Okay, I feel like I'm committing a crime by giving this story a one star. So, before I get to reviewing this book, I'd like to point out that I'm familiar with this author on wattpad, and am quite fond of her writing style with her other books on wattpad, and a fan. But this particular book didn't do it for me, it felt amateur at best.
I could deal with grammar errors because Hey! Everyone's human. I think reading on wattpad has prepared me to be completely oblivious (selectively so) when it comes to typos, grammar and stuff like that (even though my brain is hardwired to want to fix these errors). But it doesn't mean I like to pay money for them. Yes, with this book I admit, I couldn't even finish it, which goes against my rules of reading, and I failed to finish it for several reasons.
1. There were too many repetitive phrases, it made me want to bang my head against a wall for all the "purring" every other character did in the book. There's so many other phrases I don't even want to spell out because it would make me annoyed all over again. No one person had a distinct voice to seperate from the other. It was such a disappointment to find that this book had so much potential, and just judging from the authors other works, I know that she has potential. But this particular book missed the mark.
2. The serious themes addressed such as: rape and abuse, were taken lightly. Not only that, but the author struggled with the execution on both themes, making the plot seem all over the place. Again, I was disappointed with this because I know this author can do better. Much MUCH better.
3. Amber and her resistance to being touched. For a person who has suffered sexual abuse for so long, her relationship with Liam came off too unrealistic and contrived. Her behaviour was too contradictory to the main theme, that it made me screw my nose up and think 'this girl is just unrealistic' that it's hard for me to empathize with her 'problems'.
4. The fact that Liam and Jake were so 'hot' that they were eye candy to every human walking school girl alive at school? Now there's a fantasy. I mean, almost 90% of the female student body placed a bet to have a taste of Liam, just because him having a girlfriend was common knowledge, and this was never heard of before. I don't know, but when I was going to school, my bunch of girl friends all had different tastes of what 'hot' was, so that's hard to believe that there were only two guys that were, and I quote. "so fricken hot" that I'd bet my money on sleeping with them. Unless you were lucky enough to have Johnny Fricken Depp at your school, then no. Not possible.
Besides the obvious, I think Liam was so sweet at times. He's a fantasy character that girls wish existed, but too Gary-Sue to exist in the real world. A bit creepy with the constant pet name 'Angel' for Amber, but I think if he used it less, it would be sweet. Too much of it strayed into creepy territory. Yes, he kept me going for 70% of the way on my kindle, but then I just couldn't care for the main character Amber for me to finish it. I noticed that there was too much petty drama going on in the book for the sake of it, and not enough depth with the main themes to make the storyline more interesting. I don't know, I might pick this book up and try finish it, and give it a chance again, because I feel that maybe I'm being a bit too harsh?
I wish I could like this one, because as I said, I support this author wholeheartedly, and I encourage her to keep at it. She's an awesome author, I think this particular book just needs a professional editor to keep her consistent and grounded.
Although I rated this book one star, I give this author a five star rating because I've read much better and authenticated books from her on wattpad, that I'm baffled this is written by her. I do look forward to reading more from this author, and I congratulate her for self-publishing a book.
EDIT: October 31st 2012
So, I decided to pick this book [kindle version] back up with a fresh mind, and to give the author the benefit of the doubt by being considerate (or just really extreme OCDness) by promising to actually finishing this book. The second time around was just as bad as the first. My rating still stands, and my opinion is set in stone. I struggled through the last 30% of this on my kindle, and maybe I'm a masochistic lion or just a stupid lamb (see what I did there? LOL) for thinking that I could actually like this book if I had finished it, because surely I'm just that mental to put my precious mind through so much pain!
I admit, there were times where the novel progressed into a sweet love story with cute little scenes with the two characters, but a lot of the time it seemed too contrived. Everyone was one-dimensional. The characters learned nothing, there was little to no character development, and a potential plot device that went downhill.
All in all, it wasn't an enjoyable read for me.
If I were to say something honest (if this review wasn't honest enough) then I think that the best thing about this book is that it is indeed a work of fiction. Enough said.
:):) Peace, Love, and Reading
xxTiny