Sam's Reading: A Work in Progress

2.75 on the account of I'm a sap. Quarry charmed me, I kind of do like this family, and the weak spot of the series was definitely the prior book. I remember really enjoying #1 (Fighting Silence) a lot.

I swear, Aly Martinez would write 4 and/or 5 star books for me if there was just a teensy bit of restraint in her typical set up. I find them at least mildly amusing (and in this one, I even found the hero charming) and some of the couple-type things she sets up are, frankly, adorable. (I had forgotten that the hero (Flint) in the prior book dug up weeds from his garden once Ash disappeared to take them with him to move. Lots of the romance here is equally adorable.

Liv and Quarry have been friends since they were 10. They didn't get to see each other all that often, but there was a connection, and it was a sweet set up. Unfortunately, most of this was in the style of a clinical explanation from one or the other character's POV. It felt shorted. And this was a long book.

Then there was the girlfriend-Mia. I get her place in this novel and in some ways I even like it. That said, it was awkward and caused all kinds of indefensible (IMO) angst. I do like it showed who Liv and Quarry are to each other - and to others - so in ways I really loved that. In the end, though, it was convenient and cheesy.

Then there's the "holy crap does anyone not have a bucketload of trauma?"? Okay, so everyone has trauma, but then they continue to have shit things happen to them constantly. Give the characters a break, Martinez, your books and couples actually don't need it. I felt that way about Quarry, anyway, who we already know quite well. And it just KEEPS coming. The couple is happy together and here we go again, an attack/kidnapping/otherwise traumatic event.

The language and the humor, while I typically enjoyed it did grate on me at times. Jokes about being feminine for crying, "midget porn", and bitch and pussy comments...we can do better.

But still, 2.75 cause I'm a sap. I love a friends-to-lovers that executes (this one does frankly only b/c Quarry is not an idiot, even when Liv is - she's not sure she trusts him b/c of when they were 13, like WTF? He's your best friend!). I love a series that connects you to the characters throughout in a decent and meaningful way, and I like charming and unapologetic heroes. And like I said, there are really lovely sentiments that are the cheesy, stupid reasons I love romance. And it was a lighter, more amusing read to balance out some nice angst....

Just...restraint, please.100 pages less would've been nice.