Author: Abbi Glines
Published: December 14th 2012
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
I have come
to love Abbi Glines’ books. I knew that this was the most loved out of all of
them and having read most of her novels, I thought I was ready for Rush and
Blaire’s story. Oh, nooooo!! Far from it. I got a little more than I bargained for, to be honest with you.
Let’s break it down in a nutshell: Rush was a great love interest. He has done bad things, but he was redeemable. He came through in my eyes and it was tough to read the ending, but knowing Abbi, she loves happily ever afters just the same as I do so I was sure I had nothing to worry about regarding the whole series.
Blaire came off as sweet and innocent, but the more time she spent with Rush, the more wicked she became. I found her innocence more of a pro than con, but as the novel progressed, her doubts and insecurities started to get on my nerves. The story in general was good, I liked Woods, Grant, Bethy and Jace as the side characters. Hated Nan, of course. Who wouldn’t? *smirks* Even though it’s a New Adult novel, I felt that the level of steaminess was turned too up and it read more like an adult novel during those scenes. Overall, it’s a strong novel, but not my favorite by Abbi.
Let’s break it down in a nutshell: Rush was a great love interest. He has done bad things, but he was redeemable. He came through in my eyes and it was tough to read the ending, but knowing Abbi, she loves happily ever afters just the same as I do so I was sure I had nothing to worry about regarding the whole series.
Blaire came off as sweet and innocent, but the more time she spent with Rush, the more wicked she became. I found her innocence more of a pro than con, but as the novel progressed, her doubts and insecurities started to get on my nerves. The story in general was good, I liked Woods, Grant, Bethy and Jace as the side characters. Hated Nan, of course. Who wouldn’t? *smirks* Even though it’s a New Adult novel, I felt that the level of steaminess was turned too up and it read more like an adult novel during those scenes. Overall, it’s a strong novel, but not my favorite by Abbi.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Title: Never Too Far (Fallen Too Far #2)Author: Abbi Glines
Published: February 25th 2013
Add It: Goodreads
What worked
for this one was the dual POV. The book itself and the storyline were somewhat
predictable. I came to loathe Blaire’s father even more and Nan—Rush’s sister…
Oh, boy! I don’t even have the strength to talk about her. She’s an addition to
my most-hated-characters list. Rush and the rest of the co were great except
for Blaire, who once again, caused drama with her insecurities. It was
appealing when we first met her, but now it was just too much. I became tired of her
attitude and thoughts rather quickly. I didn’t see all of the twists coming and
I may have shed a few tears.
I still think that this series is too adult in the steamy scenes and the smexy volume is turned wayyyyy too loud. I want to read Woods’ story more than Forever Too Far. I’ve come to love Woods as a side character and I can’t wait for him to find his own happiness and spend more time with him in Twisted Perfection. Overall, if you’re a fan of Abbi, I advise you to pick this series up. It may be a little too adult for my taste, but the rest of the world seems to be crazy about this series so… yeah.
I still think that this series is too adult in the steamy scenes and the smexy volume is turned wayyyyy too loud. I want to read Woods’ story more than Forever Too Far. I’ve come to love Woods as a side character and I can’t wait for him to find his own happiness and spend more time with him in Twisted Perfection. Overall, if you’re a fan of Abbi, I advise you to pick this series up. It may be a little too adult for my taste, but the rest of the world seems to be crazy about this series so… yeah.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Oh my good friend Abbi. I'm afraid that people will stop talking to me if I don't read this as many of them recommended this series to me, but I can't make myself read NA. I really can't. Too bad that the second book was a bit disappointing but let's hope that the next book will fix that. Great review Siiri :)
ReplyDeletelol! No worries! Abbi's books aren't for everyone, although, the majority seems to enjoy them. They're always too ht and heavy for me to give them 5 stars, but they're mostly enjoyable:) Thanks, Tanja!
DeleteOh man. I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't like Abbi Glines' books. There's something so weird and choppy about her writing to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you enjoyed this series though. It sounds like you had a great time reading these books.
But those annoying insecure heroines who cause unnecessary drama are so not my thing.
