Lovin' los libros

The Impact of You
   by: Kendall Ryan

Publication Date: June 7, 2013
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: Purchased for Nook
Page Count: 324 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 2 /5 stars

                                                          -goodreads.com description

I seriously want to cry right now! I was so looking forward to this book! It was even one of my Waiting on Wednesdays! Unfortunately, I had so many issues with this book and things I didn't like. While I wasn't miserable reading it, I definitely did not enjoy it like I thought I was going to. I didn't care for the main characters and I definitely felt the plot was way too reminiscent of J. Lynn's Wait For You. I tried to get past that, but I couldn't as it turns out.

As I said, I didn't care for our main characters Avery and Jase and I really tried to. Avery was just a bland character in my opinion. She doesn't do the party scene and only ends up at Jase's fraternity party because of her two best friends. They want her to come out of her shell, but clearly warn her that Jase Owens is trouble. Avery comes across as naive at times and just didn't have a very strong voice in the novel.

Jase, on the other hand, I could not stand. He's your typical popular frat guy who has a reputation for sleeping around and being a player. However, after a family incident, he is reformed and now has his sights set on Avery. I thought I would grow to like Jase's character as the book wore on, but no such luck. In fact, I think I disliked him more and more as the book went on. Avery has a past that she has not felt comfortable opening up to him about, even after he confides in her about some of his family skeletons, and once he finds out he blows it way out of proportion. I understand he is hurt because he had to find out from someone other than her and he feels manipulated, but dude. You do NOT go and tell the girl's best friend her secret. SMH.

If he was really interested in having a relationship with Avery, he needed to set the record straight from the beginning with his ex-girlfriend/screw buddy, Stacia. Stacia is a leech. She latches on to Jase and while he 'pushes her away', it doesn't really help matters because she still comes around and flaunts herself in front of him and Avery. Not to mention Jase makes a BIG mistake while he was off being a baby about finding out Avery's secret , that I probably wouldn't have forgiven. Nope. This guy did not do it for me. Sure, him and Avery had some steamy scenes, and even had some sweet ones, where he wanted to take care of, but other than that, I just didn't feel the genuineness of their feelings for one another.

Again, this was just way too reminiscent of J.Lynn's Wait For You- shy girl with a past is afraid to break out of her shell socially, emotionally, and sexually and the notorious reformed playboy swoops in determined to make her fall in love with him. While it worked for J.Lynn, I don't felt it worked here.

This is the first book by Kendall Ryan I have read, and I doubt it will be the last- this particular book just didn't work for me, sadly. Had I liked the characters a bit more, I probably would have rated this a bit higher.