Reviewed by Leigha on
This story is a beautiful exploration of a young woman successfully managing depression and anxiety. Beth is honest and open with herself about her struggles. Additionally, she comes to terms with several of her triggers. I really liked the story focusing on her coping with anxiety. Most books I’ve read with a similar premise usually focuses on the person coming to terms with their issues, not successfully managing them. Her compassion mixed with strength makes her a great heroine.
David is the other major character in the novel. I am not a David fan. I’m pretty sure the majority of his vocabulary consists of some variation of “fuck.” His protectiveness came across as controlling and manipulative in regards to Beth. His backstory could have been as powerful as Beth’s story, and yet it never develops into anything beyond “this happened to me.” Because I really did not like David, it was incredibly hard to like the romance between the two of them. I would have enjoyed it more if David grew more in the novel.
Finally, the ending is incredibly rushed. It seems to languish in Act II before steamrolling through Act III. So many threads are left to be cleaned up during the epilogue. Hello, we’re not even going to spend anytime on Brody being Beth’s half brother? Or the reconciliation between David, Beth, and Cap? In the end, I just feel really let down. All the pieces exist to make this a powerful story of strength and love, and yet it never develops. So much potential wasted.
tl;dr An unhealthy male character with a powerful young woman makes this a toxic story.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 15 October, 2017: Finished reading
- 15 October, 2017: Reviewed