Review: My Side by Tara Brown

(Blurb): Erin Benson felt like she'd won the lottery when she arrived all the way from North Dakota with the keys to her first home in hand.
Crisp white walls: Check.
Breathtaking view of downtown Boston: Check.
Minutes from Northeastern School of Law: Check.

But home is not always where the heart is. Sometimes it’s where you find Mr. Random shacked up and sprawled out on what was supposed to be your new bed.
Between the bear spray and the handcuffs, she discovers a terrible mistake has been made.
Lochlan hasn't broken into her new home to sleep with a seedy barmaid...he owns half.

With emotions running on high, Erin is determined to tough it out until a solution can be found.
The tight quarters seem smaller with his accumulated clutter and bizarre sleeping schedule. It also doesn't help that he's the new lead singer for Thin Ice, an indie band on its rise to fame.
What happens when a quiet bookworm gets stuck with a relentless rocker?
What happens when the things you see are not the things you get?

Book Information:

Released: May 28th, 2013
Publisher: Tara Brown Publishing
Version: eBook
Length: 268 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age: New Adult

Review:

My Side is one of those books that was floating around in the back of my mind for a while before I actually read it. The premise of the book was simple but these type of books appeal to me for that reason: quick easy read when I want something 'light'. But some of the reviews convinced me to save it for a later time and finish up some of my immediate TBR list first. After passing it on the eBook store for the 100th time I finally decided to try it out - and I have to say I think I agree with the average reviewer on this one.

What I liked
Okay, so as I said I wasn't sure if I would like the characters at all based on some other reviews. After reading, I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't think the characters were all that bad. Erin is a chick with a pretty good head on her shoulders and the way she starts out the book had me literally laughing out loud. (This is where the other reviewers point out unrealistic events and blah blah) Granted, the chances of Erin meeting Lochlan the way that she did I would think (...hope) to be rare. However, it is this first encounter that made the rest of their relationship what it was! And honestly, I could see this situation developing in real life so it's not like it's completely ridiculous or anything. So I'll just leave that at that: it made me laugh and was a good start.

Meeting Lochlan is one of those love-to-hate kind of moments (or many moments) but you know where the story is going (come on, you know where all of these stories are going). So you're just waiting for that first sign of a nicer Lochlan to come out. And when it does there is a nice complement of bad boy with a good heart that makes you swoon at his feet. No matter how maddening he can be at first ;-)

I really liked the initial relationship progression as well. It created the right amount of tension and keeps you wondering with every page turn who's going to do what next.

What I didn't like
I've had this conversation before with others about character personalities. More specifically, the maintaining of specific personality traits throughout the story. Emotional whiplash is one thing - it can show a characters struggle and bring the reader into that roller coaster. Complete 180 degree turns on how a character thinks and behaves is a whole new issue. By mid way of the book I wasn't entirely sure who Erin was any more. For starting out the book in such a determined fashion, she sure was flippant and "on-to-the-next-thing" by the end of the book. Now, this is different than when a character is evolving (emotionally, physically, mentally) because when a character evolves, they typically stick to their guns and keep similar personality traits but perhaps have a different outlook on life. While Erin certainly had a different outlook on life, I felt as though she completely abandoned what she loved in her life in the first place. She also seemed to have changed her perspective on just about everything in life - and I'm not quite sure why. There was no good reason and it left me, as a reader, feeling abandoned. And this was a pretty huge downside to My Side as it was hard to understand why it played out the way that it did and why the characters were the way that they were.

Overall, If you're looking for a pretty light romance read I recommend My Side. I do think that it's a cute story with a decent story line. However, be prepared for some character personality confusion.

Ratings:

Romance: Steamy, tension
Character development: ***
Plot progression: ***
Writing Quality: ***+

My Rating:
 




Amazon: 3.9
Goodreads: 3.7