Sunday, December 28, 2014

Shame On Me By: Cassie Maria


I have never read anything by this author before but this book was all the talk in some of the IR groups I frequent and the book was free. I am all for reading and discovering new authors. I think there is enough room in this genre for everybody and if there is a story to be told then I would love to read it. When I first saw the cover I was immediately liking the book. Rarely in books, magazines, etc. do you see full figured women on the cover.  Unfortunately this book was one of those cases where the cover doesn’t actually match the description of the character of the book. Which is fine and it didn’t take a way anything from the story except a few preconceived notions about what kind of book I was reading.

Mia is a young girl who likes to have a fun time and by fun time I mean she likes to hook up. She has no emotional attachment to the men she “hits” a regular love them and leave them type chick. Being hurt from a previous relationship Mia keeps her heart guarded at all times until her meddlesome friends or what she calls the boys play a hand in finding her true love.

Ethan the very handsome guy at the bar catches her eye but he is more than a “hitter” according to her boys he’s the one. I love that in this story we get a bit of the male perspective when it comes to relationships which I love. Ethan has his own issues he was hurt before as well but unlike Mia he is ready to move on and settle down with his life.

Of course these two immediately hook up. Did I mention that this was an insta-love type book? Well more on Ethan’s part Mia is a little more reluctant. I don't know if their attraction towards each other it's completely ruled by lust since the boys seem to have a hand in their hooking up. The after morning hook up is pretty funny I won’t give too much a way but I can understand Mia’s reluctance. These two shared bodies and he seems to know more of her then she does of him. The roles are reversed and she is being told what to do for once I would have like to see more (in the beginning) communication between the two besides the sex and eating with each other.

All the superficial contemplating back in forth about being with him got a bit annoying after a while. Because Mia has her own demons with her ex-Noah they seem to be playing out in her relationship with Ethan. Her issue with not wanting to be lost is a man and being bullied parallels with her relationship with Ethan. I wish she would have been more confident after sharing her hurtful past with her ex the biggest freak out she has is that her hair isn't tame. I think this reminds the reader at how young she is.

This story doesn't just focus on the main couple but on the friends who are getting married Ava & Steve. I think if the author included them like she did more should have been given on their relationship. Otherwise it’s just an insta-love story with no depth. I know it seems odd to be discussing the main characters in such a length and then transition to the secondary characters in my review but this story was told as such and each character was connected through the main characters.

Ava’s story from the limited interaction she had with Ethan’s best friend Steve seems to be the same mo. as the main story boy meets girl is naturally attracted to her beauty and the semi bit of sass she has and is declaring his undying love for her. Where is the buildup the anguish? This story is told in lapses of time. For example something would happen with no details on the event then the next paragraph it would be 4 weeks later. This book was less show and read as more as an outline then a cohesive novel.

At about 45% the story does pick up and we get to see more focus on Ethan & Mia relationship this is the part I really enjoyed getting to read about some of the development of the relationship between the two. The huge fight between the two seems very juvenile but at least we are seeing some real raw emotion between the two instead of told what the relationship is like. 51% in and  Mia mentions all the things shared between her and Ethan those are the things as a reader I wish to have read about it would have made the relationship seem more real than on the surface. I loved the shift in the story and thought it added more depth to the story and made it seem more real.

I was beyond frustrated with Mia constantly blaming herself and all the drinking. At one point I wanted to yell, “get it together.” And the drunken fight scene between the two was a bit much and very contradictory. For instance he has moved on but flips when she tries.  So when questioned he says you made your bed. I felt like certain situations in this story were brought up to add drama but just seemed forced. The ex-boyfriend situation disappeared as quickly as it appeared. And the baby situation? Now that was the most farfetched and unrealistic situation I have read. I think this book had a great concept it was just too many storylines thrown in at the end and not enough real interaction between the two characters.  I am noticing lately that with a lot of these stories the female characters descriptions are barely described but the men are giving descriptions down to the finger nail. In the beginning I didn’t know what Mia’s color was because it wasn’t described until later on and then it was she is chocolate with long hair. I really only knew she was black because she kept mentioning he was white. And then his parents mention, “I knew you would be with a black girl.” I always wonder what statements like that mean exactly. Anyway, these are just my thoughts on this story and I’m sure what I don’t necessarily like others will love. Like I always say, “Judge this book for yourself and not based on this one review.”

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