The Vincent Boys (The Vincent Boys, #1)

by Abbi Glines

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

I have been super excited to read The Vincent Boys since I first heard about Abbi Glines when I discovered New Adult. I'm so happy to say they didn't disappoint!

When they were younger, Ashton, Beau and Sawyer were best friends and were always together. But then they got older, and things changed; Ash became Sawyer's girlfriend, and her friendship with Beau suffered because of it. This summer, Sawyer is away on holiday with his family, and Ash thinks it's about time she tried to fix her friendship with Beau. But Beau now has a reputation; he's the town's bad boy, and a good little preacher's girl like Ashton shouldn't be anywhere near him. But now they've started hanging out, Ash can't seem to stay away. Beau is hot, and Ash is feeling things she hasn't felt before. This good girl is about to do something drastic - but what will happen when Saywer returns?

I loved The Vincent Boys! Oh my gosh, it was so good! It's such a sweet story, because it's all based on strong feelings. It's told from both Ash and Beau's points of view, and yes, Beau has a reputation, but he hasn't had the best childhood, and when it comes to Ash... he'd kill anyone who hurt a hair on her head. He loves her, he has always loved her, but then she started going out with Sawyer. Sawyer and Beau are as close as brothers and have such a strong bond, so he was hardly going to get in their way. But it was difficult to keep being friends when Ash started to change from the fun, reckless, mischievous girl he knew into Little Miss Perfect. But now Sawyer is gone, it's hard to stay away from her when she won't stay away from him. He's playing with fire, he knows this, but he could finally get what he's always wanted: Ash. I loved Beau, he was the sweetest guy, and so flirty! He's in constant turmoil, because he loves his cousin, but he loves Ash too.

Ash.. wow. I liked Ash, but that girl has some serious issues. She is constantly trying to be the perfect girl because she's with the perfect guy. She's always trying to make sure she's worthy of Sawyer, to the point where she kind of loses who she is. Yet she thinks of the side of herself that doesn't want to clean her father's church all the time, and doesn't want to be do-gooding, who wants to do something exciting as bad; that side of her is bad, and she must force it away, because if she's bad, she'll lose Sawyer. But while he's away, she finds she can relax a little, especially when she's with Beau, who accepts her for who she is. Which is why she finds it so easy to just give in with him, because he doesn't judge and she feels so free, so herself.

I didn't have a problem with the fact that she was cheating on her boyfriend, which I find odd. If anything, I Was urging her too, because this guy who she has to be someone else for? What?! Then you meet him, and he's not an orge, yet I still didn't have a problem. This makes me worry about what it says about me - I am so against cheating, you have no idea - but maybe because it's fiction and not real, and because it was based on real feelings, I can just push it aside? I don't know, but it was weird. But the romance was so sweet, and the aftermath... well, it was interesting!

Now, the sex. There is some graphic sexual content in this book, but it's not as bad as I was expecting. I actually thought this was the original, until I was told that no, this is with the added sex scenes (For anyone confused - Hot Key Books physical books and the uncut eBook - both with the black and white covers - are the graphic versions. The eBooks with the same covers but in colour are the originals Glines published). It's not that bad. It's not chock full of sex, the focus is still on the romance, and really, a line is drawn on how much we actually get to see. As I said above, the eBooks with the coloured covers are the versions she published, so the new uncut versions are as well as not instead of, and we can choose which we get to read, so we have a choice. If it was replacing the originals altogether, I would have a problem, but they're not, so  I don't see why this is a bad thing.  Especially as the sex scenes really aren't that bad; it's not erotica. It's sexy without going over the top.

The Vincent Boys is a fantastic read; sweet, sexy, a huge emotional rollercoaster for the characters, and one of the best love triangles I've ever read. I'm definitely a New Adult fan, and definitely a Glines fan! Really looking forward to reading the sequel, The Vincent Brothers, as well as Glines other novels!

Thank you to Hot Key Books for the review copy.