I truly enjoyed this genre debut from Helen Boswell. Losing Enough, is not your typical cookie cutter New Adult read. Which, honestly, was like waking up in the morning and smelling that first big strong whiff of fresh brewed coffee. (yes, coffee is more important than air, in my book)
Alex is in Sin City for the summer, with her parents, looking for nothing more than some quality fun and family time. She's a bit of a free spirit, secure in who she is and where she is in her life.
A night out with a long time friend has her hopes of quality fun swirling quickly down the drain. It also has her running into Connor, the "Anti-Prince Charming Himself".
Connor is, well, an ass. He pulled himself out a shit childhood, full of bad people, horrible situations and unfortunate circumstances. He found a way to make a life for himself, a career, a name. No distractions, no games, no trouble...those are the rules Connor plays by. But one saucy redhead has him willing to break all the rules.
Though the first run in has Alex feeling no love for Connor, as his defenses slowly break down so do her apprehensions. Connor is so much more than his initial impression leads him to be, his heart is big, his intentions pure. And boy...when he decides to let the nice boy buried inside show...swoon, melt, die. Repeat.
But this is not a hot, heavy and fast romance. It is a light pull to each other, not a fanatic obsession that could burn out as quickly as the flame starts. An attraction that turns into a tentative fling with the potential of a relationship. A nice slow burn, which I LOVED.
Another point I loved was there it is no internal turmoil, cheating, lack of communication or any such thing that causes drama for these two. This is not an angsty, pull your hair out read.
It is dramatic and exciting and sad but that comes from real life issues that Alex and Connor both have to deal with from outside sources. Yet, instead of pushing each other away they work together to deal with everything that life throws at them. Mostly, anyway.
Surviving the dangers that a life surrounded by money, power and sin have them wading through makes them stronger individuals and as such, perhaps a stronger couple.
I like that Boswell broke the New Adult mold with Losing Enough. I don't always want to read the same formula time and time again. Losing Enough was different, and though I would have loved to have more "feels" from it, I enjoyed that it was so much more mature and thoughtful than a lot of the other books flooding the genre right now.