Fallen Too Far

It’s hard to discuss a short book like this without minor spoilers (though you can probably conclude the plot from the description). So be warned there are mild ones here. Though nothing is ruined that would take away from any “twist.” The Good: The premise is a good one, tried and true. Sweet girl falls for the bad boy. She’s a virgin, he’s a womanizer. She’s naïve, he’s the bad boy. She’s pure, he’s tainted. She’s open, he’s got dark secrets. It’s a trope that works (the old spin on the Cinderella story we all love, except prince charming has tats and a tongue stud) and there’s nothing wrong with this version of it so to speak. The setting improves upon it, as I love a good beach romance. Our heroine, Blaire, is pleasing as she’s mature for her young age. I would have loved her more had her actions matched her thoughts and word (she THINKS the most amazing, strong thoughts). She’s also responsible and tidy. Good lead female to start with. The cover art is amazing – actually the whole series is beautiful eye candy cover art. It\’s one of the reasons I\’ve wanted to try the books out. The Bad: Some of the deets are confusing. I\’m really guilty at overthinking these. Like how is Blaire a “farm girl” just because she’s from Alabama? Her life was not on a farm or even close to it (or if it was, it’s never mentioned… her memories seem suburban with scooters and such). She says she’s never seen the ocean, and is in awe of it, but she lived in a coastal state (Alabama) and is clearly within a couple hours of Rosemary Beach, FL to boot. What was the deal with her pulling a gun on people and referencing it all the time–what type of nineteen-year-old girl does that and why is she so jumpy? Why is Rush so tortured and dark? He’s a cliché character but without cause or reason-he’s never suffered through any major hurt that I can see so what’s his problem? The beach setting is awesome but it’s barely there and not a part of the story itself. Blaire goes to the beach just the one time in the story and it may as well not exist otherwise. At one point Blaire tells a friend she will pay him back for gas after she gets her first check though she thought to herself pages earlier that she had all this hundreds of dollars in her pocket from tips (since when do waitresses make money off checks?). She tells a friend she’ll bring her out for the night, then invites a guy along, then abandons her friend immediately. People constantly show up behind or in front of the heroine randomly, and just when they should, to keep the story going. She can be anywhere… the store, at work, at a cemetery… and someone will just pop up and know she was there and start talking to her–usually from behind her shoulder. Weird. The Ugly: I didn’t love the twist of the story, which unfortunately I can’t comment on without revealing major plot spoilers. But it’s major weird, beyond far-fetched, and hardly explained (and gross). But continuing from the good (above), our heroine is an independent thinker, but constantly thinks one thing than does another. I didn’t like that Blaire, who is a strong and intelligent, can’t think straight around Rush just because he’s got a sexy chest. The hero doesn’t even try to win her or impress her that I found. Also, this one is a cliffhanger. But it\’s not just that… there is like a whole series of books that follow? Yeah no.

Blaire’s lost everything and has no choice but to ask her father for help, but when she arrives, he’s no-where to be found, only Rush is and he makes her feel things she shouldn’t. Rush straight away knowing who she is makes her unwelcome, putting her in a room under the stairs even though he has a mansion, he knows she could ripped apart his family, but he’s knows he’s attracted to her and she needs to be as far away as he can get her. Blaire decides to go out with her friend to a honky tonk bar, surprised that Rush wants to go as well. Rush tries to fight the attraction to Blair he makes her want things he’s never wanted before with anyone, but he knows he’s secret he is holding would tear them apart. He lets her know that all he does is F@@@ and she deserves kisses and cuddles. Blaire watches Rush become even more protective of her, they try to fight the sizzling chemistry between them, but what happens when Blaire finds out the secret, and that nearly the whole town knew. Will she walk away from Rush and Rosemary Beach forever.

