{Random} Favorite Reads of 2012

2012 was full of new discoveries, changing tastes in books, and of course, Oceana and Lisbeth meeting each other. Here we go over our favorite reads of 2012.

Oceana's Favorites

When people asked me what my favorite read of 2012, quite easily, I responded, 'Stolen by Lucy Christopher'. What I didn't realize is that when I was asked this, they meant books published in 2012 that I loved.

Oops. There goes the blonde in me.

So in this post, I'll be re-counting my top 10 favorite reads of books published in 2012. Just so you don't get confused.

10. The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

A disappointing spin-off, but great by itself.

9. Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Likable characters and a beautiful plot.

8. Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

ASDJKLLL TUCKER MARRY ME

7. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Incredibly creepy, dark, and gruesome.

6. Easy by Tammara Webber

Inspirational messages and themes.

5. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Twilight what? 

4. Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout

There's something in these books. Like drugs.

3. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Here's a box of tissues.

2. Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

Her writing is inhuman.

1. Eternally Yours by Cate Tiernan

One of my favorites of all time.

SEE HOW MUCH I LOVE IT? I was willing to take an embarrassing picture with my precious. 

Tons of my favorite books of all-time were actually released around 2010, and most of my 2012 favorites were sequels of my previous favorites. I discovered a lot of good books in 2012, but none of them really blew my mind - mostly only the top five.

Lisbeth's Favourites

Woah, I can't believe the year is over already! I can't believe that it's already been a year since I sat down by my laptop, who is now departed (RIP dear laptop), and decided that I would start a book blog and review YA books. 

Though it's only been a year, I think that I've grown a lot since then, not only in my tastes in books but everything. Not to be vain, but I think I've made some pretty good choices as well such as leaving Shelfari (another book site) and joining Goodreads and finally working up the courage to talk to Oceana (yeah, it all spiraled from there).

Okay, to close this rambling introduction, I'm going to tell you this is actually a "Top Ten Favourite Reads" post not a weird mushy post about my emotional journey through the year.

10. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

Wow.

9. Endgame by Nenia Campbell

Extremely entertaining and fun read!

8. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Deeply moving and brilliant.

7. What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang

Different and original with beautiful execution.

6. This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

An interesting take on a zombie apocalypse.

5.  Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

ASDFGHJKL; LOVE

4. 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad

Horrifying and wonderful.

3. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Walking Dead + Vampires = Awesome

2. The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Beautiful.

1. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Ashton

Jodi Lynn Anderson's writing is up there with Laini Taylor's (Oceana disagrees)

So yeah, that's it. I didn't have as many "ZOMG I LOVE THIS BOOK" moments as last year (remember that was the year when I loved Twilight). Hope you enjoyed! What were your top ten reads this year?

{Review} Dead End by Jason Myers

Title: Dead End
Author: Jason Myers
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release date: June 14, 2011
Date Read: November 16 - November 17
Rating: ✭

Dru and Gina are young, in love, and can’t wait to get out of Marshall, Nebraska, a town where bloodline means everything and whoever has the money makes the rules. But all their dreams are shattered when Gina has a monstrous run-in with the son of the richest man in Marshall—an incident that leaves her broken, battered, and violated.
Driven by rage, Dru and Gina take matters into their own hands, and quickly find themselves in over their heads. Without any other options, Dru and Gina are on the run.
But there’s more chasing them than they think, and love might not be enough to save them.

I received a copy via my amazing Goodreads friend Christina, who shipped it to me after not being able to get past page fifteen. I was sure I could read the whole book, and I plan on sending DEAD END around the country to various of my friends if they believe they can handle it.

Upon cracking this relatively small book open, I thought:



Marshall is a corrupt town in Nebraska where Dru and Gina, two teenagers, live. Dru and Gina are very much in love and plan to leave the town as soon as they can. However, a disastrous confrontation in which Gina is gang-raped by the son of the richest man in Marshall and his friend crushes their hopes of escaping. Dru and Gina are forced to escape Marshall, but they're being followed by an assassin, and it's not going to end pretty. 

