A review by thebookishkitten
Something That Could Last by Ashley Cade
2.0
**I received a copy of this to review via NetGalley. Thank you to NetGalley and the author, Ashley Cade, for the opportunity to review this book.**
I'll start with the things I DID like about this book. The obvious thing I loved about this book is that gorgeous cover. It is what drew me in. I know, I know...judging books by their covers and all that jazz, but come on...look at it! It is definitely my whole aesthetic. I also really liked all the times music was mentioned in this book and what music was mentioned. I am not sure I have ever seen The Pistol Annies mentioned in a book I have read and that made my little country heart happy as could be. The actual story itself got so much better in the last 15% of the book. It was the most engaged I became into the story if I am honest. Knowing that there is at least one more book at come after this one, it makes sense. Sometimes the first book in a series can take a while to set the scene, story, and tone for the whole series.
However, I did not like the characters in this book at all. I'm pretty certain the only characters I liked were the brother of the main female character and her grandmother. And we barely get any of them in this book. Every other character is so unlikable. Unlikable characters aren't exactly a problem for me. I can do unlikable characters. Humans can be unlikable. I just couldn't figure out how to really care about these guys because I didn't know why I was supposed to and how I was supposed to relate to them. I just don't think it was my cup of tea. Their language and how they talked was hard to read through for me. Also, there are quite a few sex scenes in the book which is to be expected with the nature of the book and usually something I can get behind. They just made me cringe. The language used during the sex scenes is something I keep hoping we can leave behind (and with a lot of books of this nature we have). I'm just over reading about the female anatomy in terms of "slick heat" and "sensitive nub" and the likes.
I can see why people would like this book and I think the ones to come after this have potential. I think Cade's writing style, for the most part, is nice. It was easy to read and there were some good parts. As a debut novel, it's well done and even though it wasn't necessarily my cup of tea, it is a book that I think will find its audience pretty easily and be received very well. I would honestly check out the second book to see how it all comes along. I'd wager she catches a nice stride in the story and I'd love to see a lot of good character development in these guys.
For now, I'm going with a 2.5-star rating going by goodreads definition of the stars. It was okay, for me, teetering on having liked some portions of it.
2.5/5: ★★✬☆☆
I'll start with the things I DID like about this book. The obvious thing I loved about this book is that gorgeous cover. It is what drew me in. I know, I know...judging books by their covers and all that jazz, but come on...look at it! It is definitely my whole aesthetic. I also really liked all the times music was mentioned in this book and what music was mentioned. I am not sure I have ever seen The Pistol Annies mentioned in a book I have read and that made my little country heart happy as could be. The actual story itself got so much better in the last 15% of the book. It was the most engaged I became into the story if I am honest. Knowing that there is at least one more book at come after this one, it makes sense. Sometimes the first book in a series can take a while to set the scene, story, and tone for the whole series.
However, I did not like the characters in this book at all. I'm pretty certain the only characters I liked were the brother of the main female character and her grandmother. And we barely get any of them in this book. Every other character is so unlikable. Unlikable characters aren't exactly a problem for me. I can do unlikable characters. Humans can be unlikable. I just couldn't figure out how to really care about these guys because I didn't know why I was supposed to and how I was supposed to relate to them. I just don't think it was my cup of tea. Their language and how they talked was hard to read through for me. Also, there are quite a few sex scenes in the book which is to be expected with the nature of the book and usually something I can get behind. They just made me cringe. The language used during the sex scenes is something I keep hoping we can leave behind (and with a lot of books of this nature we have). I'm just over reading about the female anatomy in terms of "slick heat" and "sensitive nub" and the likes.
I can see why people would like this book and I think the ones to come after this have potential. I think Cade's writing style, for the most part, is nice. It was easy to read and there were some good parts. As a debut novel, it's well done and even though it wasn't necessarily my cup of tea, it is a book that I think will find its audience pretty easily and be received very well. I would honestly check out the second book to see how it all comes along. I'd wager she catches a nice stride in the story and I'd love to see a lot of good character development in these guys.
For now, I'm going with a 2.5-star rating going by goodreads definition of the stars. It was okay, for me, teetering on having liked some portions of it.
2.5/5: ★★✬☆☆