Stephanie Casher

Reviewed by Sabrina
Review copy provided by The Pantheon Collective
Given the title of the book, I was not expecting an easy ride. I was expecting bumps and curves and turns and was totally ready for it. This book bugged the bajeezus out of me. Everyone in it was dumb. And selfish. OR they were so altruistic it was hard to stomach. I can't believe how much I did not like this book. This one hit on a lot of peet peeves. The only think I can really say about this book without giving away why I hated it so much so I don't influence anyone is that the actual writing wasn't bad. Needs a teeny bit more editing (I dont think the book needed to be so long) but these things are crafted over time. I can't say anymore. Read the blurb, check it out. More below for the people that don't mind spoilers.

SPOILERS:

It ends SO unhappy. SO UNHAPPY. EVERYONE IS SAD. NOT ONE PERSON MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE. WHAT KIND OF ENDING IS THAT?! She is unhappy, the guy she loves is unhappy, the best friend is unhappy. WTF? Like I said, I was expecting the roads to be bumpy and I was prepared to deal with a not happy ending... But this one did't even make sense. I can cry and mourn over an unhappy ending if it seems like the right path or if I really can't see another way. It makes me sad but I get it. I didn't get this one. I think that is why I had such an issue with this book. However, for those of you who want a romance novel that tells it like it is, one that will give you a taste of real life, I think you will appreciate this book. For those of us who read romance to remind us of our own happy ending, or keeping our hope for a happy ending alive- stay away from this book.… (más)

Lately the "snippets" of a new book at the end of a book I'm finishing has really pulled me in. I have dodged my TBR twice already due to these "snippets." I came across the first two chapters of "When Love Isn't Enough" when I reached the end of, Sellout, and I had to read it immediately. The first two chapters had me speed reading! I had to put it to the side for a few days but when I picked it up again I read it all the way through which kept me up until 5a.

After a long night of partying Samantha goes to her familiar spot on the beach to collect her thoughts but a guy has already beat her there. He knows he is in her spot because he has been watching her regular visits from his window. She sits down a small distance from him but he let's her know that he knows that he is in her spot. A conversation develops and they end up spending the rest of the day together giving each other the intimate details of their lives. They didn't part until midnight. You could say that with Tony and Samantha it was love at first sight. The chemistry they shared was simply beyond words. They even had the same heritage both were half Filipino. There is one jarring revelation that shakes these two back to reality quickly and that is Tony's girlfriend Angela.

Samantha is a college student that has just went through a very bad breakup with her high school sweetheart who betrayed her. Her coping mechanisms were partying and being reckless with who she shared her body with. Samantha has up an emotional brick wall but Tony was slowing chipping it away. Tony is an older graduate student that has an old soul and plenty life experiences. Angela his girlfriend is a needy, emotionally scarred, manipulative woman. All I can really say about the narrative of this book is, WOW! Tony and Samantha's love story was simply exhilarating. Casher gives us everything in the first two chapters and sorts out the details in the remaining chapters. The structure of this book was genius. Samantha's housemates Gave and Faby were the comic relief of the text.. Faby was also Samantha's best friend who had her own issues with love. Gabe was just the "typical" uninterested guy who kept the girls with a steady supply of alcohol. Gabe's nonchalant attitude was so funny and he always appeared at the right time in the text. Damion, Tony's best friend, was the all around renaissance man. Damion ended up in the middle of Tony and Samantha's relationship in the worse way.

What makes this book so great is that Casher did not make Tony and Samantha's story predictable. Tony's love for Samantha was sincere but he could not tear way from Angela's grip. The only way to describe Tony that he was a coward. He he was too busy trying to save Angela and let Samantha slip away. Samantha had a tough outer core but when it came down to it she did not any fight to hold on to Tony. It just seems as if she gave up. Samantha held a secret that could have made it all go her way but she didn't use it as her pawn. She let the chips fall where they may. I was screaming at that point saying, "Just tell it!"

This book was an emotional rollercoaster for the characters and the reader! I enjoyed every minute. When I finished this book the song that came to mind was, "Someone Like You" by Adele this book is the epitome of that song. There is also a sequel, Soul Mates, that was due for release Summer 2011. I can't wait to read it as well!

Source: ebook… (más)