Name: The Vincent Boys (The Vincent Boys #1)
Author: Abbi Glines
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Date published: 3rd January 2013
Pages: 257, Paperback
Source: For review (from publisher)
Rating: 2.5 teacups
The Vincent Boys proved to be a fitting summer read - a light, mindless break from the world. But that was all it was. It was a little disappointing yet strangely addictive...
Firstly, look at that cover. I was sent the Australian version and I much prefer it to the UK and US ones. It's promises drama and sunshine and hot boys and instantly catches the eye.
Unfortunately, everything just felt too cliche for me. The whole good girl falls for the bad boy against everyone's approval. I don't mind the idea but I prefer it when authors put their own twist on it. Despite this, the major problem I had with The Vincent Boys was Ashton's betrayal of her boyfriend when he was away. I just hated the fact that Ashton was cheating on Sawyer with his cousin. His cousin.
Which leads me on to this 'bad' boy who was supposed to make me gasp and swoon and buckle at the knees. I'm sad to say that was not the response Beau drew from me. There was nothing about him that attracted me to him. He was always complaining about how Ash should be his, how they were meant to be. But all I could see was possessiveness and a purely sexual attraction. I was constantly told how sexy she was, how important she was, how he loved her... but was never shown. Or maybe the sex scenes were supposed to be an indicator of their 'love' for each other... I'm not so sure it's great for true love to be portrayed in that way to us teens.
On top of this, I just had no empathy for Ashton. I found her unlikable and annoying and there were moments where I wanted to slap her in the face. I understood that she wanted to live on the edge for once and embrace her wild side but the way she moaned about having to pretend with Sawyer irked me. Cheating on him wasn't going to solve things! And afterwards, the way she was all, 'I don't want to hurt them... I don't want to put a wedge between them' made me want to pull my hair out. I also felt so sorry for Sawyer and I fell for him instead of Beau.
Thinking about it now, I think my problem with it must have been that it was purely centred around a love triangle. And for me, love triangles either work or they don't. It didn't in this case, if you haven't already figured it out. Even so, I found myself eager to find out what was going to happen and I am curious to read the next book, The Vincent Brothers.
Overall The Vincent Boys is a steamy read for the summer, ideal for lazy days by the beach when you just want light entertainment to pass the time.
Beau Vincent is rude, bad, and dangerous to know. So, why can’t good girl Ashton Gray keep away from him? She already has the perfect boyfriend – her town’s local Prince Charming, Sawyer Vincent. But Sawyer is away for the summer, and in the meantime Ashton is bored, and the head between her and Beau is undeniable – as well as irresistible. Ashton is about to unleash her bad girl – but what will she do when Sawyer comes home? And how will Sawyer react when he returns to find his girlfriend in the arms of his best friend – and cousin?
[summary taken from Goodreads]
My Review
The Vincent Boys proved to be a fitting summer read - a light, mindless break from the world. But that was all it was. It was a little disappointing yet strangely addictive...
Firstly, look at that cover. I was sent the Australian version and I much prefer it to the UK and US ones. It's promises drama and sunshine and hot boys and instantly catches the eye.
Unfortunately, everything just felt too cliche for me. The whole good girl falls for the bad boy against everyone's approval. I don't mind the idea but I prefer it when authors put their own twist on it. Despite this, the major problem I had with The Vincent Boys was Ashton's betrayal of her boyfriend when he was away. I just hated the fact that Ashton was cheating on Sawyer with his cousin. His cousin.
Which leads me on to this 'bad' boy who was supposed to make me gasp and swoon and buckle at the knees. I'm sad to say that was not the response Beau drew from me. There was nothing about him that attracted me to him. He was always complaining about how Ash should be his, how they were meant to be. But all I could see was possessiveness and a purely sexual attraction. I was constantly told how sexy she was, how important she was, how he loved her... but was never shown. Or maybe the sex scenes were supposed to be an indicator of their 'love' for each other... I'm not so sure it's great for true love to be portrayed in that way to us teens.
On top of this, I just had no empathy for Ashton. I found her unlikable and annoying and there were moments where I wanted to slap her in the face. I understood that she wanted to live on the edge for once and embrace her wild side but the way she moaned about having to pretend with Sawyer irked me. Cheating on him wasn't going to solve things! And afterwards, the way she was all, 'I don't want to hurt them... I don't want to put a wedge between them' made me want to pull my hair out. I also felt so sorry for Sawyer and I fell for him instead of Beau.
