Sunday, March 29, 2015

BOOK REVIEW : Jem by Michelle Abbott

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. 

AMAZON       GOODREADS


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

No comments:

Post a Comment