Review Of Even If It Hurts

This was a very emotional read and it did pull the strings of my heart. It was different, sweet and tragic in so many ways. Having said that, as much as as I enjoyed it, I wouldn't call this the best book by the author. It was really good, but I wanted it to be so much more, so I was kind of disappointed that it didn't reach that level but nevertheless it was an enjoyable read. I loved the setup, the whole idea about first love and moving on, only to meet again under different circumstances. Still, somehow I feel this would have been better off as a two book series giving enough time and scenes to unravel Chloe's relation between Olive and Lance. I kind of felt it was too easy and fast for her to fall so deeply in love. I could connect with them but it wasn't enough. I wanted more chemistry and sparks. Though the love was present, it felt a little too forced and especially when it comes to Lance - too convenient. I could get Chloe for the most part but I can't say the same about Oliver and especially Lance. Oliver as the first love - sweet, hot and so very handsome was believable and though Lance was shown to be different from him - very rich, professional and in control, the book didn't get into the depth of their characters - they became secondary characters to Chloe who took the center the stage. Not that it's wrong or bad, but considering it's a love triangle with two male leads, glossing over their characteristics left me unsatisfied. All we know for sure is that these two are madly in love with her - but that's about it. I quite didn't understand what's so special about her and what made them 'connect'. Regarding Chloe - I wasn't a big fan of her. It's not like I dislike her or love her. I am very neutral about her. I get her dilemma but somehow it didn't gel well with me - I feel she should have done so much more especially in the beginning with Oliver. They let each other go very easily. Coming to the end, it made sense and felt RIGHT though again, I wasn't all too happy with it, given that it was a standalone, it made up for it. So overall I enjoyed it but I didn't love it as much as I hoped to.