Reviewer: Holly Torn by K.A. Robinson
Series: Torn #1
Publisher: Atria Books, Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: May 17 2013
Pages: 268
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
Series Rating:
Chloe hasn't had the best life. With a mother who is gone more often than not, she has had to raise herself. After graduating high school, she leaves to start a new life away at West Virginia University with her best friends Amber and Logan, determined to leave her demons in the past.
On her first day, she meets a stranger who takes her breath away at first sight. Until she met Drake, no one had ever sparked her interest. Now this tattooed and pierced bad boy is all she can think about, no matter how hard she fights it.
Falling for Drake was never part of her plans, but when it happens, things seem to do anything but fall into place.
Dealing with a tragic past, Drake has never cared about anyone else but himself and his band. But when Chloe takes the empty seat next to him in class, things start to change. Instantly drawn to her, he begins to wonder if one girl can take a cold hearted womanizer and change every part of him?
Long hidden feelings are revealed and friendships tested to the brink.
This is a New Adult about Chloe, who goes to college with her two best friends, Logan and Amber. Logan is in love with her but she doesn’t know it. She falls for bad boy, Drake, who plays in a band – but who is really super sweet and not bad at all. She wants to go for it with him until Logan tells her he’s in love with her and Drake tells her he isn’t the kind for a relationship so she should go for it with Logan. She does, but the attraction between her and Drake doesn’t go away, so she ends up cheating on Logan. Twice. Which causes her to have much angst and guilt. Add into it drama from her mama, and it’s kind of a hot mess.
Chloe is childish and frustrating. She constantly falls back on the old “I have mommy issues” thing to excuse all of her terrible behavior. She whines, she cheats, she lies, she blows hot and cold. If she had stepped up and owned her behavior maybe, maybe I could have worked with it. As it stands? No. Just no.
Logan was controlling and pushy, so I’m not sure why she decided to start dating him. And don’t get me started on the way Amber bailed on Chloe as soon as the going got rough. Yes, she was acting like an idiot, but a true friend would have told her that, rather than giving her the silent treatment until Logan said it was okay to be friends again.
To be totally honest, I’m not even sure why I finished it. I should have stopped as soon as Mr. Maddox was referenced. I knew then I was going to have problems with the story.
It ends in a cliffhanger of sorts (with Chloe’s psycho mom coming back into the picture) and the blurb for the next book, Twisted, makes me want to poke my eyes out, so I’ll definitely be stopping here.
1.5 out of 5
This book is available from Atria Books. You can buy it here or here in e-format.