And what's up with the cover in the second one? She looks like she's tired with life.
Great honest reviews, Siiri!
Haha. I haven't exactly loved every single one of her books, but I do consider them 'mindless' reads where you can just lay back and enjoy because you don't have to clatter your brains too hard to figure everything out. They're all pretty similar so if you don't enjoy one, you probably won't enjoy the others either. BHAHAHAHHA! She does, doesn't she! :D
DeleteHmmmm. I've yet to read a book by Abbi Glines Siiri, but I definitely want too. I'm a fan of steamy and I read a lot of adult romance when I'm not reading YA or NA, so I'm thinking the steamy factor being turned way up in these might work well for me! I have Breathe, but that is a different series from this one I think. I'm having trouble keeping them all straight!
ReplyDeleteIt should be *to* in that first sentence. I can't type today:) Monday fail.
Delete:) I think you'll have no problem with these then :D Breathe is upper YA (the re-release at least). The others are all NA (except for The Vincent Boys which is upper YA as well). Yeah, they're basically all companion novels/series so it's hard to keep up if you haven't read a single one:) I hope you'll enjoy her novels;)
DeleteHaha! If you think these books are way too steamy for New Adult, I can't wait for you to read Woods' book. It's very, very steamy. But, he's by far my favorite character, oh and Grant.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked these, Siiri!
:D Hahahaha! I don't even want to know. Maybe Woods' story will sit better for me;) He's awesome!!!
DeleteRush does sond like a great love interest and think that I would adore him
ReplyDeleteInteresting to see how you like her novels! I think most Abbi Glines fans agree with you and say this isn't her best series. But glad Russ turned out to be a good love interest :D
ReplyDelete:D he was pretty.. mischevious and wicked lol :D
DeleteNice that Rush is a redeemable love interest, despite the bad things he's done. Hmm, it seems like the insecurities of the protagonist causing emotional drama is a trend shared across YA and NA. That's probably my least favorite way of creating drama and tension between a romantic couple in literature.
ReplyDeleteI've heard that Abbi Glines ups the steaminess in her novels. I think her other series had extra scenes when they were rereleased? There was some controversy about never-before-seen X and X for her YA series. It's interesting that you had a similar problem with her NA novels.
He def. had his faults, but he made them right by the end of Never Too Far and tried to somewhat redeem himself in #1. Omg, yes! They're all so insecure and have no faith in themselves--it was cool to see Blaire so untouched at first, but then it really started to bother me. I actually like her Sea Breeze series better because it's more 'me'. I know the characters better and I've seen them grow up whereas this was a new experience and the characters in this one didn't appeal to me that much. The steaminess--well, Abbi likes her books steamy, but in my opinion, they read like adult books when the MC is so very innocent and only 19 years old so yeah.. it was pretty adult in those scenes.
DeleteOh, the one you're talking about, I believe, is Breathe or The Vincent Boys which were both re-vamped and there were new scenes added to make them more new adult since they were originally published as YA.
I'm not sure that the overly steamy scenes would work for me. Although I do like it occasionally, I'd probably pick up an adult book instead of NA if I was after that aspect. I'm glad you mostly enjoyed both of these though, despite some frustration. Great reviews!
ReplyDeleteThis is an author that I've grown a tad tired of, although I do think her books are lots of fun! They're just over the top angst and drama, and I agree, she's turned up the sexytimes so loudly that they're mostly reliant on that, instead of a strong story or a slowly growing romance. That's not a terrible thing, it just is her standard, which has changed from some of her earlier books. I held off on reading this series b/c of the cliffy in the first book, but now I'm not sure I'm going to read it at all. I've grown tired of these contemporary love stories that are spread over multiple books. They start being stressful instead of fun, because the author keeps putting in obstacles to keep the tension high. BUT I'm glad you enjoyed this overall!
ReplyDeleteI have the first book from awhile back, but I've not had the chance to get to it. I've not had the chance to fully explore the NA genre so knowing the first is kind of like an adult helps to prepare me :) I've read plenty of adult books. Great reviews :)
ReplyDeleteJanina @ Synchronized Reading