March 25, 2013

NEW ADULT MONDAY: Torn (Torn #1)

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 bi-weekly feature - New Adult Mondays.

Torn (Torn #1), by K.A. Robinson
Published January 25, 2013
Publisher:  self-published
Format: e-book - own
Genre:  New Adult Contemporary Romance

 Rating:  3.5 STARS

(From Goodreads) 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.


It's hard to come up with a rating or even a solid opinion in my mind on a book where there are things that I really, really loved about it and things I really, really didn't love. What do you do in situations like that? Let's look at the things I loved about Torn first.

Drake - Okay. This dude is awesome. He's everything you expect to see in an NA book and more. He's definitely the proverbial bad boy with a soul. Drake is the lead singer and song writer in a band. He's tatted up, pierced, and a total womanizer. But, inside, he's a good guy. He falls for Chloe and never once wavers from his feelings and what he thinks to be the right course of action with her. And, dude - he writes songs for her and about her. How hot is that?

The Band Angle - I've read books with guys in bands before, and this one was done pretty well. The band wasn't the focal point of the story, but when the band members were there, I appreciated their presence. I liked the band members a lot - Jade, Adam and Eric. They were personable, and it seems as if a future book in the story could be about one of them. 

The Setting - West Virginia isn't all mountain men and rednecks. I love all these books set in West Virginia lately. It's a beautiful state. 

And, now for what I didn't like:

Chloe - It's always hard when you love one main character and hate the other. This is one of those instances. Chloe made me so mad for most of the book. She was really dense and self-absorbed. She treats her BFFs like crap. She strings along both the boys involved in her little love triangle. She knows what she wants, and instead of taking it, she sits around and whines about her lot in life. She's really everything I don't like in female characters.

Cheating Without Consequences - One of my biggest pet peeves in books is cheating. It bothers me so much that I usually avoid reading books if I know ahead of time that cheating is a part of the story. There is cheating in Torn. A lot of it, actually. But, what bothers me the most is that there doesn't seem to be any real consequences for doing it. Everyone is sad and miserable for a few pages after it all comes out. But then, all is forgiven. No hard feelings. In fact, those that had the most right to be pissed and hurt in this situation are the ones that do the most groveling. It's pathetic. And frustrating. 

Torn ended a little abruptly with a lot of question marks, specifically regarding Chloe's mother and what impact her presence will have in Chloe's life, especially now that it seems that she's finally gotten it straightened out. I liked enough of Torn to want to see what happens next, so I do think I'll add Twisted (Torn #2) to my TBR pile. Hopefully, it will be easier to organize my thoughts about that one. 

So, have you read Torn? What did you think? 

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