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Fallen Too Far: A Rosemary Beach Novel
By Abbi Glines
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The New York Times bestselling novel that launched the beloved world of Rosemary Beach and introduced the world to Rush and Blaire.
The wealthy son of a rocker. A tough farm girl from Alabama. Two step-siblings from different worlds. One summer in Rosemary Beach.
The last thing Blaire Wynn wants is to move in with her father’s new family in Rosemary Beach, Florida. She has no choice. Blaire’s mother has passed away after a long illness, leaving behind a mountain of medical debts and no way for Blaire to keep their small Alabama farmhouse.
Driving into the wealthy resort town in a pickup truck with a pistol under her seat, Blaire knows she'll never fit in. She’s even more disappointed to discover that her father has left for Paris, leaving her with her new stepbrother, Rush Finlay. The cynical, condescending, and unapologetic son of an infamous rock star, Rush is as spoiled as he is gorgeous—and he immediately gets under Blaire’s skin.
But as the summer goes by, Blaire begins to see a side of Rush she never expected, and the chemistry between them becomes impossible to ignore. Unknown to her, Rush has a secret that could destroy Blaire’s entire world. Will she find out what he’s hiding before she falls too far?
The wealthy son of a rocker. A tough farm girl from Alabama. Two step-siblings from different worlds. One summer in Rosemary Beach.
The last thing Blaire Wynn wants is to move in with her father’s new family in Rosemary Beach, Florida. She has no choice. Blaire’s mother has passed away after a long illness, leaving behind a mountain of medical debts and no way for Blaire to keep their small Alabama farmhouse.
Driving into the wealthy resort town in a pickup truck with a pistol under her seat, Blaire knows she'll never fit in. She’s even more disappointed to discover that her father has left for Paris, leaving her with her new stepbrother, Rush Finlay. The cynical, condescending, and unapologetic son of an infamous rock star, Rush is as spoiled as he is gorgeous—and he immediately gets under Blaire’s skin.
But as the summer goes by, Blaire begins to see a side of Rush she never expected, and the chemistry between them becomes impossible to ignore. Unknown to her, Rush has a secret that could destroy Blaire’s entire world. Will she find out what he’s hiding before she falls too far?
Book Actions
Start ReadingBook Information
Fallen Too Far: A Rosemary Beach Novel
By Abbi Glines
Description
The New York Times bestselling novel that launched the beloved world of Rosemary Beach and introduced the world to Rush and Blaire.
The wealthy son of a rocker. A tough farm girl from Alabama. Two step-siblings from different worlds. One summer in Rosemary Beach.
The last thing Blaire Wynn wants is to move in with her father’s new family in Rosemary Beach, Florida. She has no choice. Blaire’s mother has passed away after a long illness, leaving behind a mountain of medical debts and no way for Blaire to keep their small Alabama farmhouse.
Driving into the wealthy resort town in a pickup truck with a pistol under her seat, Blaire knows she'll never fit in. She’s even more disappointed to discover that her father has left for Paris, leaving her with her new stepbrother, Rush Finlay. The cynical, condescending, and unapologetic son of an infamous rock star, Rush is as spoiled as he is gorgeous—and he immediately gets under Blaire’s skin.
But as the summer goes by, Blaire begins to see a side of Rush she never expected, and the chemistry between them becomes impossible to ignore. Unknown to her, Rush has a secret that could destroy Blaire’s entire world. Will she find out what he’s hiding before she falls too far?
The wealthy son of a rocker. A tough farm girl from Alabama. Two step-siblings from different worlds. One summer in Rosemary Beach.
The last thing Blaire Wynn wants is to move in with her father’s new family in Rosemary Beach, Florida. She has no choice. Blaire’s mother has passed away after a long illness, leaving behind a mountain of medical debts and no way for Blaire to keep their small Alabama farmhouse.
Driving into the wealthy resort town in a pickup truck with a pistol under her seat, Blaire knows she'll never fit in. She’s even more disappointed to discover that her father has left for Paris, leaving her with her new stepbrother, Rush Finlay. The cynical, condescending, and unapologetic son of an infamous rock star, Rush is as spoiled as he is gorgeous—and he immediately gets under Blaire’s skin.
But as the summer goes by, Blaire begins to see a side of Rush she never expected, and the chemistry between them becomes impossible to ignore. Unknown to her, Rush has a secret that could destroy Blaire’s entire world. Will she find out what he’s hiding before she falls too far?
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Reviews
I really enjoyed this book. The end just about killed me but I'm very glad book 2 is already out. I can't wait to see how the story continues.
Rating: 4***** 5 Beautiful, amazing stars ***** I devoured every page of this book. Its right up there with my favourite books if not the best! Blaire and rush are such a heart breaking story but in a good way. I loved the highs and lows.
Rating: 5Loved Blaire and Rush, the chemistry between them, and how trey fell in love.
