A review by smitch29
Bad for You by Abbi Glines
4.0
3.5
I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. On paper, this isn't my kind of story. Innocent, preacher's daughter, with an abusive background meets bad-boy, rock star who doesn't let his walls down for anyone. Every bit of this story has been done before, and all the attributes are some of the most clichéd storylines in the romance genre. However, I can't quite put my finger on what, but something was different, that I was pulled into this story.
The book opens and we get a glimpse of Blythe's childhood, where it was beaten into her head just how unwanted she was, with demeaning words and mean actions. Like I mentioned, this isn't anything new to read about; but it intrigued me for some reason and pulled me in. Blythe spent the whole novel being pretty naïve to everything in life, and constantly blaming herself for every action. Normally, I would find that too annoying to be worth reading. But this time I didn't hate it as much. Don't get me wrong, it bugged me, but more so for the fact that there was never a moment near/at the end where she had grown stronger. I would've liked to see her be able to stand more on her own two feet. And maybe she did make that transformation by the end, but all we saw, as readers, was her either too numb with heart-break, or too in love to care about anything that normally made her uncomfortable, and frankly that just doesn't count as real progress, those are just distractions.
Krit was your typical, man whore rock star. He had a bad past and it had left him feeling empty. That void in his soul was never filled until he met Blythe, and all of the sudden he is healed. The more I think about this issue, the more it bugs me, and I'm actually going to drop the rating to a 3.5 because of it. Not once did Krit and Blythe discuss his issues that have shaped his behavior and warped him. To be fair, when they are together, it would seem that he has no issues, so there wasn't much chance for them to come into conversation. However, this book is trying to sell their relationship to me and tell me that they are great together when it's actually an unhealthy relationship. They can't have a truly happily ever after until they are strong enough to stand on their own two feet without having the other one as a crutch, and I don't think Krit was ever at the point. He wasn't ever even strong enough to divulge his issues with the girl he claims is the love of his life.
Last complaint is about the ending. There was a big dramatic fight and issues from that fight ensued, until the lovebirds could meet and again and have all their troubles fly out the window. Then the book was pretty much over. There was no closure to Krit and Blythe's issues; which leaves me to presume that the author implies that the relationship magically cured their lives. If the finale could've been more developed, I would be a lot happier with their love story.
I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. On paper, this isn't my kind of story. Innocent, preacher's daughter, with an abusive background meets bad-boy, rock star who doesn't let his walls down for anyone. Every bit of this story has been done before, and all the attributes are some of the most clichéd storylines in the romance genre. However, I can't quite put my finger on what, but something was different, that I was pulled into this story.
The book opens and we get a glimpse of Blythe's childhood, where it was beaten into her head just how unwanted she was, with demeaning words and mean actions. Like I mentioned, this isn't anything new to read about; but it intrigued me for some reason and pulled me in. Blythe spent the whole novel being pretty naïve to everything in life, and constantly blaming herself for every action. Normally, I would find that too annoying to be worth reading. But this time I didn't hate it as much. Don't get me wrong, it bugged me, but more so for the fact that there was never a moment near/at the end where she had grown stronger. I would've liked to see her be able to stand more on her own two feet. And maybe she did make that transformation by the end, but all we saw, as readers, was her either too numb with heart-break, or too in love to care about anything that normally made her uncomfortable, and frankly that just doesn't count as real progress, those are just distractions.
Krit was your typical, man whore rock star. He had a bad past and it had left him feeling empty. That void in his soul was never filled until he met Blythe, and all of the sudden he is healed. The more I think about this issue, the more it bugs me, and I'm actually going to drop the rating to a 3.5 because of it. Not once did Krit and Blythe discuss his issues that have shaped his behavior and warped him. To be fair, when they are together, it would seem that he has no issues, so there wasn't much chance for them to come into conversation. However, this book is trying to sell their relationship to me and tell me that they are great together when it's actually an unhealthy relationship. They can't have a truly happily ever after until they are strong enough to stand on their own two feet without having the other one as a crutch, and I don't think Krit was ever at the point. He wasn't ever even strong enough to divulge his issues with the girl he claims is the love of his life.
Last complaint is about the ending. There was a big dramatic fight and issues from that fight ensued, until the lovebirds could meet and again and have all their troubles fly out the window. Then the book was pretty much over. There was no closure to Krit and Blythe's issues; which leaves me to presume that the author implies that the relationship magically cured their lives. If the finale could've been more developed, I would be a lot happier with their love story.