NEW ADULT MONDAYS: The Fine Line

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.

The Fine Line, by Alicia Kobishop
Published December 6, 2013
Publisher: self-published
Format: e-book, provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
Genre:  new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon

Rating:  2.5 STARS

(From Goodreads) High school senior Liv Evans has one rule: No attachments. She’s lost enough in her life and has vowed to do whatever it takes to make sure she never again feels the emptiness of losing someone she loves. Boys are a fun distraction, but a serious relationship is something she’d rather live without. Her determination for a future free of pain and heartbreak is put to the test when she meets–and quickly forms an unexpected bond–with Logan Tanner.

Logan has always been a free spirit, but ever since a life-changing event took place, which left him doubting the integrity of those who are closest to him, he’s taken that term to a whole new dangerous level. Learning the hard way that life is too short for worries or work–and that women can’t be trusted–Logan has exchanged steady work for street racing. When Liv walks into his world, everything he thought he knew about life and women is challenged.

In The Fine Line, Liv and Logan will discover if it’s possible for true love to have a future, or if history is destined to repeat itself.

I am a very character-driven reader. I can almost always make allowances for stuff like lack of world-building and even plot holes so big you can drive a truck through, as long as I can get behind the main characters. I get that characters can't be perfect, either. Believe me - I've found fault with guys that are just too wonderful. So, I understand the need to work in some character flaws. But, when those flaws become all-encompassing, I start to have a problem with them. 

Olivia is bitter. She learned from a very early age that the men in her life don't ever stick around. So, she's decided to just not get close to any of them, and everything will be fine. Until she meets Logan. He affects her more than any other boy she's ever met, and that scares the crap out of her. 

The Fine Line is Alicia Kobishop's debut, and there are some things to like here. I initially decided to read it because of the street racing aspect. Big muscle cars and last minute races in abandoned warehouse parking lots are exciting, and typically I love the guys that star in those types of books. 

Olivia was the biggest problem for me in The Fine Line. To put it bluntly - she was a stone cold bitch. She meets a boy she really likes, and she convinces herself that she can be nothing more than friends with him. Then, she sets out trying to convince him of the same thing. The problem is, her message is seriously lost in translation. It's hard to convince someone you only want to be friends with him when you're sticking your tongue down his throat. 

So, Liv plays with Logan's head for a very long while. She spends all her free time with him. She meets his family, She dances with him, kisses him, sleeps over at his house. All the while, she tells him and herself that she only wants to be friends with him. And, it's such crap. He knows it and so does she. Logan is straight with her and tells her how he feels about her, and Liv lies to him every step of the way, which hurts him a lot. And, she knows it, and doesn't care. 

Even after Olivia and Logan finally have their moment of clarity where everything seems to come together and she finally pulls her head out of her rear long enough to tell him the truth of how she feels about him, her next action is to tell Logan that she's going out on a date with some other guy the next night. What the WHAT? And, she gets mad when Logan tells her to cancel? Un-freaking-believable. It's impossible for me to get behind a person like that. 

Sadly, Logan wasn't much better. Oh, he was much more likeable, but not very believable. There's not many men out there who would put up with a girl like Olivia. Logan was more than a glutton for punishment. He was a downright masochist. In the beginning, he is painted as a bad ass street racer with a gorgeous face and a dangerous streak. Sorry, but a guy like that doesn't put up with the antics of someone like Liv and cry at the drop of a hat. He ended up being kind of a wimp. 

The action at the end of the book was good. I liked the final race and the aftermath. But, even that couldn't save this book enough for me since Olivia had very few redeeming qualities and Logan couldn't man up. Strong characters with integrity and bravery who make the occasional wrong choice for the right reason are the MCs I throw my weight behind. Sadly, these two just went over like a lead balloon.