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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

REVIEW: A LITTLE TOO MUCH by LISA DESROCHERS

Series: A Little Too Far #2
Category/Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: William Morrow/Harper Collins
Publication Date: 11/12/13
Format: eARC
Pages: 416
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3.5 stars


In the follow-up to Lisa Desrochers’ explosive New Adult novel A Little too Far, Alessandro Moretti must face the life he escaped and the girl he loved and left behind.

Twenty-two year old Hilary McIntyre would like nothing more than to forget her past. As a teenager abandoned to the system, she faced some pretty dark times. But now that’s all behind her. Hilary has her life on track, and there’s no way she’ll head back down that road again.

Until Alessandro Moretti—the one person who can make her remember—shows up on her doorstep. He’s even more devastatingly gorgeous than before, and he’s much too close for comfort. Worse, he sees right through the walls she’s built over these last eight years, right into her heart and the secrets she’s guarding.

As Hilary finds herself falling back into love with the man who, as a boy both saved and destroyed her, she must decide. Past or future? Truth or lies?
 
 

 
**Spoilers abound if you have not read A Little Too Far. **


I was a reader who devoured and adored A Little Too Far. It was a gorgeously written story that had the perfect amount of angst, and left me guess whom Lexie would pick until the very end. Lucky for me, Lexie picked the guy I hoped for, Trent. But this left me doubly lucky because that meant Alessandro was getting a book!

I wanted to see what happens next to the man left behind. The would-be priest. The man with a past. I thought A Little Too Much would be that book. And yes, it is about Alessandro to a large extent, but more so about the girl he left behind years ago, Hilary. The story is told exclusively through her point-of-view, which, okay, I don't have to have my hero's side of things, I guess. But I was so invested in Alessandro's life and future, that it was hard for me to let go and accept that I was only going to get his story through Hilary.

Moving past that, I did find A Little Too Much to be a very powerful story. It is about the painful past of Hilary and Alessandro, and how it led them to the choices they made. Hilary dealt by becoming numb, Alessandro through religion. This is a reconciliation of the past, and knowing that is the only way to move forward to a future that is free. There were profound moments of pain and anger, of just how badly being left can hurt you. It is a second-chance love story, and a tale of the power of forgiveness of oneself.

 I stated in my review of A Little Too Far that Desrochers writing is quite excellent. That holds true here. The prose has a steady flow that had me through the four hundred plus pages in no time. Once again, she made the setting a character in the story. This setting is New York City, and while I didn't become absorbed as I did in the Rome setting, I did like the descriptions and how she brought the city to life. I did become invested in the story and characters -particularly Alessandro. This time around, though, I didn't feel that crazy intense pull that had me dying to know how it all ends. There was some angst, but not the kind that had my stomach in knots and white-knuckling the kindle.

A Little Too Much wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but I did enjoy it. It was gritty and powerful.


Favorite Quotes:

  It's amazing how a person can convince themselves of almost anything. Even when that anything could cost them everything.   ~eARC, 37%


  "No matter how hard I tried to pretend that everything was fine and I belonged in the priesthood, when I saw how easily I was drawn off course, I couldn't deny the truth. I was there for the wrong reasons. I thought if I wrapped the beast in God's clothing, maybe that would tame it. I was wrong. It's still here, deep inside me. Nothing has changed."   ~eARC, 38%


  We've got priests and prostitutes and a gay girl from Biloxi. Yep, just your average Christmas morning.   ~eARC, 63%
 
 


A Little Too Far Series 
 
A Little Too Far (A Little Too Far, #1) 
 (cover leads to GoodReads)
 
 
My Review of A Little Too Far


Purchase A Little Too Much
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble



 
About the author:Lisa Desrochers

Lisa Desrochers lives in central California with her husband and two very busy daughters. There is never a time that she can be found without a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places, and then take her by surprise.

Look for her New Adult novel, A LITTLE TOO FAR , courtesy of HarperCollins Sept 2013, and the first companion, A LITTLE TOO MUCH , in Nov 2013. Also in stores is her YA PERSONAL DEMONS trilogy (Macmillan).

 
Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  GoodReads
 

 
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17 comments:

  1. I have the first book on my kindle ready to read, so I didn't read your review. I see the 3.5 stars though so I know you didn't love this as much as the first. If I remember correctly, you gave the first 5 stars. I'll have to come back and see what the difference was. :)

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  2. I agree- I loved the first book. While I still really enjoyed this one, I do understand your feelings on not getting quite as absorbed in it! I also really struggled with liking Hilary. Alessandro seemed like he was too good for her, to be honest. Great review Andrea!

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  3. I've got the first one too, but haven't read it either. I mean it sounds really appealing, but I'm not sure I'm the mood for this. Still I'm glad you enjoyed this one. It see that it's not as good as the first one but still enjoyable sequel. Great review :)

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  4. I keep hearing similar things about this one, that it was good but not as good as A Little Too Far. I still plan to read it because I want to see Alessandros story, but I may not rush to get to it. I am looking forward to it being set in NYC since I live in NYC. Great review!

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  5. Everyone is saying the same. I still need to read these.

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  6. Great review! Much better than mine no matter what you say. Hopefully Sam's book will be a little better!

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  7. This sounds like a wonderful read Andrea, I'm glad that you still found yourself invested with the characters and story. I must try and give this series a go soon! Lovely review!

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  8. I love hearing the guys story from the guys side too, so I know what you mean. I have really grown to love dual narratives. In fact, I think it is my favorite way to tell a story. But I do love that this book is gritty and that the writing is great. This seems like a series I would enjoy. I have seen some good reviews this book too.

    Great review :)

    Michelle @ Book Briefs

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  9. I was kind of afraid to read this series. It seems to contain the kind of things that stress me out or piss me off lol but the more reviews I've read (& the fact that the guy left behind gets an HEA) make me want to give it a shot.

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  10. I loved A Little too Far so much! I did enjoy A Little Too Much, but not as much as the first book in the series. I think it would have been better with Alessandro's POV. Excellent Review!!!

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  11. I have the first book but haven't had a chance to read it yet. I didn't read your review of this since I didn't want any spoilers.

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  12. I haven't gotten to A Little Too Far yet, Andrea but it's sitting on my desk waiting. :) I didn't read the review but I did notice your rating...I'm sorry A Little Too Much didn't work for you quite as well as ALTF did. But I'm assuming you did still enjoy it. I'm still looking forward to the books. :)

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  13. Interesting. I saw this series pop up on my goodreads friends list just recently. Sorry this one wasn't exactly what you were looking for but I am glad to hear you still enjoyed it!

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  14. I definitely plan to read this one, but I admit I'm not as anxious as I was. I'm a bit disappointed not to get his POV, but it sounds like it was still enjoyable. Great review baby.

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  15. I have this, but haven't had time to get to it yet. I really loved the first book to. Great review - it sounds good, even if it wasn't quite the intensity as the first was.

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