Pretty much my entire reaction for DEAD END.

No, this is not young-adult. It is not new-adult. Is this even adult? How about PORN?

I get it. This is supposed to be about teenagers - about the way we talk, about the way we think, and pretty much about how we always think about sex.

This crosses the line. It crossed the line a long time ago. This can't even be described as new-adult, because the words used are just vile for this genre.

Example?

"He pinned my legs above my shoulders and fucked me for maybe twenty minutes, who the fuck knows or cares, actually, and then he pulled his amazing dick out and came all over my tits and stomach. I rubbed the come around and licked my fingers and then he chugged a whole beer and started fucking me again."

The third freaking page talks about how Gina loves the way Dru fucks her. Literally, she says I love the way he fucks me. 

I don't know if you've ever had that feeling, but sometimes I read books that just feel surreal. It doesn't mean I liked them, but it's definitely dream-like. That's how I felt about DEAD END. The plot was okay enough, but the constant swearing, context, and unlikable characters dragged it down.

The word faggot is used tons of times, fuck is seen at least twice on every page, I can't even count how many times pussy is used, and it's just full of unnecessary crap. I'm all for swearing, but it's just too damn much when it doesn't have to be.

see? necessary.

DEAD END is written in third person limited, but there are also various points of view. It gives the story more content and background information, but it's also annoying to stray away from our two main characters. The writing is pretty terrible. But that, I don't mean that it's filled with spelling errors or grammatical mistakes (actually, there was an error)- I mean it reads like a horny fourteen year old that hasn't yet realized it's really not cool to say the word 'pussy' and 'fuck' every two seconds. Even from Gina's point of view - they sound exactly alike.

It's gritty, raw, morbid, dark, and disturbing, but it's also such a strange and weird book. That's the only thing I can describe it as. There is no happy beginning, middle, and end, but it's not realistic, either.

You know early on in the story that Gina is going to be gang-raped, but when you actually get to the part, it's... I don't know. You read about how Gina is terrified, but you don't feel it. It's more of a tell-than-show writing style, and that's how you feel most of the time in the book. 

It's really rather emotionless, and there is no gray in the story. It's black-and-white, evil-and-good. The world is against Dru and Gina, the angelic lovers of the world.

The characters are absolutely horrendous, especially Gina and Dru. I know you're not supposed to dislike Gina, but there's really no way you couldn't be annoyed by her.

This is how teenagers, girls and boys, are portrayed in DEAD END:



This is how I felt about Dru:


First of all, he has no personality whatsoever besides being a possessive, unromantic, stupid, abusive jerk.

When Gina doesn't show up to his meet because, you know, she's just being FUCKING RAPED, Dru gets super mad and starts yelling at her when he sees her again:

"Where you with another guy? Is that it? Huh? Did you sleep with some other guy tonight? Just come out and tell me, Gina. What another guy did you fuck tonight? [...] Don't lie, Gina. You weren't at my meet and I find you here crying. What guy's dick was inside of you tonight?

And this? This bullshit is supposed to be our Romeo? Our swooning love interest? We're supposed to like this guy and adore this love story? It makes my blood boil! This is how abusive relationships start - with an out-of-control guy screaming at his girlfriend, asking her who she slept with.

Right after Gina tells him she was raped, he gets furious at her and blames her. He's blaming the victim of a fucking rape! It doesn't matter if he feels bad for it a couple pages later, HE DID IT.

He wanted to yell at her. He wanted to blame her. [...] Blame the victim. Hate them until it hurts. 
Dru screamed and pounded his chest. "Did you even fight back?"

(remember what I said about bad writing? Is he part gorilla now?)

Dru protects Gina while they're on the run, and apparently he's so in love with Gina he can't see straight. But what's so great about Dru? What's so great about Gina, except for the fact they sound exactly like each other? There's no chemistry in their relationship besides lust.

