Tag: My Favorite Mistake

Review: My Sweetest Escape by Chelsea M. Cameron

Posted April 16, 2015 by Casee in Reviews | 0 Comments

mysweetest escape

Casee‘s review of My Sweetest Escape (My Favorite Mistake #2) by Chelsea M. Cameron.

The past will always find you 

Jos Archer was the girl with the perfect life—until the night it all came crashing down around her. Now, nine months later, she still hasn’t begun to pick up the pieces. Even transferring to a new college and living under the watchful eye of her older sister, Renee, isn’t enough to help her feel normal again.

And then she meets Dusty Sharp. For reasons Jos can’t begin to fathom, the newly reformed campus bad boy seems determined to draw her out of her shell. And if she’s not careful, his knowing green eyes and wicked smile will make her feel things she’s no longer sure she deserves.

But even as Dusty coaxes Jos to open up about the past, he’s hiding secrets of his own. Secrets about the night her old life fell apart. When the truth is finally revealed, will it bring them closer together—or tear them apart for good?

This is my first New Adult book. I’ve gotten over my aversion to 1st person so that didn’t bother me at all. I actually would have preferred less of the heroine’s point of view, because she was a bleeping bitch. I couldn’t stand her, don’t know what the hero found so great about her and didn’t understand how she cultivated a new friendship with the a great character. Well, I kind of understand the last part.

After Jos Archer started partying at her college, the University of New Hampshire, getting into general trouble and having her grades drop considerably, her mother and father decide to send her to Maine to live with her older sister. I didn’t understand this. Jos was an 18 year old (which I have a problem with that I will get into later) girl/woman/person. She was so against going to her sister Renee’s house, but she did it anyway. Why not strike out on her own? Why not take a stand against her parents? Throughout the whole book, I never did understand why.

Jos made to to Maine where she was met by Renee, her new Drill Instructor. There were a list of rules to be followed and if they weren’t, hellfire would rain down. Jos could never be alone unless she was in her room. She couldn’t go out, not even to take a walk. The only thing she could do was enroll at the University of Maine. That is the only time she got some breathing room. It was then she met Hannah. Hannah was the sweetest character of them all. She was in a fire when she was a kid and had burns over half her face and down one arm. That didn’t bother Jos because she liked Hannah. That was Jos’ only saving grace.

When Dusty enters the picture, she wants nothing to do with him. He goes out of his way to be nice to her, but she’s having none of it. She asks her why he’s at her house so much. She asks him why he won’t leave her alone. But he was like a knat that would not leave Jos alone. I couldn’t help feel bad for him. He was the sweetest to her. He knows that something happened to her in her past, but he can’t get her to open up to him.

Something did happen to Jos, I will give her that. It changed her. Something also happened to Dusty. What they both don’t know is what happened to both of them is twined. Their lives are twined without them even knowing. So when Jos decides to give him a chance, she finds out how her secret could ruin Dusty and she leaves him.

About the whole age thing, I could not connect with an 18 year old heroine. I suppose I should have excused her behavior, but I didn’t even consider it. She was just a spoiled brat. I don’t remember being 18, so I could not sympathize with her. I suppose that could have been part of the problem, not the book it self. Still, I wouldn’t recommend this book. I read it because I wanted to try New Adult.

2.5 out of 5.

This book is published by Harlequin. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


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Review: My Favorite Mistake by Chelsea M. Cameron.

Posted September 26, 2013 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

My Favorite Mistake - Chelsea M. Cameron
Rowena’s review of My Favorite Mistake (My Favorite Mistake #1) by Chelsea M. Cameron.

Hero: Hunter Zeccadelli
Heroine: Taylor Caldwell

Two secrets. One bet. Who will break first?

Taylor Caldwell can’t decide if she wants to kiss her new college roommate or punch him.

On the one hand, Hunter Zaccadelli is a handsome blue-eyed bundle of charm. On the other, he’s a tattooed, guitar-playing bad boy. Maybe that’s why Taylor’s afraid of falling in love with him, or anyone else. She doesn’t want to get burned, so she needs him gone before it’s too late.

Hunter himself has been burned before, but Taylor’s sexy laugh and refusal to let him get away with anything make her irresistible. Determined not to be kicked out of her life without a fight, Hunter proposes a bet: if she can convince him she either truly loves or hates him, he’ll leave the apartment;and leave her alone.

But when the man behind Taylor’s fear of giving up her heart resurfaces, she has to decide: trust Hunter with her greatest secret, or do everything in her power to win that bet and drive him away forever.

Taylor Caldwell is starting her sophomore year in college and when she gets a new roommate, she’s not happy about it at all.  She was expecting another girl roommate but when the hot and sexy Hunter Zeccadelli comes walking through the door, claiming to be her new roommate, she’s pissed.  But the housing department is closed and she can’t get someone to explain this madness so she’s got to deal with this cocky son of a bitch who gets on her nerves.  It doesn’t help that Taylor is hard to get along with.  She’s got a prickly personality from a past that she can’t get away from and having this arrogant asshole in her face, ever single day makes her even more crabby.  To make matters worse, she’s sharing a room with him because it was in her room that the extra bed was in.  So she sees him all the time.  She sees him before she goes to bed.  She sees him first thing in the morning and she’s slowly going out of her mind.

Hunter has a past that is giving him issues as well.  The difference between Hunter and Taylor is that Hunter doesn’t let his past dictate his future (and get in the way of his present) the way that Taylor does.  Throughout the book, we don’t know what their pasts are.  We just know that those secrets that they’re keeping close is what shaped them into the people that they are today.

Hunter flirts with Taylor every chance that he can and even though Taylor wants nothing to do with him….she can’t deny that she is attracted to him.  But she’s got a lot of issues and she can’t deal with the things that Hunter makes her feel.  She’s running away from something that happened years ago and it’s getting in the way of something that could be pretty spectacular, if she’d let it happen.

It was really hard to connect with Taylor.  She has issues that made her the way that she was but it was really hard to like her because she was such a hypocrite.  She had this secret that she would not talk about.  She wouldn’t talk about it with Hunter and Hunter let her keep her secrets but did she give him the same courtesy? Oh, no.  She kept prodding and prying and getting pissed off when Hunter refused to talk about it.  She pressed so much that when things blew up in her face, I wanted to punch her.  To be honest, I didn’t see what there was to like about Taylor.  Her attitude and the way that everyone had to tip toe around her and her issues in their own house made me mad.  And I hated that she was so violent with Hunter.  And I hated it even more that Hunter just let it happen.  The things that she did to him when she was angry was not okay.  Her secret was a violent one and that she dealt with her anger so aggressively and so violently made me ashamed of her.  I will say that she came a long way in the end but even after all was said and done, I don’t think she deserved Hunter.

Overall, this book was a solid story but the characters and their actions throughout the story pissed me off for a good portion of the book.  I liked getting to know Hunter and Taylor’s roommates and I really liked meeting Hunter and Mase’s family.  I would have liked to see more page time devoted to explaining why Taylor hated her father so much.  I mean, we get the jist but it would have been nice to see that fleshed out more and resolved nicely.

While there were things about this book that I didn’t like and characters that got on my nerves, I am curious to read the next book in this series.  I wonder who’s story it’ll be.

Grade: 2.75 out of 5

This book is available from HQN.  You can purchase it here or here in e-format.  This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


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