by VICTORIA ASHLEY
She belongs to my brother…
I’ve stood back for years watching Dax repeatedly screw things up with Kennedy, as if he doesn’t think anyone could ever swoop in and steal her away.
Breakup after breakup, they always end up back together, even though I’ve always had a thing for her. I’m tired of waiting. He had his chance.
I want mine.
When Dixie’s Alibi — her Grandmother’s bar — needs a new cook for the food truck, I jump at the opportunity, despite the fact that Kennedy Ward hates me. At least, she pretends she does. We both know she secretly wants me and always has.
One way or another, I will get her to finally admit it, even if it involves losing my brother. I plan to
play dirty — real dirty — just like he did. This time I’m going to beat him at his own game. I wanted her first, and he knew that, but our age kept us apart. Not anymore.
Now, I’m grown and ready to take what should’ve been mine to begin with.
"How can I push him away when all I want is to pull him toward me?"
I haven't read Victoria Ashley until NOW but I can honestly say that I am so glad I finally did. This was a whole new experience for me, not all good, but most definitely not all bad either. While the beginning started out a little rough for me, the final push to the end was actually my favorite part of the whole story and it made the entire book for me. I realize my review may sound critical but I ended up actually liking the book. I just hate that it took me a little too long to settle into it. I think there was a lot of give and take in this book. A lot of give on my end in the beginning because by the time I got to 49%, I was ready to walk away - it was going to be a DNF. I couldn't walk away, but I was ready to. Make no mistake on that difference - so that tells me something. That tells me a lot.
The basis for this book was absolute perfection for my little twisted heart. A woman belongs to another, yet she has feelings for the brother? I mean, c'mon!!! This was calling my name!!! I love the forbidden, the push and the pull, the feelings that are ones you just cannot fight. While this book did have some of those elements, if not all of them, there was more to it that made it harder to enjoy than it should have. I honestly think the major trip up I had was that it was reverse age-gap and those aren't always my favorite - but Colson made it work for me. He knew who held his heart. I'm glad because that confidence and arrogance played a huge part in this book.
Some of the things that I made note of:
There was a hysterical level of immaturity that I grappled with regarding both characters, which is a reason why I don't read this genre often. The internal monologue on both fronts was a little much and made her annoying and him slightly egotistical, both of them not being very relatable in the very beginning.
Kennedy being older definitely allowed for me to question some of her actions and common sense. I don’t understand how everyone else saw this attraction AND she clearly felt it, but also pretended not to know how much Colson liked her. So that drama felt completely unnecessary and it made her look like a ninny - I saw it as just another way to ramp up the drama for that scene. The dilemma of him being your boyfriend's younger brother alone ramped it up, but her pretending to not know, yet constantly fighting it, just gave me pause to roll my eyes a few times. Pretending not to know and not wanting to act on it are two totally different things, and this book had both. It felt unnecessary. I did enjoy the fact that she spent so much time in her head counting all the ways he was sexy and how much she hated him.... almost equally. It was comical to a certain degree.
"Who the hell has sex with their boyfriend while thinking about his brother?"
Add to it, Colson had a shit ton of confidence - there wasn't a real given reason for it, it just was. Confidence just oozed out of him in his thoughts, his actions, and in his determination because every girl wanted him and apparently every guy wanted to be him. He came across as narcissistic a few times, not really as a man that knew his worth and his value but assumed it. It’s wasn't sexy all the time, which dragged out his internal praising. Be humble because you know, don’t be an ass because everyone tells you that you are. I will admit that his banter and his comebacks were definitely sexy at times because of his confidence, but there is a fine line on some of them. It was a little boring reading the same mental mantra page after page, because he made mention a thousand different ways, but alas, it was who he was. It did add to his determination, though - and that was admirable. I won't lie that confidence is equal parts sexy and hot - but it has to be in the right context. I'm not saying it wasn't that way in this book, but some tweaking would have helped.
