Leah
Written on Aug 17, 2014
Hopelessly Devoted To You is an interesting read. It skips along at a marvellous pace, and Steeples' writing is as fantastic as ever - she's one of the rare authors who can write in the third person and still seem warm and delightful, rather than cold and uninviting. But I had a bit of a moral dilemma regarding Ruby. She seems lovely, don't get me wrong, but I just thought it was so wrong of her to not tell a soul about the fact she had called off her wedding to Finn, the night of his accident, and the night he conveniently doesn't remember when he awakens. Especially when she then starts to fall back in love with the 'new', improved Finn, with his Aussie accent and bad boy ways. It just didn't sit right with me, because it's a pretty big lie to keep to yourself, when it affects more than just you.
The novel was super cute, and part of me wanted to devour it (which I did) but because Ruby was keeping the night of the accident a secret (and still dilly-dallying in the process - after ten years you either know or you don't if you love a person, I feel) I felt the secret was holding her back, and a bit of honesty wouldn't have gone amiss with a guy who didn't remember the night in question (nor did he remember his girlfriend, which made it quite interesting a few days later when he critiques her weight; as how did he know how much she weighed if he didn't know her?). Finn seemed like SUCH a lovely guy. Warm, romantic, and not at all the cold-hearted lawyer you normally see on telly. I couldn't quite understand Ruby's reticence to marry him. If he's that much better looking than you (Ruby refers to herself as 'average', I'm not being mean), brings you flowers and champagne, and doesn't cheat on you and loves you unconditionally, you march him down that aisle! There was nothing wrong with Finn where I could nod my head and totally understand Ruby's decision to not want to go ahead with the wedding. Ruby herself couldn't really explain it, either.
If I could forget the stuff that drove me insane (Ruby's indecisiveness, and how shallow she was) this would have been the perfect read. It's cute, it's a super quick read that flows like champagne - I lapped the pages up, completing the book in just over a couple of hours, and it's once again a solid read from Steeples. I still love her books, I just wanted to bash Ruby over the head for being so silly. Finn was gorgeous, and if anything it was the 'new' him that was quite overbearing, and not exactly gentlemanly, which is clearly what Ruby likes! Hopelessly Devoted To You did, however, make me (once again) want to go and live on a river boat, with a dog called Roxie. Though I'll need maybe 5 riverboats for all my books and other crap. Jill Steeples is a fantastic writer, and I'm just so sad that this book is now over! Because now I have to start my wait for the next one. *Sits patiently* *Fiddles* *Wonders if it's time for a new Jill Steeples book yet...*This review was originally posted on Girls Love To Read