Going Too Far and Love Story by Jennifer Echols

Title & Author:
Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols
Publisher:
MTV Books
Publication Date:
March 17, 2009
Pages:
245
Source:
Purchased

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?

All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far…and almost doesn’t make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won’t soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won’t be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge — and over…. – Goodreads

I FINALLY read a Jennifer Echols book and it’s all due to Just Contemporary month hosted by Chick Loves Lit and Basically Amazing Books. And I do not regret it.

Going Too Far was freaking AMAZING. I was in love with the protagonist, Meg. She was such a freaking badass and I loved her attitude towards life and her ability to engage in seriously witty banter. Seriously, she was freaking awesome.

I loved John, too. I was a bit worried at first, when Meg originally thinks he’s like 40 years old married with kids, because I thought Going Too Far might, pun intended, go a bit too far. Luckily she’s just sort of overdramatic, hah!

My only qualm with the characters was how quickly they ended up forgiving each other after all their fights. I wanted some drawn out arguing and fighting but it didn’t really go that way. Of course, I could be the crazy girl who wants the fights along with the kissing.

Surprisingly enough, I really enjoyed the storyline too! I’m not big on books that focus solely on romance and relationship stuff, but I thought Going Too Far had a lot of great character growth that really balanced everything out.

Basically, I loved Going Too Far a lot. If you haven’t read a Jennifer Echols book yet, I recommend staring with Going Too Far. Seriously awesome writing style with very vibrant and memorable characters, not to mention steamy romance!

Title & Author:
Love Story by Jennifer Echols
Publisher:
MTV Books
Publication Date:
July 19, 2011
Pages:
243
Source:
Purchased

For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions–it’s her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family’s racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin’s college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter . . . so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment?

Then, on the day she’s sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He’s joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin’s heart with longing. Now she’s not just imagining what might have been. She’s writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter . . . except this story could come true.- Goodreads

After reading Going Too Far, I immediately had to go to the store and buy everything they had by Jennifer Echols, including her newest release, Love Story. And I picked it up right away.

I don’t want to compare it to Going Too Far, so I won’t. But either way, I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as I was hoping to. And it definitely wasn’t the writing – it very clearly was Jennifer Echols and I love her writing in the book.

I think my biggest problem was the love interest, Hunter. He was a total ass. I hated him and his charismatic and traitorous ways. I still don’t even know, at the end of the book, if I trust him at all because I can’t figure him out. I just don’t like him, and that sort of ruined the whole “love story” to me (pun totally intended).

I liked Erin a lot though. I thought she was brave for doing the things she did, including signing up for a creative writing critique class. I would never have been able to do that. I loved her roommates, Summer and Jordis with a slash through the o. They were very hilarious and interesting characters.

As for the story, I thought it was interesting. I liked the whole idea of a rich horse farm girl struggling in New York while falling for her stable boy. I just didn’t like the stable boy.

Overall, I thought Love Story was okay, but definitely not Jennifer Echols’ best work. Don’t worry, I won’t let it stop me from checking out her other books and I hope this review doesn’t stop you from reading her books either. She is clearly very talented and I can’t wait to read Forget You next.

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