Review: Off Limits by Sawyer Bennet
Off Limits by Sawyer Bennet
Published April, 2013
(Good Reads): “There is a
vulnerability there, hovering just below the surface. And I want to pick
at it until I expose it. Then I want to kiss it."
Two years ago, Emily Burnham, had an epiphany about the shallowness of her life. And she made it her mission to become a different person…a better woman. Out from under the controlling thumb of her mother, Emily is tasting the real world for the first time. And she likes it.
Nixon Caldwell has served his time in the Marine Corps, surviving two brutal tours in Afghanistan. He is back home, surrounded by what he likes best…isolation. It's certainly the best way to avoid confrontation of the consuming guilt that is weighing him down.
When an accident brings Emily and Nix together, he soon learns he is not the master of his own fate. Struggling with his own pain, Nix tries to guard himself against Emily’s charms. He wants her in his bed, but he doesn’t want her in his heart.
Having grabbed life by the horns, Emily wants it all. But is she willing to accept just the small part of himself that Nix is offering? Can she reach the part of his soul that he has deemed to be Off Limits?
Warning - this review is long winded.
Underneath, Off Limits is a great read telling the story of two people trying to fix each other the only way that they know how. But unfortunately, their intentions are sometimes wrong or misunderstood by the other person. The characters are pretty well developed and the emotions are there, but the inner dialog fell flat. And unfortunately for this type of book, that was a make or break decision for me. That alone made me question the true chemistry between the characters and left me feeling like their situations were somewhat unresolved in the end.
Now, Off Limits wasn't terrible, but it could have been so much better than the 3.5 stars I'm giving it if it only had a little more re-working!
I will say that Bennett knows how to draw out the sexual tension and make you wonder where this beautiful, emotionally tormented Nix guy is in your own life. This story has a bit of a darker edge to it from Nix's POV, and I could really feel for him when more of his background was revealed. But when it came to his inner thoughts....ugh. I can't get over how disappointed I was (still am).
This is unfortunate because I think he had the most interesting emotion to convey! His every thought is how this girl Emily shocks the pants off from him. It's like he has never met a normal girl before, and the writing is overdone with Emily's clothing and hair descriptions. Emily is supposed to come off as this unbelievably mature and well rounded girl, but the way Nix describes her every move sounds pathetic rather than endearing.
Just for example, here's a list of things that Nix finds "unbelievable" and "fascinating" about Emily:
All of this is supposedly unbelievable because she's the congressman's daughter...or something. I'm still trying to figure out why Nix thought this was so unbelievable that he had to state it so many damn times. If anything, I think those would be some of the most believable aspects. After all, she's a girl trying to cut loose! (...though her "good girl gone bad" style was more "cutesy" than Rebel Without A Cause.)
Nix's point of view also too repetitive (as is this review, I know). Besides being shocked by every breath Emily takes, he goes on and on explaining why he can't like Emily building it to seem like it's a huge secret factor. Except he never really says why. His best explanation is that they are from two different worlds. And then the author found about 50 different ways to say that. Something about it screams "girl drama" to me every time he's explaining his woes in life.
In the beginning the pacing of the book was well done. But Nix's hot and cold stages got more hit and miss as time went on. Granted, this switch flipping was actually addressed in the book, but I didn't really feel emotionally connected with it. The emotion that it was meant to portray was lost on me...especially in the last chapter. The events seemed rushed and the plot felt forced as the book concluded.
As I said before, Off Limits could have had great 5 star potential. If I could have connected with Nix a little more then I think it would have been great. My issues with the writing are more personal taste than what would be considered fundamental writing flaws. Emily's POV for the most part is well done and there's an obvious sexual tension with Nix and Emily from the start. It's that tension that keeps the book going, and I think for the most part readers will really enjoy the book.
A similar type of military related book that I really like is Jake (California Dreamy) by Rian Kelley.