This is how I felt about Gina:



Now, Gina.

I'm supposed to love her and feel terrible for her and just not think about how annoying she is because she's been raped. But being raped doesn't make you a better person, so I'm going to put it aside and just talk about Gina, pre-rape or no-rape.

What was I saying about no personality?

Gina is full of angst and depressed and sad and lifeless, and she's constantly taking Dru's crap. In an odd way, she's a strong female lead (she has done so much for everyone), but it's also a pain to be in Gina's head. She pretty much has no will to live, and even Dru can't save her from that.

This is how I felt about Lyle, the town sheriff:



I liked him well enough. He was an independent, powerful character who really needs to get the fuck out of Marshall and try to live a less depressing life.

This is how I felt about every other character:



The other characters were bland, especially Gina's rapists. They were made out to be immature boys, easily forgiven, when rape is a disgusting action and should always be taken seriously. Beau was a rich daddy's boy, and Corey was just a weak, poor little follower. Gina should get over it, right?

Beau's father Curtis was scary, and so was the assassin. They practically made my eye twitch and for that I applaud Myers. But they were supposed to be hated, anyway.

In the end, this book tries too hard to end it tragically. It did, of course, but it's not even a good tragic ending. I didn't feel bad and I didn't think twice about it. No sleep was lost over it.

I didn't like DEAD END at all, and this is how I felt about it:



I no recommend.

Oceana is a French-blooded teenager who enjoys stalking British boys and asking them to marry her. She was diagnosed with severe fangirl disorder in 2011. Able to curse like a sailor with an angelic voice.

{Review} The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Title: The Sea of Tranquility

Author: Katja Millay
Format: NetGalley e-book ARC
Publisher: Atria Books
Release date: November 13, 2012
Date Read: December 1, 2012 - December 2, 2012
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.
All Josh Bennett wants is to be left alone, and everyone allows it because they all know his story: each person he loved was taken from his life until at seventeen years old there was no one left. When your name is synonymous with death, people tend to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, a new girl in town who won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of a mystery she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

ARC supplied by NetGalley and Atria Books in exchange for an honest review.

Did you know Nastya was pronounced NAH-stee-ya? 

What an interesting, emotional read. 

THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY is a book.
It's a book about a traumatized girl and a lonely boy.
It's a book about how they affect each other from the moment they meet. 
It's a book about how some things can stay with you forever. 
It's a book about pain and hardship and very possibly loving.

Nastya Kashnikov is a former piano prodigy who's had everything stolen from her. Physically, mentally, and emotionally scarred, she hides behind a façade of black heels, black makeup, and black clothing. Or the remaining clothing is black, anyway. I'm not slut-shaming, it's the truth. She even mentioned it. Nastya has absolutely no will to live after the incident. All she wants is revenge.

Josh Bennet has no one to love besides his best friend, Drew, and the furniture he builds (that sounds strange, doesn't it?). His whole family is dead, leaving him completely alone. And he likes it that way - he thinks, anyway.

Until Nastya Kashnikov butts into his life and gives them both something to live for.

A tentative friendship blossoms between them, yet it soon turns romantic. But some wounds take longer to heal, and Nastya isn't ready to explore the emotional turmoil balled up inside of her, despite Josh's protests. Their relationship is fragile, and it won't be easy keeping it.



I'm not even kidding. Excuse me while I go find a bathtub that I can fill up with the depression drowning me after read this book.Good depression, if that's even possible.

I didn't cry, but still. It was dark.

I don't typically read flat-out romance novels, but not only did this book not just focus on the romance - it had serious undertones of sorrow, hope, and moving on.

I can't even begin to fathom what Nastya has gone through in her life. She really is one strong bitch, even if she does stupid things. Likable despite her understandable (yet tiring) constant gloomy thoughts, she won't be on my Top 10 list of Favorite Heroines (sorry, sweetie, the other Nastya from Immortal Beloved takes that prize), but Nastya is a snarky, broken main character who I really enjoyed.

