Showing posts with label Erin McCarthy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Erin McCarthy. Show all posts

Thursday, 18 April 2013

ARC Review: True by Erin McCarthy


TrueTRUE by Erin McCarthy

Pages: 238
Genre: New Adult
Publisher: Penguin Group (Intermix)
Amazon pre-order: True
Release date: 7th May 2013

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

When Rory Macintosh’s roommates find out that their studious and shy friend has never been with a guy, they decide that, as an act of kindness they’ll help her lose her virginity by hiring confident, tattooed bad boy Tyler Mann to do the job…unbeknownst to Rory.

Tyler knows he’s not good enough for Rory. She’s smart, doctor smart, while he’s barely scraping by at his EMT program, hoping to pull his younger brothers out of the hell their druggy mother has left them in. But he can’t resist taking up her roommates on an opportunity to get to know her better. There’s something about her honesty that keeps him coming back when he knows he shouldn’t…

Torn between common sense and desire, the two find themselves caught up in a passionate relationship. But when Tyler’s broken family threatens to destroy his future, and hers, Rory will need to decide whether to cut her ties to his risky world or follow her heart, no matter what the cost…

Review: 2 ½ out of 5 stars

I am a big fan of Erin McCarthy’s adult series, ‘Fast Track’ so I was more than eager to read True, her entry title into the New Adult genre.

True follows the story of 20 year-old Rory Macintosh who is extremely intelligent with hopes of going to med school to be a coroner, she is honest and logical and comes across as a down to earth, good girl but she is also seeking experiences that everyone else was already talking about such as smex.

When Rory’s dorm mates Kylie and Jessica find out she has never been with a guy, they with good intentions set out to hook her up with bad boy, smexy, tattooed Tyler Mann.

I was really put-off by this arrangement, purely for the fact that Tyler happened to be Jessica’s bed buddy – this just didn’t sit well with me at all, maybe I’m an old prude but potentially sharing a bed partner with someone my closest friend has recently been with just gives me the eeks.

Despite this aspect, Tyler wasn’t as bad as what we are led to believe, he was actually quite smart and noble with hopes of becoming an EMT to support his brothers; I liked his dedication and admired the fact he was working hard to achieve something not only for himself but also for his family since his drug addicted mother wasn’t doing it. His home life was really tough.

I didn’t mind the characters but I was dismayed by the reactions to a few incidents – Rory was blasé and seemed to just walk away from certain issues instead of confronting them – a good example was when she found out her friends had offered Tyler money to sleep with her, she went along with it rather than admit she knew what they had done, it made her seem weak whereas I would have been up in arms my closest friends would chose to do this, its insulting.

Another gripe I had was the dialogue – it seemed stilted and forced and didn’t flow well; I at times found myself cringing and would be embarrassed for these characters. It just came across as OTT.

I really wanted to love this book but unfortunately there was nothing unique and a few issues seemed to be created just to add additional angst and drama, it was too convenient. In saying this, there were a few aspects I did enjoy – Rory & Tyler’s aspirations, Rory’s father’s true to life reactions and the way the characters each supported one another.

At the end of this book we do get to read a snippet from the next book in the series which will be Jessica and Riley, Tyler’s brothers story – it has left me intrigued so I will be adding this to my TBR pile; I am still holding hope.

A copy of True was kindly provided to me by Netaglley/Penguin Group in exchange for my honest review.


Author bio: USA Today and New York Times Bestselling author Erin McCarthy sold her first book in 2002 and has since written almost fifty novels and novellas in teen fiction, new adult, and adult romance. Erin has a special weakness for New Orleans, tattoos, high-heeled boots, beaches and martinis. She lives in Ohio with her family, two grumpy cats and a socially awkward dog.

Sunday, 17 April 2011

REVIEW The Chase (Fast Track #4) Erin McCarthy

 
Author: Erin McCarthy
Pages: 280
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Berkley

From the Blurb.

Kendall Holbrook is determined to make it to the top, even with the challenge of being a woman on the male-dominated racing circuit. She doesn't have time for romance-especially not with racing rival Evan Monroe, the man who nearly crushed her dream years ago. Tricked into meeting him, Kendall is experiencing all those old feelings again-and she can't deny that they still have enough chemistry to set fire to the track.

REVIEW: 3 out of 5 Stars

The Chase for the most part was an enjoyable read but the least favourite in the Fast Track Series for me.

Kendall Holbrook and Evan Monroe were young and in love until a petty misunderstanding broke them up. They cross paths 10 years later, both now as stock car drivers; Kendall is on the rise but has insecurities being a female in a male dominated sport and Evan is having a really bad time on the track, causing him to lose sponsorship.

The unresolved issue from their past was sorted out earlier on in the book and I was actually quite surprised such a big deal was made out of such a small issue, but in saying this, they were young and immature.

After 10 years of separation, there was still a lot of attraction between Kendall and Evan and I liked them working through their issues in order to be together and the love scenes between them – yowza, they were scorching hot! McCarthy always knows how to write a wonderful smex scene.

The story flows well and I was quite enjoying it until a HUGE bombshell was thrown in! Seeing Evan & Kendall resolve their past issues was enough for me without having to throw another conflict into the mix and it was such a major issue that seemed to be glossed over and left relatively unresolved. (I wont give details).

I was left unsatisfied with ‘The Chase’ but am still looking forward to reading Tuesday Jones & Diesel Lange’s story in Slow Ride.

Books in order:
1. Flat-Out Sexy
2. Hard and Fast
3. Hot Finish
4. The Chase
5. Slow Ride (to be released 4th October 2011)