The fighting between Dax and Colson (the brothers) was pretty tiring to read about, honestly. They fought over her as if she was a piece of property and clearly couldn't make her own decision - and they did it right in front of her. That left a sour taste in my mouth, and I didn't really appreciate her standing by while they did it. These two morons were fighting like she wasn't accountable for her own thoughts and wants. It was almost ridiculous. One of them had to be more mature than the other given the ages they were, yet that seemed to be a problem for both of them. It really was frustrating to see. And to top it all off, Dax was a major douche with a drinking problem. To be honest, I wasn't even sure why there was competition. It made zero sense.
Unfortunately, the fighting didn't stop at his brother, because Colson also felt the need to fight with anyone who said something he didn't like - which added another level of immaturity to deal with. There was a factor that it played into, however, and that actually showed his determination with regards to Kennedy. I loved when he was around her because that man was driven to pleasing her and making her smile. I honestly think that's where he was redeemed.
The buildup really lacked for me in the beginning. Instead of something being built up to or upon, it was all told almost in hindsight. I felt like the entire story was being told to me - again, almost in hindsight, not truthfully in forethought. Why does he want her. Oh! They used to do this. Why does he believe she is his. Oh! They once shared this. HINDSIGHT. Write forward, don’t make me chase facts. I feel like the entire time a statement was made, we chased the background to add to it. Set it up, build it up - don’t catch me up. I want a level of background that gives me purpose to their relationship so I can fight for it with them.
Ok....now that I am done bitching, let me tell you what I loved about this book. The LAST 30% was amazing for me. The story came together and the characters were meshing well. The love was in abundance and the drama between them was legit and working towards the story and not against it. I think my favorite thing was that Victoria Ashley did an amazing job showing Colson's desperation for Kennedy and his need wasn't anything he could walk away from. I love when a strong, confident man can actually upend his life because his world runs his heart. Oh and because it was HOT! Holy shite. Hot. Colson had a swaggar to him that outdid his confidence by a mile. He was always on top of his game and had plenty to smile about. This book was all kinds of hot. I can and will say that much.
This animosity between the brothers made Colson shine though, because if one person was going to treat her the way she deserved to be treated and take care of her, it was going to be him. I will admit that Colson grew on me faster than Kennedy did, but by the time this story was over, I was in love with the way he made her feel and the way he took care of her. He paid attention to who she was and what she liked. I just loved that he always put her first. Always. I can honestly say I loved that she was his priority. The way he sold it and the way he made her realize that he was there for her, that melted my heart. That endeared me to him. I watched him put her first and put her on the pedestal he felt she deserved. So admirable. Definitely made me {{sigh}} a few times.
In the end, Colson's overconfidence and strength in his belief that Kennedy was his one true love is what made me smile and keep pushing through this book. To top it all off, her smile blossomed and she had a true sense of happiness when she was with him. So even though some things were frustrating, I couldn’t stop reading. The flow worked and I found myself reading late into the night. I wanted to keep reading it and I wanted to see how it worked out. I wanted to see how they came together, so that says something, a lot even - but doesn’t negate the frustration, hence my rating.
While I may have struggled with some aspects of this book - the give and take, per se, I will most definitely read her again....without a doubt. She can obviously tell me a story, a hot one at that. I'm hoping the drama isn't prevalent in all the books but was due to their age and immaturity, but again - she can write and she can keep me entertained, which is obviously the ultimate goal in this whole experience.
"It was us before it was anyone else."
BEE
~MEET VICTORIA ASHLEY~
New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Walk of Shame Series.
Victoria Ashley grew up in Rockford, IL and has had a passion for reading for as long as she can remember. After finding a reading app where it allowed readers to upload their own stories, she gave it a shot and writing became her passion.
She lives for a good romance book with bad boys that are just highly misunderstood and is not afraid to be caught crying during a good read. When she's not reading or writing about bad boys, you can find her watching her favorite shows.
~CONNECT WITH VICTORIA~
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Great review! So detailed.
ReplyDeleteI try to give some insight to my thoughts without giving anything away. Thank you so much, Joy!!
DeleteI enjoyed the push pull between these two brothers lol. Im always down for a little competition. Great Review��
ReplyDelete