She's really no damsel in distress, but being sick of life does have some side effects.



She's the type of person that probably would bitch-slap you if she tried to hug her, but she'd need it anyway.

I don't really know how to feel about Josh. His character didn't really appeal, nor stand out to me, but it's not because he wasn't well-written or anything. I just couldn't fall in love with him, but I could understand how Nastya could. He's alone and tired and in need of happiness in his life.

It's a matter of who needs the saving, because they need each other.

I loved how original certain parts (or characters) of the book were.

Drew is Josh's best friend, and in a typical YA or New-YA novel, he'd be portrayed as the preppy, flirty guy on the other side of the love triangle if there happened to be one. And he was, in this book, but he also turned into Nastya's best friend, a shoulder for her to lean on, and he's an all-around terrific character. Drew isn't a cardboard cutout, and he takes an active part in both Josh and Nastya's life.

And sure. He hits on her loads of times. But he also has his own part in the story, and I was very impressed.

In fact, all the characters were fantastic. They all have a backstory and a life and appearances in THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY.

The writing was pretty enough, I suppose, certainly not bad but not award-winning either.

I liked THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY, but it was extremely morbid and not something I would avidly seek out to read again. 



So, this, I say, to Katja Millay.

Oceana is a French-blooded teenager who enjoys stalking British boys and asking them to marry her. She was diagnosed with severe fangirl disorder in 2011. Able to curse like a sailor with an angelic voice.

{Review} I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Title: I Hunt Killers

Author: Barry Lyga
Format: Library Hardcover
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Release date: April 3, 2012
Date Read: October 16, 2012 - October 18, 2012
Rating: ✭✭✭✭

What if the world's worst serial killer... was your dad?

Jasper "Jazz" Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

William R. Somerset should have been partnered with Jasper Francis Dent in Se7en.

By the way. Sorry, Jazz, but that is totally a serial killer name. 

I HUNT KILLERS is the story of seventeen year-old Jazz, the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, Billy Jazz, and his efforts to hunt down a new serial killer. As the bodies pile up, Jazz and his friends must work faster than ever.

I HUNT KILLERS is disturbing. It's gory. It's sinister. And it is freaking awesome. This is the kind of book that you're going to remember for a long time - the kind of book that will make you think about murders and deaths and these nutcases that do them.

I'm going to come clean here and admit that this book was the first horror-mystery-serial-killer book I've ever read. 

I know. Shameful.

But by no means was it the first anything I've seen about serial killers. It's strange, but I'm fascinated with the lengths unstable people will go to relieve themselves. It's sick, I know, but these things have always absorbed me. Se7en, the 1995 thriller starring Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, and Gwyneth Paltrow, was so interesting and savage and I loved it.


It left me shuddering.

And I HUNT KILLERS left me with the same feeling . . . almost. To me, epic visuals will leave you shuddering more than a book. I know that makes me a horrible reader in some people's eyes, but I'm not gonna lie.

First off, these murders are grisly. If you're squeamish about blood and screws and painful murders in general, avoid this book. You might pass out. But for those of you who can stand it, by all means, go ahead. At first, the murders are flashbacks of Billy's victims recounted by Jazz. But eventually Jazz will begin seeing them himself, and then things get gruesome.

It's written well, and told well, with a well-thought-out plot. Italicized flashbacks of the things Billy would say to Jazz complete the mood.

"Wrapped my arms around her throat, Billy whispered in Jazz's mind. Just squeezed and squeezed..."

And even though the theme of I HUNT KILLERS is dark, there are spots of humor that left me with a small grin.

I figured out who the serial killer was in no time. I'm sure you will, as well - it's sort of blindingly obvious. It was too bad that the mystery wasn't very mysterious, because that could've made all the difference.

