Date Read: June 2 - 4 2013
Release Date: April 25th 2013 (first published February 7th 2012)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Contemporary
My rating:
Release Date: April 25th 2013 (first published February 7th 2012)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Contemporary
My rating:
Synopsis:
"Set in the steamy coastal Alabama town of Sea Breeze, an interconnected group of older teens hook up, break up ...and much, much more. Marcus Hardy had hoped to enjoy a year away at college while he put the summer he'd rather forget behind him. But instead, he's jerked right back his home town of Sea Breeze due to a family crisis. The only bright spot to returning is the hot redhead who sleeps over at his place several times a week. There's just one thing though - she's sleeping in bed with his new roommate, Cage York. Willow "Low" Foster needs a place to live. Running to her best friend Cage's apartment every time her sister kicks her out isn't exactly a long term solution. But Cage has a new roommate and suddenly sleeping over at his apartment isn't such a bad thing. Not when she gets to see those sexy green eyes of Marcus's twinkle when he smiles at her like he wants her there. There's one problem though, Cage is under the disillusion that when he's through sowing his wild oats, he's going to marry Low - an assumption Marcus intends to change. But when his carefully laid plans come crashing down with a revelation he never expected, Marcus will have to choose between Low or his family. Because once the truth comes out ...there's no other choice."
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“As long as I have you to lean on, I can do this Marcus”
As Abbi Glines’ books go, Because of Low is probably one of her better ones and worth a read if you want to dabble in the “new adult” genre. I’ve read the Sea Breeze series all out of order so the plot twist in Because of Low came as no surprise to me, but I still enjoyed this overall. I'm not sure how I feel about these redesigned covers too... Seems too 50 Shades for me :/
Low (Willow) Foster is a nineteen year old who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. When we first meet her, she’s run to Cage York because her useless sister has pretty much kicked her out of the house. I’m not quite sure about how I feel about Low as a female protagonist. There’s something about Glines’ females that read so much better from another perspective – I was first introduced to Low in the first Abbi Glines book I read, which was Just For Now, and in that she possessed this fiery elegance and seductiveness that was sophisticated yet endearing. However, reading from her first person POV in BoL I was a bit sceptical of her character. While she does have some sass, I thought Low was extremely naïve, especially for a 19-year-old. Her thought processes were really quite simple, but at the odd moment she’d display some very interesting smarts. I found these polar opposite aspects of her characterisation to be really unsettling.
I came to the conclusion that Glines writes males much better. Marcus Hardy’s character was much more believable and relatable. I adored Marcus in Breathe and thought he deserved a HEA. I liked seeing his attraction to Low and how he slowly got over Sadie. But the best thing about Marcus? He’s a perfectly sweet guy with no violent tendencies or an angsty/damaged past that is customary of this genre. He’s a Southern gentleman through and through. Well brought up, polite, chivalrous but not overly possessive he’s probably my favourite male out of all of Glines’ books.
I do enjoy the cameos as I can see how the characters from previous books are progressing and also be introduced to future ones. I don’t see the need to write another book and put characters through more obstacles for the sake of showing a future. For the most part, Glines’ characters do read better shown from another’s perspective but they seem really… Glossy. All the girls become exceedingly gorgeous with stunning personalities and all the males are handsome and great catches. It was so shiny and bright I was like “where are my sunglasses?” People aren’t that perfect where I’m from. On the other hand, Cage York’s possessiveness really creeped me out. The way he clung to Low like she was his… Like she was the rebound for every one-night stand he had, it was absolutely disgusting the way he treated her (I’m glad Low didn’t put up with it). I understood his attachment to her, but still his reactions were bloody unnatural and warning bells were going off in my head that he was slightly unstable.
As I said before, I’d read the whole series out of order so I knew the twist in Because of Low. Still, reading it in detail from Low and Marcus’ POV did have a different feel and shed a new light to the situation. It is quite a shocking revelation and I think if I hadn’t known what went down I would have been surprised. I do think Glines writes awesome twists that I don’t usually see coming and it adds this awesome thrill to the story.
