The New Adult genre - their bad boys and big problems and epic loves make them engrossing tales that are so easy to lose yourself in. What's not to love about that? And, now, thanks to the cool chicks at Bewitched Bookworms, we can show these books the love they deserve in a weekly feature - New Adult Mondays.
Published July 16, 2013
Publisher: self-published
Format: e-copy, provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
Genre: new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon
Rating: 2 STARS
(From Goodreads) How do you survive the internship from hell?
Don't fall in love.
Ivy thought being a reporter-in-training at the Independent Gazette would be her dream summer job. Little did she know, interviewing Eric, a landscaper with a heart of gold, would derail her plans. It turns out Ivy's boss, Lauren, has been eying his chiseled physique for quite some time.
But at twenty-four, Eric already has a tragic past, one that he is still reeling from. Even though his ordeal turned him into some sort of local celebrity, it's been a while since he's shared his bed with anyone. When he comes to Ivy's rescue out of the blue, it's not long before the two of them start seeing each other behind Lauren's back. When they get caught, Ivy's journey toward a college degree is jeopardized and her relationship with Eric is severely put to the test.
Career versus love? In the end, a shocking turn of events provides Ivy with a revelation she never saw coming.
Writing a review for a book I didn't enjoy is always hard for me. Because I respect the hell out of any author who puts themselves out there like that. But, sometimes books just don't hit the mark for me, and Take Me Now was one of them.
There were a lot of things that didn't make sense to me about Take Me Now. Ivy is interning at a newspaper, and for some reason, her boss despises her. We don't know why, though. A lot more backstory here would've been helpful, because that kind of hatred has to come from somewhere.
Ivy is infatuated with Will, but, again, I really don't know why. We know they shared a kiss at age 13 and since then he's treated her like crap. Ivy seems like she should be a strong, independent woman, yet, she literally turns into a puddle of ooze around him. That doesn't make any sense to me, and it doesn't match what we know about Ivy.
Eric is a local celebrity because his fiance died of cancer. Granted there's a little more to it than that that I don't want to divulge, but even still, as tragic and heartbreaking as that is, it shouldn't have turned Eric into the hometown hero. Awful things like that happen every day, and if something like that happened here in my small town, it wouldn't make him famous.
I found the character development to be weak thoughout. I never developed any sort of connection with any of them. Most of the feelings I had toward characters trended toward extreme annoyance and frustration. Lauren was a stone cold bitch, Will was a tool, Eric was wishy-washy, and Ivy was just all over the place. But, I never really cared enough about any of them to want them to have a happily-ever-after.
Honestly, my biggest problem with Take Me Now came toward the end of the book. Ivy is in a car with someone she had considered a very close friend. And then he very nearly rapes her. It is only after Ivy resorts to physical violence that she gets away from him. In the next paragraph, however, she gets back in the car with him since she doesn't have another ride. And, later, it's treated as if it was no big deal or perhaps a misunderstanding.
Rape and almost-rape is a VERY big deal. Even though the actual act didn't happen, this particular situation would've seriously messed up and traumatized any girl. Throw in the fact that the act was committed by someone she had previously liked and trusted, and she should've been a total head case. Yet, Ivy was more concerned with getting a ride to a party. The fact that this was swept under the rug and barely mentioned later is disturbing and disheartening.
I think that with a lot more story development, Take Me Now could be on its way to something good. As it is, it's very disjointed and confusing and lacks the emotional attachment necessary to really get into the story. It's unfortunate, because based on the description, the story had a ton of potential. Perhaps the second in this trilogy - Meant For Me - will fill in a lot of the holes we were left with at the end of book 1.
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