A review by ccgwalt
The Chase, by Erin McCarthy
3.0
Strong points of this book:
I liked Evan. I was afraid he was going to play the immature jerk with Kendall, so it was refreshing for him to be willing to let go of the past and move forward. His decision toward the end of the book about his future also felt mature and thoughtful.
I liked that the couple actually talked through the past in a rational way and resolved the long-standing hurt. It didn't make things perfect, but it cleared the air and allowed each to move forward without the pain. Thank you, Ms. McCarthy, for that piece of sanity.
The writing is better than average for the most part. There were a few "what the heck?" moments, but overall enjoyable to read.
Weak points:
I liked Kendall well enough. She isn't my favorite heroine because the readers never really get to know her. She's a 2-dimensional character throughout the book.
The resolution at the end really wasn't a resolution. There are a lot of unanswered questions. The author changed both characters too fast, making them act out-of-character. She also changed the personality of a small but key figure in the book, from an insipid bimbo to a thoughtful student. Hmmm.
I didn't mind the twist at the end that other readers have complained about, but it's irritating to me that it wasn't better resolved. The author might be addressing it further in the next book, but since it won't be Evan and Kendall's story, the focus won't be on how this issue works out.
Lastly, although the sex scenes are well-done, there are simply too many of them. They take over the book, leaving a lot less time for character development and plot. Plus, in previous books (esp the one with Ty and Imogen) the sex scenes were important to the character development, but in this book the scenes were fairly generic. In other words you could take the scenes and change the names and put them almost verbatim into another book.
I liked Evan. I was afraid he was going to play the immature jerk with Kendall, so it was refreshing for him to be willing to let go of the past and move forward. His decision toward the end of the book about his future also felt mature and thoughtful.
I liked that the couple actually talked through the past in a rational way and resolved the long-standing hurt. It didn't make things perfect, but it cleared the air and allowed each to move forward without the pain. Thank you, Ms. McCarthy, for that piece of sanity.
The writing is better than average for the most part. There were a few "what the heck?" moments, but overall enjoyable to read.
Weak points:
I liked Kendall well enough. She isn't my favorite heroine because the readers never really get to know her. She's a 2-dimensional character throughout the book.
The resolution at the end really wasn't a resolution. There are a lot of unanswered questions. The author changed both characters too fast, making them act out-of-character. She also changed the personality of a small but key figure in the book, from an insipid bimbo to a thoughtful student. Hmmm.
I didn't mind the twist at the end that other readers have complained about, but it's irritating to me that it wasn't better resolved. The author might be addressing it further in the next book, but since it won't be Evan and Kendall's story, the focus won't be on how this issue works out.
Lastly, although the sex scenes are well-done, there are simply too many of them. They take over the book, leaving a lot less time for character development and plot. Plus, in previous books (esp the one with Ty and Imogen) the sex scenes were important to the character development, but in this book the scenes were fairly generic. In other words you could take the scenes and change the names and put them almost verbatim into another book.