One Small Thing by Erin Watt (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Also by this author: When It's Real
Published by Harlequin on July 1st 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Dating & Sex, Emotions & Feelings, Friendship, Romance, Social Themes, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 304
Format: ARC
Beth’s life hasn’t been the same since her sister died. Her parents try to lock her down, believing they can keep her safe by monitoring her every move. When Beth sneaks out to a party one night and meets the new guy in town, Chase, she’s thrilled to make a secret friend. It seems a small thing, just for her.
Only Beth doesn’t know how big her secret really is…
Fresh out of juvie and determined to start his life over, Chase has demons to face and much to atone for, including his part in the night Beth’s sister died. Beth, who has more reason than anyone to despise him, is willing to give him a second chance. A forbidden romance is the last thing either of them planned for senior year, but the more time they spend together, the deeper their feelings get.
Now Beth has a choice to make—follow the rules, or risk tearing everything apart…again.
Meh
I don’t even know what to say. I’m so horribly disappointed because while I absolutely hated The Royals series by these authors, I adored When It’s Real. So I had incredibly high expectations for One Small Thing hoping it would make me feel more like I did when I read When It’s Real.
Unfortunately, it was more along the lines of how I felt reading The Royals books.
Honestly, the only good thing about this book for me was Chase… the guy who killed Beth’s sister so that’s saying a lot I suppose.
I think what I disliked the most was the super predictability of every single character in this story. Beth is the rebellious daughter who acts out because her sister has died. Her parents are the overprotective unreasonable sort who can’t see that they are suffocating their daughter. Her best friend falls for the guy who used to date her sister, but he’s a controlling asshole only Beth is the only one who sees it. Her classmates are all douchebags who harass and bully a student while teachers watch on because … well, he killed someone, right?
Overall, I think my struggle to connect to Beth’s story was what ruined this for me. At times I sympathized with her, and at others, I just wanted to urge her to act her age and start earning the respect she was demanding from others. Instead, she had tantrums and acted out.
I did think that despite what you learn at the end of the story that should redeem these characters, that Beth’s ability to forgive was commendable, though I wonder if she would have felt the same way if the one who killed her sister wasn’t a hot guy?
Thanks to the publisher for an early copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
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