I didn't like Jazz. I didn't find him likable, or charming, or any of the words used to describe him. He was manipulative, cold, and I, yeah. I know. He's a sociopath, but Jazz was also so complex and conflicted, and his nightmares just ate him up. He was loyal to his friends and scary towards people he didn't like. I remain baffled at the fact that no one saw through his façade.

Billy Dent reminded me of Kevin Spacey. I know that's a eye-rolling confession, because, I mean, almost every sick serial killer reminds me of Kevin Spacey afterSe7en. But he had this twisted personality that completely reminded me of Spacey's character. There are no words to describe how horrible this piece of shit excuse for a human being is. He's scarred Jazz for life and has no regrets about it. He wants Jazz to go around murdering people like he does - continuing the "legacy". He. Is. Sick.



I can't tell you too much about the serial killer - The Impressionist - but I'll just say that there are actually people like him and real life and it's so sad. People like him need to be put down. I'm serious. It's frightening.

Jazz lives with his grandmother since Dear Old Dad is in jail and his mom is dead. This woman is delusional, mentally ill, and emotionally abusive towards poor Jazz. But some of the things she did cracked me up.

I loved Howie and Connie. They were both great side characters that took part in the story, not just to be there. Howie was so sweet and I hope he can live, uh, okay-ish with his type-A hemophilia. And Connie was such a strong, badass character. She matched Jazz and didn't take his crap. And guess what, guys? Jazz's girlfriend, Connie is black.



Wait, what?

When was the last time I read a young-adult novel with a black main character or love interest?

What's that again?

Oh, yeah. I've never read one.

I shouldn't have to be so incredibly excited with this concept, but I am! I've read over one hundred YA novels this year and not ONE of them had a black MC or LI. Connie being dark-skinned was incredibly refreshing, because, you know. Apparently authors are afraid to venture out of the all-white-population-in-small-towns genre.

That ending was creepy and eery and made me shiver. Cliffhanger alert, my friends.

All in all, I adored I HUNT KILLERS and I can't wait for the second book.

Oceana is a French-blooded teenager who enjoys stalking British boys and asking them to marry her. She was diagnosed with severe fangirl disorder in 2011. Able to curse like a sailor with an angelic voice.

{Review} Pushing the Limits by Katy McGarry

Title: Pushing the Limits

Author: Katy McGarry

Format: NetGalley e-book ARC

Publisher: Harlequin Books
Release Date:  July 31st, 2012
Date Read: June 3rd to 4th, 2012
Rating: ✭✭✭ 

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much. Impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

I’m going to do something I haven’t done and start with the cover. The models are perfect. The girl looks exactly like I thought Echo would look. The male looks like Noah a lot (in my opinion, of course).

PUSHING THE LIMITS is told in two different POVs (point of view, in case you didn’t know that). Echo’s and Noah’s. They are fairly similar but I could tell the difference between them (or I would realize I’m in Noah’s POV halfway through the chapter).

The story was interesting, but clichéd and full of teenage angst. And drama. And a bit more drama. Tiny bit more drama.

Yeah, you get the point.

Honestly, I couldn’t understand why Echo wanted her friends back so badly. Other the Lilia, no one cared about her. Grace was only a friend under certain conditions. And Luke! Don’t let me start on him.

The insta love bug has struck again. Noah and Echo were crushing the moment they met and Noah had dirty thoughts 15% into the book, but it was tolerable. The romance was cute (if a little heavy) though.

Characters

Echo was beautiful, nice, polite, and very smart. She was also annoying and boring. Plus she giggled too much. In case you didn’t notice, I didn’t exactly love her. She wasn’t stupid, unlike some heroines who say they’re smart (and apparently everyone in the world thinks they are too) but they’re not.

Noah reminded me of PERFECT CHEMISTY'S Alex Fuentes (which I haven’t read yet). Bad boy. Totally wrong for popular girl. Spouts cheesy things. Except Noah was a druggie, I don’t know if Alex was. He wasn’t a bad character really.

