“Why is your mouth so easy to stare at? And why do I want to kiss you so badly?”
Cue another young adult romance that is so desperately trying to follow the path of every new adult book, complete with casual sex, a good girl falling for a bad boy, and a hidden past . . . ooh, I’m so intrigued. No, I’m actually not, because I’ve read this exact same scenario way too many times.
As if there aren’t enough of these books. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind this type of story, even though it’s unbelievably predictable, if it were actually well written with believable, fleshed-out characters. The problem with You Before Anyone Else was that the main characters were so dull and I was utterly uninterested in their romance.
For starters, I couldn’t tell the point of views apart. I never would have guessed that this book was written by two different authors. Eddie and Finley’s narratives sounded exactly the same. They’re both hot, gorgeous models in New York who hook up after a party one night, then coincidentally find themselves running into each other . . . over and over again. Before they know it they’re caught up in one another’s lives and personal drama. Yawn.
I don’t think I even have to specify what type of romance this is: Corny, eye roll–worthy lines, an insecure relationship fueled by jealousy and ex-girlfriends, angsty backstories, traumatic flashbacks in italics . . . you know, the usual.
When the big secret about Eddie’s hidden past was let out (which you can guess in an instant if you’ve ever read from the NA genre), it was supposed to be some game changer for Eddie and Finley’s relationship, but I didn’t care one bit about it. It just felt like the authors were trying to spice up the boring romance with some excitement. Hmm, Eddie and Finley aren’t doing much besides kissing and trading cheesy dialogue? Let’s add a plot twist!
I couldn’t have cared less about these characters or their situation.
“So is this how it’s gonna be?” I touch my forehead to hers. “I do something for you, and then you do something for me?”
“Pretty sure that’s how it works,” she says with a nod.
No comments:
Post a Comment