Never Too Far: A Rosemary Beach Novel (Rosemary Beach, #2)

by Abbi Glines

"Just when Blaire allowed herself to fall for her stepbrother, Rush, he revealed a life-altering secret so devastating that she couldn't forgive him. Unable to face him again, Blaire leaves the promise of true love behind in Rosemary Beach and returns to the comforts of her small town in Alabama, wanting nothing more than to put the summer behind her. But unexpected news complicates Blaire's plans, and she's forced to trust the one man she shouldn't. Trapped between Rush's fierce desire to win her back and her own sense of self-preservation, Blaire doesn't know if she's doing the right thing . . . or if she's making the biggest mistake of her life." --

• ISBN10: 1476776016
• ISBN13: 9781476776019
• Publish Date: 25 March 2014 (first published 1 March 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Atria Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[thebookdisciple]

Another one I gobbled up in a few hours! This books are New Adult drama at its most Springer worthy! Rush is a giant effing tool and a total moron. If Blaire had any other options in the world, she would have left his dumb ass. But, with no parents, and only a handful of friends, she is pretty much stuck sleeping on the floor (because she can't afford a bed), walking 3.5 miles (because she can't afford a car), and having to apply for medicare to pay for her doctors visits. Meanwhile, Rush has 4 cars, a giant house with beds in every room, and has never given money a second thought. The disparity between the 2 is striking, but it makes me even more irritated with Rush for not even wondering what her life is like. He never bothers to ask and then is shocked when he finds out she had to walk 3 miles because he left her standing in the driveway without a key to get in, or that she was sleeping on a friends couch and then eventually on the floor because she literally has NOTHING. Like, dude, you know what she has been through, how is it you keep missing this shit!?
And what the fuck is up with Grant? Sometimes he is Team Nan then he does a 180 and is Team Blaire. His mood swings are giving me whiplash.

[Sam@WLABB]

I was devastated at the end of the last book, so Abbi had a lot to make up to me. This book was a rollercoaster ride, but a great one. These books have become my guilty pleasure. They are such soapy fun. The drama is so HUGE and the characters are so over the top. I love it!!!

[Jack]

SPOILERS!!!!
And sorry if the review is a bit confusing, I had a lot of thoughts about this book.



















I wanted to like this book much more then I actually did. This book was such a disappointment! For months I had been waiting to read about the lives of Blaire and Rush, if they would ever reconcile, how their relationship would continue and evolve. How would they work out all of their problems?? But boy was I disappointed, I get a cliche plot device, a whiny heroine and a groveling hero.

Never Too Far picked up right where Fallen to Far left off. Blaire has been in Summit for three weeks or so and has trying to get her life back to normal. Trying not to think of Rush and all that happened to her during her time in Rosemary. She made a good effort, and had the support of her friend and first love Cain. She never wanted to go back to Rosemary or see Rush again, but fate had other things in mind.

The major plot device starts almost from the get go. We see Blaire buying a pregnancy test at some out of the way pharmacy. And we soon learn she's pregnant. Big surprise! Actually it was for me because I was not expecting this at all! I was expecting some kind of relationship resolution, or the two of them getting back together and working on their issues, but not this! And Blaire doesn't want to tell anyone, not even Rush that she's carrying his baby even though everyone tells her that she should tell him, that he deserves to know. And they all figure it out just because she pukes at the smell of bacon!!

She eventually makes her way back to Rush. And there is obvious tension between the two of them. She has forgiven him, but can't forget what he did to her. She agrees to be friends with Rush. Which would have been fine if there had been any development in that. They quickly move to the next level, for Blaire is horny and pretty much takes advantage of Rush, having passionate sex with him and then walking away as if nothing ever happened. Which leaves Rush hurt and confused.

There's lots of baby talk and how Blaire won't stay in the town for long, just long enough to save up money and move somewhere else. HOW!! She's like nineteen and has only held one job. How is she gonna get a job when she's so pregnant looking and on her own. Good thing she never had to move out of the town or she'd be screwed.