The relatively minor character of Mrs. Collins had to be my favorite. She was funny, yet she was intelligent. She was kind and a bit of a lead foot. All around, she was a great character.

Beth and Isaiah were fun characters as well and I’ll be very interesting in the upcoming story about Beth.

Plot and Writing

Plot:
It was cute. That’s all I can really say about it. It didn’t make me cry or think. It made me smile but that’s it. The plot is predictable. But it’s not like I didn’t expect that.

It’s not bad. No, no it’s not. In fact I really enjoyed it. I’m pretty sure it took a lot from PERFECT CHEMISTRY but like I said, I’ve never read it, only the reviews.

Writing:
The plot moves smoothly. It’s quick and slow were it should be. There were a few weird sentences and some odd words (instead of butterflies in her stomach we have mutant pterodactyls).

Likes and Dislikes

Likes:
- cute characters
- fairly good MCs
- nice pacing
- easy read

Disliked:
- annoying characters
- annoying MCs
- predictable plot
- overused plot

Conclusion

I enjoyed this book and could easily overlook faults. I recommend this book for a leisurely weekend or a long trip. Nice chick lit with a little more to it.

Lisbeth is an American teenager who enjoys blowing shit up in videogames and discussing decapitation in great detail. She's also obsessed with Oceana, but you're not supposed to know that.

{Review} Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Title: Beautiful Disaster 

Author: Jamie McGuire

Format: NetGalley e-book

Publisher: Bold Strokes Books

Release Date: May 26th, 2011
Date Read: June 8th, 2012
Rating: ✭

Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

For BEAUTIFUL DISASTER

This review will not be in normal format, instead it will be in freehand.

I have been putting reviewing BEAUTIFUL DISASTER off for a very long time. I finished this book on August 3rd, 2012 and today is November 26th, 2012. It's not because my thoughts are very conflicted. In fact, my thoughts are very simple. I truly hated the book, without a doubt.

It was one of the worst books I have read this year and quite possibly of all time. The book is absolutely horrible. BEAUTIFUL DISASTER promotes abuse, possessiveness, degradation, and other horrible ideas that completely disgust me thinking about them.

The reason I haven't reviewed it is because I was sure that I would not be able to review it to the fullest extent. My hatred for this book is too deep to fully convey through my words, but I will attempt to cover everything. It will be a very long, through review.

BEAUTIFUL DISASTER is about a girl and a boy who enter a relationship together. I do realise how archaic that sounds but I do not consider their relationship to be centred around love. The relationship of Abby and Travis is centred around lust. It is a purely physical relationship with some "I love yous" exchanged. Saying "I love you" and meaning it are two very different things. 

Travis and Abby also have a very unsteady and abusive relationship. There are many examples of this but one of the most popular ones is this one: Abby is at a bar and a man offers her a drink and talks to her. Travis sees them and decided to beat the guy up because he was "looking at her the wrong way". He then yells at Abby for talking to him, telling her he could have beens trying to drug her and rape her. From the way this conversation was written it is clear he was yelling and it sounded very much like he would have hit her.

Abby does not see the abuse till very far into the book and when she did she came right back to Travis and even went as far as marrying him. What really gets me is the fact that Abby ignores the abuse past that even though he did enough to make her leave him. 

I have a small question to ask you women who enjoy these sorts of characters. How does Travis as a character, ignoring any physical traits, appeal to you as a reader? It's a very simple question and I mean it quite earnestly. 

You see, I don't get it. I do not find any appeal in a man who would beat a man up because of his possessiveness over "his girl". I do not find a man who would lock me in my room until I changed
my clothes because he doesn't like it on me sexy, at all. I don't like a main character who would change into a "more suitable outfit" just because her lover doesn't like it on her.

Yet, obviously a lot of women do like these sorts of characters, otherwise there wouldn't be many of them around. Why do so many women like this? Maybe it's in our culture nowadays to support these notions that women are superficial and that it is okay for men to order around us and use us.

