Random

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!

Amazon / B&N / Kobo

(I received an ARC from the author via NetGalley for my review and this is my honest-to-goodness, straight from the heart review!)