~REVIEW~
Drowning in You by Rebecca Berto
Release Date: April 5, 2013
Format: eARC
Series: Finding Forever in Us #1
Source: Author for blog tour
Description from Goodreads:
Secretly crushingCrushed by a tragedy
Charlee May’s been crushing on Dexter Hollingworth since she was fifteen. Five years later, a horrific skiing disaster at Mason’s Ski Lift Resort leaves her millionaire dad critically injured and her mom dead at the hands of Dexter operating the lifts. Charlee is suddenly the sole caretaker for her little brother while their world falls apart.
Dexter couldn’t be more different from Charlee. He’s tattooed, avoids exclusive relationships and his Dad has a fair share of illegal dealings. With Dexter’s reputation, almost everyone believes he planned the Mason’s skiing disaster.
And after all these years he’s still crushing on Charlee May, the girl who’s too good for him.
When this cruel twist of fate ties Charlee’s family and Dexter’s reputation together, Charlee and Dexter wonder if their feelings are reciprocated, while Dexter discovers his dad is trying to steal the May’s millionaire fortune.
But like an addiction, one look, one touch, one taste—they’re hooked no matter the consequences.
Disclaimer: Recommended for mature readers due to sexual content and crude language.
Before I get into the actual novel, I want to point out how flipping GORGEOUS that cover is first. Because, um, hello? GORG!
Okay, now the actual BOOK. We're going to play a little game of good news/bad news, okay? My government teacher loves this game bunches, so it should work here. Ready?
We're going to go bad news first because that's how I play.
Bad news: Drowning in You was not as good as I expected it to be. I don't know why, exactly. I think I just expected too much. I wanted it to be sweet and interesting and witty and fun and completely perfectly amazing, and...well, that's a pretty high bar to meet, ya know?
Good news: There are still so many things I DID like about this book. I shall list them, actually. Because listing is fun.
- It's new adult! A genre I am growing to love more and more as I find more awesomeness within its depths.
- DUAL POV! Whenever I start a book and see it is a dual POV, I legit do a happy-dance. I like getting two sides to the story, and being that close to two individual characters. It adds a more REAL quality to the reading experience, to be able to experience the story so thoroughly.
- Darcy. The girl MC's little bro. I am quite fond of that little hooligan.
- It's set in Australia. Is it just me or is that all kinds of cool?
- The ending. But I'll talk about that in a bit.
There were more things, but those are the biggest ones that I'm going to take the time to list. If you want to know more, you should pick up the book and give it a go. Seriously.
Character Rundown:
Charlee: "Charz." I'm going to be honest--I don't like that nickname Dex gave her. But anyway, I liked that Charlee was so nice. I did not like that Charlee was so...wow, I can't think of a better word for this...boring. I just found myself preferring Dexter's chapters way more than "Charz's." Yeah. Not growing on me.
Dexter: Make HIS name into whatever you want and I will love it no matter what. Sweet baby goodness, I adore the name Dexter. And THIS Dexter...he wasn't too bad. A bit irritating in the whole "I'm not good enough for her" cliche, but when he wasn't bemoaning that, he was quite nice and entertaining. Also, my boy. Right here.
Plot. I don't have any complaints on the actual PLOT. It didn't bother me much and it held my interest. I did, however, have points where the writing confused me a bit. It wasn't UNBEARABLE or anything, I just had to go back every now and then to make sure I understood what was happening. That was mostly in the beginning, though. It got significantly less frequent as the story went on.
Romance. Pretty standard. Good girl, misunderstood "bad boy" who thinks he's not good enough. The romantic elements of this story didn't surprise me. Elliot being thrown in there was both fun and bothersome, only because I wasn't fooled for a second that anything would actually come of that. But still. Elliot's a sweetheart. I'd fix his phone any day. ANYWAY, Dexter and Charlee. They did have their swoon-y moments, though. And I liked them. A lot. Especially around the end.
The ending. Sweetness. I'm glad everything turned out the way it did at the end. I mean, after all the events of the book, the ending gave good closure.
Overall, Drowning in You is a book worth reading. IT may not be the perfect book, but it is certainly a good book that I would recommend to someone looking for a new adult story to make them swoon and leave them smiling.
Okay, now the actual BOOK. We're going to play a little game of good news/bad news, okay? My government teacher loves this game bunches, so it should work here. Ready?
We're going to go bad news first because that's how I play.
Bad news: Drowning in You was not as good as I expected it to be. I don't know why, exactly. I think I just expected too much. I wanted it to be sweet and interesting and witty and fun and completely perfectly amazing, and...well, that's a pretty high bar to meet, ya know?
