First how Maddy was described. If you go back to the first book, Maddy was the one going out a lot, going with guys home and she kept telling Mila to go out, do things, meet guys etc. Yet here, she is described just like Mila in the first book with Mila telling her she should date. Now Maddy is the one that people say she is too serious and isn't "herself" from before her parents death. Why change a character I ask? For someone like me who just finished the first book it's REALLY obvious. Second thing is the fact that Maddy "shielded" her sister from their parents' fights. I WOULD get that if we weren't talking about grown women. When Maddy was abroad and Mila stayed living at home while being in college she MUST have seen things that even if she didn't notice that much as a child are OBVIOUS to a grown woman. Yes, I agree that two people can react differently to certain situations, and it's a possibility that Maddy would be more affected by her father's violence than Mila. But saying that Mila wasn't THAT aware of it? Why? It doesn't make any sense.
Putting this aside, here comes Gabe, her best friend's brother who recently came from Afghanistan but brought with him a pretty severe PTSD. He and Maddy meet by mistake and almost hook up but the "date" kinda crushes before they planned it to be. Then he meets her at her restaurant where his sister also works. I didn't understand the childish interaction between them. The "games" they played was a bit of a turn off for me especially since when we were hearing each one of the POVs (especially Maddy's) it was SO freaking redundant. I would have cut the "games" in half just so we won't hear her problems describes again and again and again and mostly in the same words. Or her remembering the same scene between them over and over again. With Gabe it was apparent but not that bad, except for him referring to anything cowardly as being a pussy. I was fed up with this word when Pax kept re-using it in the first installment. I WOULD admit that Gabe was HOT! Yet I didn't find his cockiness that appealing. I think it was mostly the "wounded solider" vibe than any of his real traits that drew me, and yeah the fact that he has a chiseled body.
In general I felt like the book dragged for no real reason. It was repetitive and at times boring even if it describes something that should affect me. I didn't feel as detached emotionally from it like I felt in "The Minaldi Legacy" but I WAS bored. Yesterday I had a busy morning then the afternoon (till night) was off, so I figured I'll finish this book but I found myself falling asleep.. There was nothing really "catching" in the book to keep me interested of how things are going with Maddy and Gabe. I wanted them together yet not that much to read the same arguments in their heads over and over again.
Then there's a stupid scene at a hotel Gabe is staying at and I was thinking WTF?! then there was a very real scene of Gabe crushing down and I felt I don't even care enough to keep on reading and see how he handles it or how he and Maddy work their problems, mainly his, so they could be together. I just put the book aside and went back to sleep. So, yeah, it was a DNF at 72%. I could have put this one down awhile before but actually things were starting to move, truths were being told and I thought that maybe the annoying parts were behind us, but as I got to the hotel scene I realized I was just waiting for this book to end. It was more about "commitment" on my side to finish a book than me really WANTING to read it to the end.
I'm through with this series. I'm not sure I'll pick up another book by Courtney Cole. There is something about her writing, the way the POVs are written that doesn't appeal to me. It's SO redundant and detailed that the emotions somehow fly out the window for me and since it's so repetitive after a while I just get tired of waiting for the plot to move on.
(DNF 72%)
Additional Details: Kindle Ebook, 336 pages, 20-22 November 2014 / On GoodReads
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