REVIEW and GIVEAWAY: MY SWEETEST ESCAPE by CHELSEA M. CAMERON

Series: My Favorite Mistake #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Publication Date: 1/28/14
Format: Paperback
Pages: 363
Source: Publisher
Rating: 2.5 stars

The past will always find you.

Jos Archer was the girl with the perfect life; until the night it all came crashing down around her. Now, nine months later, she still hasn't begun to pick up the pieces. Even transferring to a new college and living under the watchful eye of her older sister, Renee, isn't enough to help her feel normal again.

And then she meets Dusty Sharp. For reasons Jos can't begin to fathom, the newly reformed campus bad boy seems determined to draw her out of her shell. And if she's not careful, his knowing green eyes and wicked smile will make her feel things she's no longer sure she deserves.

But even as Dusty coaxes Jos to open up about the past, he's hiding secrets of his own. Secrets about the night her old life fell apart. When the truth is finally revealed, will it bring them closer together;or tear them apart for good?

I looked forward to reading My Sweetest Escape, but unfortunately, it didn't really work for me. I didn't hate it by any stretch, but I found the heroine to be extremely hard to get behind and the plot to be too slow-paced for my liking.

This book had lots and lots of snark. Jos's voice is very similar to Taylor's from My Favorite Mistake. So if you like Taylor you'll likely enjoy Jos. If you wished Taylor would cut the shit, you'll probably wish the same of Jos. Though her life is in upheaval, the first two hundred pages is mostly mundane daily tasks, less than exciting conversations, and lots of inner dialogue. Jos also made multiple references about a "time before....everything." I really wanted less vague references and just let me know what happened and if it's worth putting up with her snark. Oh, and she was extremely prone to getting upset and running out of the room a lot, leaving someone to chase her down, and convince to come back out. Over and again.

Jos's sister Renee is a complete ass. She was controlling, hateful, and plain rude. I mean, who tells Hunter to shut up in his own house? I've never understood why people let one person terrorize them and just boss everyone around. Renee is that person. And my gosh, I have a really hard time buying anyone taking that kind of bullying and nagging from their sibling, especially someone like Jos. It was just over the top.

I did like Hunter and (a much nicer) Taylor, as well as Mase.

Dusty was nice and sweet and yes, vague. Of course he used to be a man-whore, and of course he has secrets. The big secret though kind of fell flat for me, and I'm not sure why other than it was really convenient. Honestly, though, this poor guy got screamed at so much by Jos, and then Renee would threaten him without knowing what the hell she was talking about, that I felt pretty bad for him. Dusty, I hope she's worth the hearing damage, man.

In the end, I can handle hard-to-like characters, I really can. But if that's the case, I need more plot or the promise of something great. My Sweetest Escape, though, didn't have a strong plot. It's a character-driven story with a few really hard to like characters. I will say the back-end of the book had more momentum. And while I wasn't on board with everything, I did think the ending was really sweet.

Bottom line: If you liked the tone of My Favorite Mistake, and like a slower-paced story, My Sweetest Escape may work for you.


Here is a positive GoodReads review from Katie.

My Favorite Mistake Series

 

 

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About the author

  

Chelsea M. Cameron is a YA/NA New York Times/USA Today Best Selling author from Maine. Lover of things random and ridiculous, Jane Austen/Charlotte and Emily Bronte Fangirl, red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, vegetarian, former cheerleader and world's worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, singing in the car and tweeting. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn out to be just as weird as she is.

 

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