This is the first book in Tara West's Something More series. In this first book, we are introduced to Christina on her twenty-first birthday. She has just broken up with her fiance with whom she's, literally, revolted with. She's stranded in a shady party of town when Kari's (her drug-abusing-no-longer-bff) car breaks down. It is at a random gas station that Christina chance meets Andres (the hot, latin mechanic). Her world is turned upside down. The rest of the novel is about her moving out and learning to live her own life on her own terms. Who knew that meeting a stranger at a gas bar would turn out to be such a life-changing event?
Christina was a tough character for me to relate to. I get that she is deeply disturbed after having been raped by her father at the age of 15 but how did she become the puppet she seemed to be in the first pages of the novel? I didn't mind her in Say Yes but I definitely didn't love her in Say When...maybe it's the way that we're introduced to her in the first pages of the book--she seems fairly superficial (it basically reads that she can't stand sleeping with her fiance anymore nor is she physically attracted to him anymore so she dumps him). Or maybe it's that everything is handed to her on a silver freakin' platter from the get-go. Christina needs a ride so she calls Karri, that falls through so she calls Grace, she meets Andres that night and right away she's got a place to crash when she can't go home, she lands a high-paying job thanks to Andres' hook-ups, she gets her own apartment, etc. Everything just seems to fall at her feet and all we hear from her are complaints about her life, her mom, her former bff, her ex-fiance, you get the picture. The only redeeming characteristics that Christina has going for her is her softside for Tyler, Karri's baby and Karri's mom. Despite the fact that Karri and her are on the outs, Christina has nothing but concern and love for the poor child and his grandmother who's trying her best to take care of him.
Andres is a bit easier to like. He's a war veteran who's returned from Afghanistan a changed man. He's struggling with the fact that he's was driving the truck that hit a landmine that killed his best friend. Somehow, having a one-night-stand with Christina has granted him a peaceful sleep--something that he hasn't had since he returned home. A bit hard to believe...but whatever. It's a sign that there's got to be something special about this girl if she could do that (yeah, really, how DID she do that?). He continues to struggle, though, with his self-worth. From the get-go, he feels that there's a huge divide between Christina and him with him being the one that's less worthy. The recurring theme of Andres not being good enough for Christina is super-prevalent in these novels and gets a bit annoying by the third book. Overall, though, he's the super-hot (Latin Adonis) hero that swoops in at the most opportune time to rescue Christina in a time of need.
One of the secondary characters that I really hated is Karri. She's Christina's childhood best friend who's now a druggie. She's got a baby, Tyler, that she is seen to be mistreating over and over again. Maybe it's because I'm a mom but I REALLY despised Karri and what she was doing (and, really, not doing) for Tyler. She brings nothing but drama to the story and her escapades almost serve as comedic relief because of how ridiculous she is.
Then we have Grace. She's another one of Christina's friends. She's the polar opposite of Karri, though, as she's there at Christina's beck and call. There are no questions, just concern for Christina's well being. I think Grace and Andres are the two most lovable characters in this novel lol.
One of the secondary characters that I really hated is Karri. She's Christina's childhood best friend who's now a druggie. She's got a baby, Tyler, that she is seen to be mistreating over and over again. Maybe it's because I'm a mom but I REALLY despised Karri and what she was doing (and, really, not doing) for Tyler. She brings nothing but drama to the story and her escapades almost serve as comedic relief because of how ridiculous she is.
Then we have Grace. She's another one of Christina's friends. She's the polar opposite of Karri, though, as she's there at Christina's beck and call. There are no questions, just concern for Christina's well being. I think Grace and Andres are the two most lovable characters in this novel lol.
I'm pretty glad that I didn't read Say When first. With the abrupt ending and my overall annoyance with Christina, had I not read the second book first, I probably would have left the rest of the series untouched. That being said, the second novel was pretty decent (though, who knows what I would have thought of it had I read these in order). I'm at war with these novels right now because I remember honestly enjoying the second book. I guess we'll see what the third book Say Forever brings...
My Rating: 2.5 Stars
No comments:
Post a Comment