I won't get too deep into this because after all I've spent 580 words without even doing any of my normal book review topics. Without further ado, I will begin the character analysis, beginning with the most interesting character, in a completely horrible way, Travis Maddox. 

Travis is somehow considered to be the perfect boyfriend for Abby and possibly the reader as well. The readers are supposed to swoon over him. In this book, I honestly think that Jamie McGuire wanted you to adore Travis not only because of his physical attributes but also for his personality. 

This is obvious because he is not described as often as some of the love interests I have come across. McGuire focuses on his personality, which would be good thing would it not be for the fact that Travis has a horrible personality. 

He doesn't care about privacy, in fact when Abby was having a shower, Travis came in and decided to make himself at home. Not to mention he also handed her some shampoo from her bag, which he admits to searching through. He is controlling and possessive. Needy and clingy. Self-absorbed. These adjectives have all been used numerous times to describe Travis. He likes to beat the crap out of random guys who look at his girlfriend and has a creepy penchant for nicknaming random girls he just met. I mean, you name your girlfriend after an annoying bird that shits on everything (her nickname is Pigeon). 

Travis appears to be very emotionally unstable. He can't handle loss or not getting what he wants. When Abby leaves him for a day (or something like that - someone please correct me) he destroys his room. Completely. Basically, he's no better than a little child.He seems to be unable to express himself verbally as well, resorting to violence, screaming, and temper tantrum. Another thing to add to the "Unappealing, Thou Name is Travis" list. 

Abby. Abby is a very plain character. She had no real personality and I found her entirely idiotic. She had no brain as well. The odd subplot to the book was centred around her odd family which makes absolutely no sense and is not related to the rest of the story at all. Apparently, her dad's a huge, famous gambler and Abby is a gambler prodigy. She always wins and can make thousands of dollars in a few hours. Umm... it doesn't make sense with the plot (isn't it sad that the subplot is more of a plot then the actual plot?). Even as the plot and not the subplot, the book would be horrible as it makes zero sense and is centred around Abby being a speshul snowflake. I found her extremely boring. 

This is where my words run out honestly.There is nothing else to say about her. Next up is the other guy in the story. 

Poor Parker, what he do to deserve this? He's part of the "love triangle" but it's no more of a love triangle then in Twilight. Did you honestly think Bella would not choose Edward? Did Jacob even have a standing chance against him? No.

Parker is a Med school graduate who is pretty nice. He is a Gary Stu but anything beats Travis really. He's rich and smart. And, guess what, he really does like Abby. He treats Abby like a gentleman, even when he was sidelined by her. 

What McGuire did with Parker was put him in the story for no real reason other then some cliche tension. He's almost always sweet except when McGuire decided "Ok folks, let's kick him out." Then, Parker says some horrible things to Abby, completely out of character, just to make Travis look like the good guy. 

Seriously? That's just... wow. I'm speechless. Even though this happens all the time when an author wishes to get rid of the other guy. 

The writing is fast but very under-edited. It was cliched and choppy for the most part. Awkward dialogue tags which messed with the flow. This all could have been avoided if the author got a decent freaking editor. 

Frequent slut shaming and the casual usage of words like slut and ho made this experience worse. I don't care about coarse language for the most part, but those two words (which I have put in parentheses for the sensitive people) make me really mad. 

To quote Rose Summers (her review here):

The thematic of this book bothered me considering the misogynistic language that's prevalent in this. If not just for the events themselves (i.e. Travis dropping a woman from his lap after she insults Abby or Travis saying that he wouldn't want his future daughter to open her legs for a man so easily)...

Conclusion

To be quite blunt, this book is very bad. It was a complete, and utter disaster which I immensely regret reading and wasting my time on this. I do no, and will not, ever recommend this piece of shit. 

Lisbeth is an American teenager who enjoys blowing shit up in videogames and discussing decapitation in great detail. She's also obsessed with Oceana, but you're not supposed to know that.