Thinking about it now, I think my problem with it must have been that it was purely centred around a love triangle. And for me, love triangles either work or they don't. It didn't in this case, if you haven't already figured it out. Even so, I found myself eager to find out what was going to happen and I am curious to read the next book, The Vincent Brothers.
Overall The Vincent Boys is a steamy read for the summer, ideal for lazy days by the beach when you just want light entertainment to pass the time.
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| 2.5 Teacups for The Vincent Boys! *Thank you to Hot Key Books for the review copy and apologies for the late review* |
Posts
I might give this one a go because I enjoyed Breathe by this author. It's sad that you didn't enjoy it. I have a love hate relationship with this type of book. Sometimes I'll like them, and then other times I'll want to chuck the book at the wall.
ReplyDeleteI hate it when love triangles don't work because I usually don't have a problem with them.
Sorry it didn't work for you, Bev! :(
Great review, Bev! I actually really liked this one and gave it 4 stars, but I understand where you're coming from. I was a little bothered by Ashton- she made me want to slap her sometimes, and it got worse in the next book. >.< I think you might like the second one better, Lana is much more likeable and there's more substance to their story for sure. Thanks for the honest review! Sorry it didn't work out for you. :(
ReplyDeleteLovely review! I haven't read much reviews about this one so I might see if my library has it. Sorry it didn't work out for you, it's frustrating when books are disappointing :'( I know what you mean by "strangely addictive" though... I once gave this book 1/5 stars but it was addictive. Haha. Thanks for sharing, Beverley! <3
ReplyDeleteI have a copy of this, which I do plan to read - eventually - although I'm not sure why. The summary promises drama and already I don't like Ashton...but the reviews have made me curious. I'm sorry you found this so disappointing, Bev, though I can understand your concerns. Wonderful review. :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome review Bev! :) I'm curious about this one but the fact that you didn't enjoy it that much makes me slightly wary. I think I'll take your advice and check it out on a lazy day and see how I find it.
ReplyDeleteUgh, I hate characters who cheat on their boyfriend/girlfriend. I don't believe there is any excuse for that. I really like her Existence books and sort of liked her book While it Lasts. I'm not really a fan of drama books though. Thanks for the good review!
ReplyDeleteAw that is just too bad that you didn't like this one. It does sound like it has a lot of things that are standard in the contemporary romance world but I have heard so many good things about it.
ReplyDeleteSorry you didn't like it but thanks for the great review!
Ahh I'm sorry that this one disappointed you, Bev! D: I agree, I'm reading a cliche good girl/bad boy pairing right now, and it's so annoying D: Cheating on your boyfriend with said boyfriend's cousin is also pretty low, too >.< Ashton sounds really annoying, too, and love triangles can always go either way.
ReplyDeleteFantastic review, Bev! <333
I haven't actually read anything by Abbi Glines and I know I would really enjoy her books as I'm a major contemp fangirl at the moment, so you had me at 'fitting summer read'. But then I saw your rating :S I'm sorry this disappointed you, I can see the flaws in the storyline. But thanks for putting it on my radar, Bev! :)
ReplyDeleteHEY BEV!!!!!!! *WAVES ENTHUSIASTICALLY, KNOCKING OVER A LAMP AND A GLASS OF WATER IN THE PROCESS. WHOOPS* I'm just so excited to be back in the blogosphere XD I'm sorry to have abandoned everything over the past few months :( I've really missed reading your blog, though - you can expect me to be showering your blog with comments from now on!! ;)
ReplyDeleteMy friend actually recommended this to me recently and I said I'd check it out although I didn't really know what it was about...I'm not sure if I want to read it, though, now. I might give it a go, I guess, if I can find it in the library, you know, if I feel like a kind of 'light, mindless break'. I totally get where you're coming from - sometimes I do actually enjoy these kinds of books - with cliche good girl/bad boy storylines - but only if they're done well - like Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry, for example. (I remember reading a very enthusiastic review from you about that haha ;) ) I also don't like the sound of how 'love' is apparently portrayed very superficially in this book :/ Hmph, think I'll just stick to a re-read of Pushing The Limits and revisit Noah *swoon* <3
Fab review, Bev - thanks for sharing your thoughts! :D
It's a shame you didn't much like this one... I HATE characters that would over and over again cheat on their boyfriends! That usually makes me fall for the other one as well! :S
ReplyDeleteAnd a mindless character you want to slap? Ashton sounds annoying! And if Sawyer appears to be interested in just the physical part of the relationship then, well, it isn't much of a relationship!
Anyways. Great review! :D