This is the first book in the Rosemary Beach series which has 13 books total. I’m so glad I finally got around to reading this because it was so good! I wasn’t expecting to be as caught up in the story as I was. But it only took me 1 day to read this and I cant wait to buy/read the next book in the series! I have so many expectations for Never too Far. When we first meet Blaire, she is just pulling in to her new home in Florida. She completely won me over when she pulls a guy on the guy that swings her truck door open. That’s my kinda girl! A country girl from Alabama that knows how to take care of herself. I think thats why I enjoyed reading about Blaire so much because she did what it took to make she was good and she wasn’t afraid to get out there and work for it. Over the course of the story, we learn more and more about what Blaire went through with her mom, dad, and sister. Unfortunately, when secrets come to the surface everything comes crashing down for Blaire. Rush has his own demons he’s trying to overcome throughout the story. Because of this he comes off as a major jerk throughout most of the book. But you could tell that there was more to him than that. Rush is completely swoon worthy! The first time he whispers into Blaire’s ear that she should stay away from him, I was #TeamRush and was rooting for them to get together. Despite Rush’s warning, Blaire is still extremely attracted to her him and I CANNOT BLAME HER one bit! I’ll take Rush with those silver eyes any day! This story has the ever popular trope of every girl wants a bad guy to be good just for her and that’s exactly what Blaire gets. There are a few other characters that play pretty important roles in the story, but not make an appearance very often. Grant is the first person Blaire meets upon arriving in Florida. We find out the he is Rush’s brother and is completely opposite of Rush. Grant is super nice to Blaire throughout the whole story and it’s such a relief. Woods is competing with Rush for Blaire’s attention. He’s so nice to her from the very beginning and he ALMOST has a chance. Once I learn how the story plays out, I cant help but wonder how things would’ve turned out had Blaire chosen to pursue Woods instead of Rush. Nan. Nanette. Where to even begin with this woman. I hated her. She was the epitome of a spoiled rich brat. She hates Blaire from the second she lays eyes on her and I just cannot figure out why. But EVERYONE else in Rosemary Beach seems to know EXACTLY why. It’s this big secret that everyone is keeping on behalf of Rush and Nan because it’s not anyone’s business (except Nan) to tell Blaire the details of. Once the secret is finally revealed, I try to feel sorry for Nan. But I just cant and I don’t. It’s no excuse in my opinion. The ending. I HATE IT. It’s horrible. It makes me want to strangle Blaire. How can she be so STUPID? I just don’t understand how learning the truth of what the secret is was worth giving up the love she had with Rush. But she does. Dummy. It gets even worse when Rush shows up and begs her not to give up on her. Stupid, stupid girl. I immediately needed the next book in the series because I was having a hard time recovering from the end of the book. My heart was literally shattered and there’s only one thing that could put it back together, which I’m hoping to see in the next book!

Just finished and moving on to book 2! This was so addicting. I barely got any sleep. I literally woke up from 4 hours sleep and had to continue (EVEN WENT WITH OUT COFFEE) THAT IS HOW GOOD THIS BOOK IS!! Soo many ups and downs but none that were painful like I have read In a couple books. It was a Rollercoaster but a really fun one. (I hate Rollercoasters – the real kind) hence I said \”a fun one\”. 1) great chemistry 2) great storyline 3) great angst 4) great twist ending in a cliffhanger which I don\’t mind I honestly can\’t wait to read (will be reading in about 3 minutes) ** I USUALLY WON\’T BUY A BOOK ESPECIALLY AT $10.00 A BOOK BUT THIS ONE I HAD TO SPLURGE – AND THAT IS SAYING ALOT SINCE COVID 2020 AND XMAS TIME. ? BUT THIS IS MY ESCAPE AND SO WORTH IT.

Ok. Now I understand the wildly mixed reviews on Goodreads. I did actually enjoy this story, it was an easy read and one of those books that\’s difficult to put down. However, I can see why some reviewers had issues with the way relationships are portrayed here. A lot of slut shaming goes on, and women are shown to be exploited by their looks/bodies (e.g wearing uniforms a size too small to get better tips from lecherous old men at the country club) I was surprised that Blaire could be attracted to Rush after seeing (very explicitly!) how he treats other women. Blaire herself makes some pretty unpleasant judgements about other women, including one of her friends who narrowly escapes a situation at a club because, \”she was wearing red leather shorts.\” I suppose with this attitude towards other women it\’s not surprising that Blaire cannot deal with the big reveal at the end of the story. The other thing that made me uncomfortable was Blaire\’s use of a gun to threaten other people. The first instance was self defence so understandable, but the incident at the end of the book was uncalled for. Is the reader meant to see Blaine is a badass? It left a nasty taste. To all those reviewers who\’ve called Nan \’a bitch \’ – didn\’t you have any empathy for the situation she found herself in? Pretty big clue as to what will happen in the next book…more DRAMA and dysfunctional family relationships….

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