“As long as I have you to lean on, I can do this Marcus”
As Abbi Glines’ books go, Because of Low is probably one of her better ones and worth a read if you want to dabble in the “new adult” genre. I’ve read the Sea Breeze series all out of order so the plot twist in Because of Low came as no surprise to me, but I still enjoyed this overall. I'm not sure how I feel about these redesigned covers too... Seems too 50 Shades for me :/
Low (Willow) Foster is a nineteen year old who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. When we first meet her, she’s run to Cage York because her useless sister has pretty much kicked her out of the house. I’m not quite sure about how I feel about Low as a female protagonist. There’s something about Glines’ females that read so much better from another perspective – I was first introduced to Low in the first Abbi Glines book I read, which was Just For Now, and in that she possessed this fiery elegance and seductiveness that was sophisticated yet endearing. However, reading from her first person POV in BoL I was a bit sceptical of her character. While she does have some sass, I thought Low was extremely naïve, especially for a 19-year-old. Her thought processes were really quite simple, but at the odd moment she’d display some very interesting smarts. I found these polar opposite aspects of her characterisation to be really unsettling.
I came to the conclusion that Glines writes males much better. Marcus Hardy’s character was much more believable and relatable. I adored Marcus in Breathe and thought he deserved a HEA. I liked seeing his attraction to Low and how he slowly got over Sadie. But the best thing about Marcus? He’s a perfectly sweet guy with no violent tendencies or an angsty/damaged past that is customary of this genre. He’s a Southern gentleman through and through. Well brought up, polite, chivalrous but not overly possessive he’s probably my favourite male out of all of Glines’ books.
I do enjoy the cameos as I can see how the characters from previous books are progressing and also be introduced to future ones. I don’t see the need to write another book and put characters through more obstacles for the sake of showing a future. For the most part, Glines’ characters do read better shown from another’s perspective but they seem really… Glossy. All the girls become exceedingly gorgeous with stunning personalities and all the males are handsome and great catches. It was so shiny and bright I was like “where are my sunglasses?” People aren’t that perfect where I’m from. On the other hand, Cage York’s possessiveness really creeped me out. The way he clung to Low like she was his… Like she was the rebound for every one-night stand he had, it was absolutely disgusting the way he treated her (I’m glad Low didn’t put up with it). I understood his attachment to her, but still his reactions were bloody unnatural and warning bells were going off in my head that he was slightly unstable.
As I said before, I’d read the whole series out of order so I knew the twist in Because of Low. Still, reading it in detail from Low and Marcus’ POV did have a different feel and shed a new light to the situation. It is quite a shocking revelation and I think if I hadn’t known what went down I would have been surprised. I do think Glines writes awesome twists that I don’t usually see coming and it adds this awesome thrill to the story.
"But life sucks, and you get over it and move on."
One thing I’m uncertain of is the writing style. Sentences are way too short and don’t hold the more complex and elegant syntax of other books for the age group. They read way too simply and thus sentences lacked the lustre that could have really made them shine and enhanced feelings and situations. I overlooked this in Breathe as it was self-published and Glines’ first book, but in the published and edited/refined version of Because of Low I found slightly disappointing.
Because of Low is a decent read if you want to try Glines’ books. It’s sweet, reasonably paced and has some moments that will make your heart pound.
“He’s not like us Low, you know that right?”
One thing I’m uncertain of is the writing style. Sentences are way too short and don’t hold the more complex and elegant syntax of other books for the age group. They read way too simply and thus sentences lacked the lustre that could have really made them shine and enhanced feelings and situations. I overlooked this in Breathe as it was self-published and Glines’ first book, but in the published and edited/refined version of Because of Low I found slightly disappointing.
Because of Low is a decent read if you want to try Glines’ books. It’s sweet, reasonably paced and has some moments that will make your heart pound.
“He’s not like us Low, you know that right?”
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