Ratings:
Steam (romance) ****
Characters ***
Writing Quality ***
Plot (Progression) ****
My rating:
Amazon: 4.8
Good Reads:4.29
Published April, 2013
(Good Reads): “There is a
vulnerability there, hovering just below the surface. And I want to pick
at it until I expose it. Then I want to kiss it." Two years ago, Emily Burnham, had an epiphany about the shallowness of her life. And she made it her mission to become a different person…a better woman. Out from under the controlling thumb of her mother, Emily is tasting the real world for the first time. And she likes it.
Nixon Caldwell has served his time in the Marine Corps, surviving two brutal tours in Afghanistan. He is back home, surrounded by what he likes best…isolation. It's certainly the best way to avoid confrontation of the consuming guilt that is weighing him down.
When an accident brings Emily and Nix together, he soon learns he is not the master of his own fate. Struggling with his own pain, Nix tries to guard himself against Emily’s charms. He wants her in his bed, but he doesn’t want her in his heart.
Having grabbed life by the horns, Emily wants it all. But is she willing to accept just the small part of himself that Nix is offering? Can she reach the part of his soul that he has deemed to be Off Limits?
Warning - this review is long winded.
Underneath, Off Limits is a great read telling the story of two people trying to fix each other the only way that they know how. But unfortunately, their intentions are sometimes wrong or misunderstood by the other person. The characters are pretty well developed and the emotions are there, but the inner dialog fell flat. And unfortunately for this type of book, that was a make or break decision for me. That alone made me question the true chemistry between the characters and left me feeling like their situations were somewhat unresolved in the end.
Now, Off Limits wasn't terrible, but it could have been so much better than the 3.5 stars I'm giving it if it only had a little more re-working!
I will say that Bennett knows how to draw out the sexual tension and make you wonder where this beautiful, emotionally tormented Nix guy is in your own life. This story has a bit of a darker edge to it from Nix's POV, and I could really feel for him when more of his background was revealed. But when it came to his inner thoughts....ugh. I can't get over how disappointed I was (still am).
This is unfortunate because I think he had the most interesting emotion to convey! His every thought is how this girl Emily shocks the pants off from him. It's like he has never met a normal girl before, and the writing is overdone with Emily's clothing and hair descriptions. Emily is supposed to come off as this unbelievably mature and well rounded girl, but the way Nix describes her every move sounds pathetic rather than endearing.
Just for example, here's a list of things that Nix finds "unbelievable" and "fascinating" about Emily:
- She cusses
- She want's to live her own life outside of the shadow of her dad
- She drank 3 beers and didn't get drunk
- She wore nice clothes to a biker bar
- She wanted to have sex
- She wasn't "innocent"
All of this is supposedly unbelievable because she's the congressman's daughter...or something. I'm still trying to figure out why Nix thought this was so unbelievable that he had to state it so many damn times. If anything, I think those would be some of the most believable aspects. After all, she's a girl trying to cut loose! (...though her "good girl gone bad" style was more "cutesy" than Rebel Without A Cause.)
Nix's point of view also too repetitive (as is this review, I know). Besides being shocked by every breath Emily takes, he goes on and on explaining why he can't like Emily building it to seem like it's a huge secret factor. Except he never really says why. His best explanation is that they are from two different worlds. And then the author found about 50 different ways to say that. Something about it screams "girl drama" to me every time he's explaining his woes in life.
In the beginning the pacing of the book was well done. But Nix's hot and cold stages got more hit and miss as time went on. Granted, this switch flipping was actually addressed in the book, but I didn't really feel emotionally connected with it. The emotion that it was meant to portray was lost on me...especially in the last chapter. The events seemed rushed and the plot felt forced as the book concluded.
As I said before, Off Limits could have had great 5 star potential. If I could have connected with Nix a little more then I think it would have been great. My issues with the writing are more personal taste than what would be considered fundamental writing flaws. Emily's POV for the most part is well done and there's an obvious sexual tension with Nix and Emily from the start. It's that tension that keeps the book going, and I think for the most part readers will really enjoy the book.
A similar type of military related book that I really like is Jake (California Dreamy) by Rian Kelley.
Ratings:
Steam (romance) ****
Characters ***
Writing Quality ***
Plot (Progression) ****
My rating:
Amazon: 4.8
Good Reads:4.29
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