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Paper Hearts by Claire Contreras
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Warning: spoilers to follow
I know I'm going to be in the minority but...
I wasn't impressed.
A lot of my opinion goes back to the same problem with Kaleidoscope Hearts: it never gets to that point. The build up is magnificent, if you can get past all of the filler scenes. (Was Oliver's presence really that necessary?)
The Good, Bad, and Ugly
1) The Character Sacrifice. When I read Jensen in KH, along with his "If Elle had to pick one of us, she would pick me..." I thought of an arrogant male. But no, apparently he isn't like that at all. I felt like I was reading two different characters. Now I'm left wondering if nosey, comedic Victor will get his own book and become some "serious" attorney for 300 pages or so.
2) Elle. This strong woman dwindled down to a quirky teenager in the course of this novel. I found it hard to read her advice towards the Jensen situation. (to be honest, it was kinda like reading KH, minus Elle's name. It felt the same.)
3) Officially.
4) Olivia. There wasn't enough time spent with Mia and Olivia for the "bond" to magically appear.
5) Mia talks to Krista for the first time, and doesn't call her a bitch? But acts social? Doesn't get anything off of her chest, at all? And this is the same woman that ruined her life, mind you. Mia lost her balls, or in this case "tits" in my eyes after that.
6) Move to New York because of his mistake? So she could live happily ever after there? O_O Why? Mia was pregnant and I get he has a kid, but she held all the cards. This really bothered me. (I'm a realist, forgive me.)
7) The sexy scenes were nothing to write home about. Oh, I don't know. Maybe I've read too many Erotic novels lately...I just don't know!
There was just too much filler and like KH, scenes weren't played out. It never got to that point for me. Every big build up was a let down when everything finally came out. (The pregnancy, for example.) I was frustrated throughout the entire thing waiting for something that never came.
(Like Jensen growing a pair of balls and being this "badass" everyone claimed he was. Not just in the bedroom, but in real life.)
In closing: I don't understand.
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Kaleidoscope Hearts by Claire Contreras
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Oh, where to start.
I was in love with the first 60% of this. I mean, I had GIF's ready to induct Oliver Hart into the book boyfriend "hall of fame" with Travis Maddox, Lucas, Gabriel Emerson, Grey....
I was that devoted to Oliver Hart's cause. My heart was pumping every time I saw his name on my kindle. I grew weak at his wolfish grins. For a brief, fleeting moment, I thought to myself: He will be my second book boyfriend, behind Maddox.
(NOTE: I thought of Luke Grimes as Oliver for the first 40% of this. But then I couldn't see him portraying some of the parts in KH. So I started thinking of Leo.)
Back to reality.
Elle's fiance (Wyatt) died a year ago, and she's apparently in this Oh-my-god-I'll-never-get-over-it kind of state in the beginning of this book. So much so that I was prepping for some Jessica Sorensen type of stuff. Ya feel me?
We're made to believe Wyatt was this great man. But as the book goes on, turns out Wyatt isn't this perfect guy she thought he was. In fact, Elle settled, really, for a Oliver Hart look-a-like or something.
(It's just how I feel folks!)
And I know how cold-hearted this is gonna make me sound...But I hated Wyatt. Hated him for disrupting the perfect harmony I believe Oliver would've achieved without his presence.
I was willing to give this book a solid 5 stars until the 60% mark. From then on everything became too "easy", and the repetition started. Also, the fights were never really played out. You'd think something was about to go down, but then turn the page and it would be at a new chapter with a completely different scene.
And then there was the 10 chapters of pure Elle in the beginning, which I'd grown comfortable with, that began flipping from Oliver's past POV to Elle's present. I grew used to it, and had it not been there I probably would've DNF'd at 70%...But I still didn't like it.
The biggest rating drop came when Victor, Elle's brother, found out about Elle and Oliver's secret affair. Keep in mind this was a central plotline throughout the book. One of the leading reason's Oliver was afraid to take the next step. So when Vic found out, I was expecting a serious throw-down. (Not two pages worth...More like a brawl, a chapter of Vic and Oliver having it out ect...) And that didn't happen. Vic punched Oliver twiced and then the scene turns to a distraught Elle, without playing out the full plot. We later find out they made peace, I suppose...But with the buildup surrounding the "Don't date my sister", I expected a hell-uva lot more than two punches, and a chapter later all is well. No.
Oliver lost a great deal of his masculinity starting at 60%. In my opinion, of course. What made him so attractive to me was his constant attempts at winning Elle's affection. Once the book reached the 60% mark, there was a lot of back and forth on Elle's part, which did nothing for Oliver's character growth. They were going around and around, never resolving anything completely.
(And that's kind of how it went throughout the entire book.) Things would happen, but the scene never followed through.
I want to be that guy.
Than be him.
I want to be the one who's taking you on dates.
Than be him.
I want....
Than do it.
There was a lot of that the last 30% of this book. No argument, just a command from Elle, no support. Poor Oliver had no direction, at all. He'd spent half of the novel fighting with a ghost. (In his defense, I'd say the poor block was weak.) Hell, Elle had put him through the ringer.
Oh, and I know, I know everyone is gonna be all "He put her through the ringer" but no. This girl should'a known he was a "friends with benefits" guy way back when.
Elle reminded me of-shit, what is her name, the girl from Gabriel's inferno? Julia? Yes! Always wanting to point blame, but never taking responsibility!
In conclusion: It tugged at my heart strings and I'm sure everyone else will love this one. But it was missing something for me. Loved Oliver and I wish the author had followed through more with his plot. (Like when he got punched, and had it out with Vic..) But since that didn't happen, frequently, I can't give it 5 stars.
It's a 3 for me, guys.
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