3 stars
Jem grew up with an abusive father who was resentful of his
very existence. But at age four he met his “Angel,” Devon —the
slightly older little girl who befriended him and made him not feel ashamed. Fast forward and Jem is eighteen, living on his own since
the age of sixteen. His rough, violent upbringing has left him with anger
issues, and that’s the first impression Devon has of him
when she meets him again for the first time. Only Devon
doesn’t know it’s her precious Jem and thus is the beginning of msunderstandings and misconceptions that plague their love story.
I had a hard time connecting with adult Devon .
She’s quick to judge strangers but naïve and too trusting of her abusive
ex-boyfriend, the father of her child. I’m also not a fan of weak female
characters and Devon ’s actions in regard to her ex made
me lose a lot of respect for her. I also craved a little more background on how
she got involved (and stayed involved) with Connor in the first place, given her
more solid, supportive upbringing and first hand knowledge of abuse with Jem as
a child.
The premise has a lot of promise, and I liked Jem and Devon ’s
childhood bonding as the groundwork to their future coupling, but too many
missed moments in the present and the lack of getting to know each other again
as adults lessened the romantic vibe. The story addresses several heavy issues
but never in detail or in terms of how the characters really rise above their
hardships. The bones to a deep story are
there but the characters and plot needed fleshed out more. Overall, I think I simply craved more budding romance for a couple that so longed for each other.
Jem is a stand-alone, first person POV told by both Devon
and Jem.
Michelle Abbott lives in the UK
and hates describing herself in 3rd person. She's a self-published author of new adult romance, and likes to write about
heroes who begin as the underdog and are protective of their girl. She's an avid reader of romance, is addicted to coffee and loves wine and
chocolate, so yeah, not the most healthy eating and drinking habits :-) She
spends way too much time online when she should be writing. She collects teddy
bears and occasionally knits a couple of rows on a sweater she started years
ago, which she may eventually finish in time to wear for her funeral :-)
She is also the author of Just Stay. Read the blog's 4.5 Star Book Review & Author Interview: HERE
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