or trying to make it on Broadway. And banging Dean, of course. Her father vaguely factors into her worries about her career, but not to an extent that one would expect him to. I mean, I guess it is great and all for her to have so many opportunities as an actress, but, really, what is the point of making this career choice a part of her character if she does not even have to struggle with one of the most basic aspects of it?
4. Interesting relationship conflicts are brought up, but never resolved satisfactorily. An ongoing worry for Allie is her inability to separate sex from relationships. She cannot keep it casual and since adolescence she has never gone long being single. She even worries later in the story whether she has a co-dependency problem. It does not appear to me, personally, that she has a co-dependency problem, since she makes most of her life and career decisions with her own interests in mind and actually breaks up with her ex-boyfriend when he wanted to dictate her future for her. Nevertheless, I think it is perfectly valid and even healthy for someone who has always had long-term relationships to want to stay single for a while. Unfortunately, Allie does not get to experience this at all. She goes from breaking up with her ex to being sex buddies with Dean (since they decide to be exclusive and she admits she has a hard time separating sex from commitment, I do not count this as being single) to being Dean's girlfriend. She does experience a minor break from Dean toward the end of the book, but that is only for about a month before she is back with him again for their happily ever after. And since this is a romance, happily ever after means permanence. While an HEA is good and all, I am left feeling a bit sad that Allie never really got to experience adult life not being romantically attached to another person.
The bigger conflict of the series is whether Dean, with his pampered life, will actually be able to support Allie when the times get rough. Allie's dad does not think so, which is a huge foreshadowing that Dean's ability to be there for her will be no doubt be tested by a Tragic Incident. I will not elaborate on the Tragic Incident, because spoilers, but suffice to say that it is definitely devastating for the people affected. However, the strange thing is...the incident does not affect Allie. Instead, it is an incident that is pertinent to Dean. And he falls apart and has a very hard time coping. And Allie makes a decision that, while I think is reasonable, ruins the entire climax of the story for me (see spoiler for details).
**********SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!****************
After a few weeks of not being able to pull him from his grief, Allie just leaves Dean. I have two major problems with this: firstly, how on earth does this prove that Allie's dad is right in saying Dean would not be able to support Allie in trying times? If anything, this shows that Allie might not be the best pillar of support for Dean when tragedies happen. Secondly, I honestly understand why she leaves--she has her own life and she cannot and should not be jeopardizing her future to be his caretaker. That said, it really, really baffles me that she does not make any attempt to get him any help. She reasons that he is not in a bad enough state for professional help, but couldn't she at least contact his family? She knows his sister. She should have at least given her a call to make sure someone would be there for him rather than just leaving him to his own devices. Sure, he is still highly functional when she leaves him, but his behavior is also getting more and more self-destructive. This is kind of a terrible thing to do to anyone, never mind your boyfriend. Again, perhaps she really should have tried out that single life for a while.
**********END OF SPOILERS****************
5. The ending is way too pat. Everybody gets what they want and potential conflict (Dean's changes in future aspirations, having a long distance relationship after college, etc.) is completely resolved by the rosy wand of plot. I would rejoice at this if I actually felt that the story ever attempted to explore any of its major conflicts. Alas, it does not, so the fairy tale conclusion does not feel hard-earned and just makes me feel grumpy.
Whew. That was really a long rant. Now briefly on to the good things:
The saving grace of this book and why, to a certain extent, I understand why other people would give it a high score is that the characters actually fare much better when they are together than when they are apart. Not only do Dean and Allie develop a happy, loving relationship, but their relationship is also one based on mutual respect, communication, and trust. Fancy that! A romance novel where characters actually talk to each other and trust that their partners will keep their promises of commitment! I especially like how their feelings of love grow not from outside forces (like jealousy over potential suitors) but from extended time spent with one another. Their conversations are quirky and fun to read and you can tell how much they genuinely like and care about each other. If this is enough to satisfy you as a reader and you are not bothered by the things I mentioned above, you would like this book just fine. I think I just have a stronger bone to chew on regarding this one because the characters are so close in age to me, so I have a harder time waving away problems with my "But it's just fantasy!" hand. What is especially disappointing to me is that this was written by an author whose work I had really enjoyed in the past. Again, I am not a huge fan of New Adult romances. College is a time of great personal development and life transitions. I wish NA books will take this setting into more serious consideration. You can have romance and still have characters dealing with complex situations that are relevant to this stage in their lives. But c'est la vie, I suppose.
Oh, by the way, since I guess I should mention it: the sex scenes are pretty steamy. Unfortunately, the squick I felt from the aforementioned threesome scene poisoned any hot lovin' the rest of the book had to offer, so I just skimmed. But there was a lot of skimming, so the book is packed for those who wish to know!
Rating: B-
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2016