Blaire has trust issues, and feels like she doesn't belong in Rush's world. Which is completely understandable but is touched on SO BRIEFLY! Towards the end of the book we get a few paragraphs on how Blaire doesn't feel like she fits into Rush's world. But a few heartfelt words from Rush and she's melting into his arms and has a complete change of heart. I would have liked to have her deal with that more, have it an issue earlier on in the book.

I really enjoyed Rush's POV! It was so nice to hear what he was thinking and feeling. How torn up inside he was over the fact that he had messed up so badly and that he might never get Blaire back. He was trying really hard to control himself and not screw up. And he made an important choice to put Blaire first instead of Nan, who as an adult should be able to take care of herself.

But the characters are only half of what they were in the first book. I understand that they have both been through a lot, but there didn't seem to be a lot of problem solving or talking about issues in this book that most certainly should have been addressed.

The tension between Blaire and Rush in the first book was non-existent in this book. I know that they had broken up, but there could have been some UST! There was just Blaire being a horny pregnant teenager, Blaire getting mad at Rush for one thing or another, which turns out to be stupid because Rush never really never screws up big like he did in the first book. Blaire only sees things from her perspective, which is why she's so upset most of the time because she's only getting half of the story. Rush is taking care of his own problems, which Blaire fails to realize he has them! Rush has a lot of family drama to deal with, and the fact that Blaire is so caught up in herself is ridiculous. She's focused on the baby, saving up and moving on with her life.

Blaire could have confronted Nan, about why Nan hated her so much. But she never did. And Blaire was so quick to believe that Rush was having dinner with his family! I mean really..Blaire needs to grow a backbone or something. We get some explanation at the end, and now it seems that Nan has grown up and doesn't hate Blaire anymore. That was quite confusing, didn't really make a lot of sense. She just suddenly asked about being in the baby's life. Whaa??

The ending was a pretty big cop out. I do like that we get some resolution between Blaire and her father, but thats the only positive I really feel. I've never read such a stupid ending for a book. They find out the sex of the baby and there's a big THE END at the end.

Overall, very disappointed. I read the book in a few hours it was so short. I WANTED to like this book SO MUCH! There was so much that could have happened in this book that didn't. The drama wasn't even all that impressing.

And now we get a third book. Which I'm not gonna lie, I'll read it although I'm not sure how entertaining it will be since it'll probably be all about baby things. To me it seemed like Abbi Glines planned for that, even though she stated on her Facebook that if the book reached number one on Amazon she'd release another book.

[Kelly]

http://divainpyjamas.blogspot.com.au/

This series is my guilty pleasure and I can't pinpoint why I find it irresistible.
Blaire is a character that either you will loathe for being so naive or love her innocence, although innocence is used loosely, not sure how one goes from virgin to sexpot so quickly. I secretly love Abbi Glines novels, it's the words she creates between her characters. No matter if the plot is terribly unrealistic, or her characters are about as interesting as watching paint dry, the emotion she shows throughout her novels is realistic, it's raw, it's frustrating and can leave you on the edge of your seat.

So, I heart you Abbi Glines. This series is a great emotional release. It's sexy, very emotional and you're guaranteed to want to slap someone with a wet fish every few chapters.

[Cocktails and Books]

I wasn't sure I was going to like the alternating points of view, but they worked. Rush and Blaire had so many emotional mountains to climb and at times it felt like they just weren't going to make it. Funny how, once they both got over their own preconceived notions about why the other was going to leave them they managed to have an adult conversation and be honest with each other.

My only wish was that Rush's father make an appearance and help Rush through some of this. Maybe, if this book makes it to Amazon's #1 spot, he'll make an appearance in a later story.

[Ing Cruz]

This was a 4.5 for me. So good. I need someone to talk to about it. LOL! Review to come.