Good news: There are still so many things I DID like about this book. I shall list them, actually. Because listing is fun.
- It's new adult! A genre I am growing to love more and more as I find more awesomeness within its depths.
- DUAL POV! Whenever I start a book and see it is a dual POV, I legit do a happy-dance. I like getting two sides to the story, and being that close to two individual characters. It adds a more REAL quality to the reading experience, to be able to experience the story so thoroughly.
- Darcy. The girl MC's little bro. I am quite fond of that little hooligan.
- It's set in Australia. Is it just me or is that all kinds of cool?
- The ending. But I'll talk about that in a bit.
There were more things, but those are the biggest ones that I'm going to take the time to list. If you want to know more, you should pick up the book and give it a go. Seriously.
Character Rundown:
Charlee: "Charz." I'm going to be honest--I don't like that nickname Dex gave her. But anyway, I liked that Charlee was so nice. I did not like that Charlee was so...wow, I can't think of a better word for this...boring. I just found myself preferring Dexter's chapters way more than "Charz's." Yeah. Not growing on me.
Dexter: Make HIS name into whatever you want and I will love it no matter what. Sweet baby goodness, I adore the name Dexter. And THIS Dexter...he wasn't too bad. A bit irritating in the whole "I'm not good enough for her" cliche, but when he wasn't bemoaning that, he was quite nice and entertaining. Also, my boy. Right here.
Plot. I don't have any complaints on the actual PLOT. It didn't bother me much and it held my interest. I did, however, have points where the writing confused me a bit. It wasn't UNBEARABLE or anything, I just had to go back every now and then to make sure I understood what was happening. That was mostly in the beginning, though. It got significantly less frequent as the story went on.
Romance. Pretty standard. Good girl, misunderstood "bad boy" who thinks he's not good enough. The romantic elements of this story didn't surprise me. Elliot being thrown in there was both fun and bothersome, only because I wasn't fooled for a second that anything would actually come of that. But still. Elliot's a sweetheart. I'd fix his phone any day. ANYWAY, Dexter and Charlee. They did have their swoon-y moments, though. And I liked them. A lot. Especially around the end.
The ending. Sweetness. I'm glad everything turned out the way it did at the end. I mean, after all the events of the book, the ending gave good closure.
Overall, Drowning in You is a book worth reading. IT may not be the perfect book, but it is certainly a good book that I would recommend to someone looking for a new adult story to make them swoon and leave them smiling.
~~~
~GIVEAWAY~
There's a tour-wide giveaway going on for 5--count 'em, FIVE!--ebook copies of Drowning in You! The giveaway is international and all you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win! WOOT!
~~~
~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~
Rebecca Berto is the author or the dark contemporary/literary novella, PRECISE and the upcoming new adult contemporary romance novel, DROWNING IN YOU. She is also a freelance editor.
She writes stories that are a bit sexy, and straddle the line between Literary and Tear Your Heart Out. She gets a thrill when her readers are emotional reading her stories, and gets even more of a kick when they tell her so. She’s strangely imaginative, spends too much time on her computer, and is certifiably crazy when she works on her fiction.
Rebecca Berto lives in Melbourne, Australia with her boyfriend and their doggy.
She writes stories that are a bit sexy, and straddle the line between Literary and Tear Your Heart Out. She gets a thrill when her readers are emotional reading her stories, and gets even more of a kick when they tell her so. She’s strangely imaginative, spends too much time on her computer, and is certifiably crazy when she works on her fiction.
Rebecca Berto lives in Melbourne, Australia with her boyfriend and their doggy.
Author Links:
♥Jessica(:
Haha we're the same with Dexter I love the name. It might have something to do with love the show so much! :D I'm happy you liked it, Jessica! Great review!
ReplyDeleteSounds fabulous!! Thanks for the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteGreat review. Thanks for the giveaway, I have been wanting to read this!!!
ReplyDeleteMichelle/Mimi
miminbennett(at)hotmail(dot)com
That's a comprehensive review. Love how you talked about the good and bad points. The summary sounds interesting!
ReplyDeleteExcited to read this! Thanks for the great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks for review. i really love it.
ReplyDeleteI am very curious with this book, looking forward to read this book.
I've been wanting to read this for a while. Sucks that it was what you expected, though. Thanks for the review and giveaway :)
ReplyDeleteVery excited to read this book! Thanks for the chance to win! Looks like an intriguing love story!
ReplyDelete