3.5
Stars
I
had mixed feelings about Lark O’Neal’s Random. I had a hard time giving
this book 3.5, I wanted to give it more because I liked the premise, the story,
and the characters, but…well, let’s just dive in.
(Synopsis via
Goodreads):
Life is
random…
19-year-old
Jess Donovan knows better than most that life is random. Her mom is dead, and
she’s on her own, patching together a living as a waitress when a car crashes
through the restaurant where she works. In two seconds, she loses her job, watches
her best friend hauled away in an ambulance…and meets Tyler Smith, one of the
hottest, most fascinating—and mysterious guys she’s ever met.
Both for the
good and the bad…
Within days,
Jess is swept up into the mesmerizing force that is Tyler. Their every touch
sizzles, every kiss dissolves them both, and the sex is…fierce. But there’s
more to Tyler than his hypnotic eyes. He’s adrift, too, and his body—and his
soul—are covered with scars. How can she find herself with a guy who is lost
himself?
Until you take
charge….
Jess is
determined to find her way, and make a life that is better than the one she was
given. But how?
What
I liked and found to be the 5-star aspects?
The
writing! The stream-of-consciousness style Lark implements was unique, rarely
seen, and added to feeling like a part of the story. Written in first person of
Jess, we get a sense of who she is, her personality, and her reactions to life.
As a nineteen-year old, living on her own, the stream-of-consciousness writing
is realistic to what really goes on in the mind of someone in this place in
life.
Tyler
won me over instantly; sweet, helpful, gorgeous, yet incredibly troubled. No
matter what happened, what he said or how he reacted, I wanted him to win Jess
over.
All
of the other characters add to the complexity of the story as well as to Jess
and Tyler’s relationship.
I
may be biased, but my other favorite aspect is the setting in Manitou Springs/
Colorado Springs (yup, Colorado native-ish, right here)
Why
I didn’t give it a 5-star review?
It
seemed all over the place in several events, jumping from one thing to the next
pretty quickly without much closure (if any) from what was happening before.
I
didn’t feel some spots got as in-depth as they could have and as I would have
liked.
And
finally, more grammatical errors than should present.
Overall,
I really enjoyed the story of Jess and Tyler and I am excited to see what
happens with them individually and together in book 2.
You Can Get It
Here!
(I
received an ARC from the author via NetGalley for my review and this is my
honest-to-goodness, straight from the heart review!)
