Under the Influence

Thank you to NetGalley and Spencer Hill Press for allowing me to read and review this angsty tale of love and heartbreak by LB Simmons. I really LOVE the premise of this book. What a fabulous set up of the author to have these two young souls who have endured so much as young children and been put in a position where they just can’t be together *now.* Seeing how much they want to be together when they’re teens, especially in the scene where they are twelve-year-olds, because their chemistry is quite clear even there in that first scene together, is just heartbreaking. I thought the idea of having three stages of life together, and of our hero, Dalton, needing to clean up his mistakes, albeit not necessarily ones that were entirely show more his fault as he has a childhood no one would envy and got into organized crime as a result, before he and Spencer could be together was a clever idea.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author. show less

I have been waiting for this book. You know when you wait and wait (but not too long) for a story and the anticipation gets to be so much that you hope it lives up to you expectations? Yeah, that was me with this one. And it totally lived up to what I was hoping for and then some.

This story is so beautifully written. We get to see Cassie's story after Rat and college... trying to move on with her life but not quite doing it. Her struggles with self doubt and self loathing are moving and heart breaking. This journey definitely is a hard one to swallow. It's real and raw. It's full of ups and downs... more downs than ups.

Finding your path and healing is never an easy journey. However, it's a little bit easier when you are able to surround show more yourself with those who truly want to see you shine. Cassie has that with Spencer and now Grady. He is strong and knows of loss and pain. He understands that healing will take time. His character is definitely one of my favorites to date.

I couldn't seem to put this story down. I wanted happiness for Cassie like I have never wanted for a character. I wanted to see her fall so I could watch her climb her way up to the top. With a little help from the one and only Aubrey... you remember her right? I was so glad to see her cameo in this story.

This is a definite must read. If you haven't read Under the Influence yet, you definitely should... then move on to this. This technically could be read as a standalone, but you won't get the full experience by reading it without having read Under the Influence first. show less

Under the Influence is the second book in the Chosen Paths series, which is advertised as a coming-of-age story and romance, but it only falls under the former if you count relying on finding love as a way to discover yourself. Each of these books reminds me of a vampire-less Twilight, but with an actual plot. Sure, there were some heart-tugging moments, but the vast majority is overly descriptive and repetitive fluff. Plus, each of these books was clearly written in a world where Germany managed to mass produce the Aryan race as half the characters are perfect, blonde-haired, bright blue-eyed, ripped guys. Not to mention the ridiculous dialogue. Trust me, I dated a "bad boy" very similar to Dalton Greer and none of those sappy lines show more would ever cross those lips. In fact, it would have been more believable if, at the first sight of a disagreement, he just shrugged and walked away for good.

I also have an issue with the stalking. Please, romance authors, stop acting as though stalking is romantic; it's creepy and not okay. Stop playing it off as "protection."

Overall, it took me way too long to get through this, but I just wanted it to be done. It was just not for me. show less