Received from NetGalley in exchange for a review

I loved the first books from Priscilla West that I read (the Surrender series) but Wrecked did not hold the same appeal for me. I will of course continue to read her books because she is definitely an author I want to support but I hope that the second one in this series is better. I found Lorrie whiny and I understand she's had TRAUMA with a capital TRAUMA (I'm a therapist after all) but when Ada wanted to go apeshit on her I found myself rooting for Ada. If nothing else, there were kittens. And well, I'm a sucker for kittens.

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Oh man this book is a train wreck. At first I was liking it, but then it became total déjà vu because of Walking Disaster. I had to give the book a chance, but by the end I was done.

Can we just not have weird food scenes?

Also dialogue felt heavy and unnatural. It was all too awkward and not how real people talk to the point of constantly taking me out of the story.

Lorrie felt like the most Mary Sue of a troubled character. She was a self centered bitch and Hunter was no better.

I

This book was provided for review by netgalley.

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I really wanted to love this one, but it was just ok for me. Lorrie & Hunter had a bit too much angst between them, and so much of it didn't ring true that I got annoyed and lost interest. There were some details that contradicted each other, and Lorrie's problems were both absent for half the book, then completely debilitating- not realistic at all. Besides Lorrie being wishy-washy for the majority of the book, she was selfish and self centered, I didn't like her much at all. I've enjoyed West's writing before, but this one fell short for me.

* I received an arc for an honest review* ( )

ARC copy, requested a unbiased review!


Lorrie has been away from school for three semesters dealing with the horrors of her personal life. She decides the best way to over come her problems and move on from all the death surrounding her is to go back to school. It is there in the first few weeks before classes begin she meets Hunter. The relationship builds and the entire time Lorrie fights her growing feelings for Hunter. This was supposed to be a drama free semester without boys!

Hunter has his own secrets that he holds close, attempting to handle it on his own. He finds solace in cage fighting, alcohol and an endless stream of meaningless sex. When he meets Lorrie he begins to find someone who interests him more than any other girl he's met in a long time, and makes the decision to get to know her better. He also fights the growing attraction, but holds back his ground shaking secret from Lorrie. Will he ever let his guard down?

Im not sure where to begin with this review, I liked the writing style. I enjoyed the pain staking effort Mrs West put into making this book something which university kids could relate and understand. I found it refreshing to see university level romance where they didn't have fancy cars so they took the bus, and they used their Food Cards in the cafeteria to save cash. I loved, loved this having been a university student for over 5 years. Realism, check!

On the down side, none of the kids had -jobs-. They don't seem to have to worry about tuition, money or where they will have money to get the bare necessities like toothpaste. The majority of the kids in the book could be sponging off mom and dad, but Lorrie has no parents so where does she get all this money? I probably bring a unique perspective to this having been paying my own way through university and paying my own necessities since my first year in university, and I have to say, Im always at work. If I didn't work, I couldn't pay tuition. This cut deeply into the realism of the novel for me. I kept thinking: "Get a damn job."

The lack of employment probably also hindered my ability to feel bad for Lorrie when she starts breaking down during exams. She seemed weak and selfish to me, complaining that some guy in prison sent her a letter (which is part of his rehabilitation program, not some kind of cruel behaviour. She also expects Hunter to take care of her, even though she knows he has his own issues. She does very little to support him, and their relationship becomes incredibly unhealthy.

Hunter's obsession with Lorrie raised so many red flags I cant even list them here! He shows up where ever she is, when they finally have sex they are closed in for DAYS, and Hunter uses kittens to get a blow job - and Lorrie forgives him. Im pretty sure Id punch him in the face and never look back. Get a backbone, Lorrie.

This is not to say I didnt enjoy the novel. I did very much, and will most definitely read the second installment (against my better judgement). Even with all the things Ive listed I hated about the book, I found it difficult to put down, and will read any new series Mrs West develops. I feel like next time she should try for adult fiction to skip over any gaping holes in the fabric of character's lives (EMPLOYMENT), or young adult to make up for the weak heroine roles.

Overall Id reccommed this book to anyone who loves the new adult fiction going around - angst, lust and love are all prevalent. A rich tapestry of relationships and flawed main characters make it real, and a guilty pleasure.

See you next time, Lorrie and Hunter. I cant wait to catch up in Rescued (Wrecked, Book #2)! ( )

I absolutely loved this book.

I found it a bit hard to get into at first but I kept on reading .

Hunter has a secret and we don't find out what that is until near the end, Laurie I found a bit hard to like.

I do recommend this book and I can't wait until the next is released to see how Hunter copes with his situation. ( )