Rating: 4I finished this book a couple of weeks ago and I'm afraid I waited a little too long to write the review on it as my feelings on it aren't fresh. I do remember thinking at first that the dialogue felt a little off too me. Or maybe awkward is a better word. But by halfway through the story, I didn't care. I loved Blaire and wanted things to work out for her. I didn't know Rush too well and wasn't sure if he was the right one for her (because there seemed to be some pretty awesome guys down there in Florida) but I wanted Blaire to come out on top. By the end of the story, I was a little bit in love with Rush. But the real burning question at the end of Fallen Too Far is what was with that ending?
Rating: 4I seriously couldn't breathe when I finished this book. The characters were compelling, although I didn't liked Blaire that much in the beginning, but then she grew on me. Rush was this jackass but then he became really sweet and I when I found out what the big secret was it was a big plot twist for me. The ending was heartwrenching and I can't wait to be able to get my hands on it.
Rating: 5Abbi has a wonderful way of telling a story. Blaire comes to town looking for her estranged father and finds her sexy step brother. Their journey isn't easy but getting all of the emotions helps the reader relate to the story. I can't wait to see how the story continues!
Rating: 4This book was so good, I read it in two sittings during Christmas week and that's saying something since I have been so busy lately. I enjoyed the romance between Blaire and Rush, the "I want you, but I can't have you, so I'm angry, but I can't stop thinking about you dammit". I love that type of romance. The sex scenes were pretty hot and well written. There were also tender scenes between Rush and Blaire that were sweet.I wanted to know what secret Rush was hiding from Blaire. It's a biggie.Speaking of Rush, he can be a jerk with his womanizing, but he won be over in the end. I couldn't help but like him. He's your usual alpha, always showing up to the rescue, but this alpha male can cook up a storm.Blaire is a great character, she's strong and independent. The chick carries a gun under her car seat for protection. She's taken care of her mom while she was sick and now is left alone in the world, but she's trying to get on her own two feet and move on. This is a coming of age story for Blaire, she is at a crossroads in her life and she finds out a huge secret that has been kept from her.The supporting cast of characters is great as well. Some of them you want to slap, like Nan. Others you want to know more about, like Rush's friend and nice guy Woods.This is my first time reading author Abbi Glines and it won't be my last. She does a fantastic job at creating a story that is very readable and just draws you in. I can see this one hitting the big screen.The book ends on a major cliffhanger, since this is the first in a series. The second installment is due to come out in March of 2013, I can't wait. I want to see where Rush and Blaire go from here and I want to see more about the supporting cast of characters as well. I purchased my copy of this ebook and this review is my honest opionion.
Rating: 4A very well written book, though it had more than its fair share of grammatical & typographical errors. I realize by now that editors don't actually do anything these days, but don't any of these author's even use spell check? In this book I saw dozens of errors were two words were shoved together. At first I thought it was deliberate, but I quickly realized it was a mistake, a multiply repeated mistake. I'm so sick of shitty editing. It is a unloved pet peeve of mine. Fix your fucking typos and check the goddamn grammar if you're going to sell your book!!!!!!!!!!!!
That being spewed, this book was interesting, and not nearly as predictable as most! A pretty unique (to what I've been reading) plot. It pulled my heartstrings, and I was emotionally involved throughout the whole of the book.
Rating: 4That being spewed, this book was interesting, and not nearly as predictable as most! A pretty unique (to what I've been reading) plot. It pulled my heartstrings, and I was emotionally involved throughout the whole of the book.
Hum.. It's more like a 3.5, but the writing and erotic scenes boosted the score a bit.
I am quite unsure about this one. I love the writing and the story, just wish there were more to Rush and Blaire's relationship. It seems that they only spent a few days together and a couple of nights. There wasn't much interaction between them besides animosity or sex. And it's a bit weird that they are semi-related. I may re-evaluate after a while!
Rating: 4I am quite unsure about this one. I love the writing and the story, just wish there were more to Rush and Blaire's relationship. It seems that they only spent a few days together and a couple of nights. There wasn't much interaction between them besides animosity or sex. And it's a bit weird that they are semi-related. I may re-evaluate after a while!
Wow.......I couldn't put this book down!
I loved Blaire she was an innocent badass if that's even possible.
The way she was treated by those rich spoiled kids was appalling but that way she handled it well that was amazing. She didn't fill herself with fantasies that she could actually fit into their world. When Nan's secret came out holy cow I was blown away! I could understand how Blaire felt but her pushing Rush away that I couldn't quite understand not to mention it was heart breaking. The ending well it blows but their story doesn't end there "Never too Far" is coming out Feb 26, 2013.
Hot Steamy Sex-nothing too raunchy.
Quotes:
"Tight jeans, tank tops, and a gun. Damn, I've been living in the wrong fucking state."
"No matter what diva the drunk says you need to eat first."
"Because I've had a taste and I'm not sharing. This isn't just for fun. I may be slightly addicted."
Rating: 5I loved Blaire she was an innocent badass if that's even possible.
The way she was treated by those rich spoiled kids was appalling but that way she handled it well that was amazing. She didn't fill herself with fantasies that she could actually fit into their world. When Nan's secret came out holy cow I was blown away! I could understand how Blaire felt but her pushing Rush away that I couldn't quite understand not to mention it was heart breaking. The ending well it blows but their story doesn't end there "Never too Far" is coming out Feb 26, 2013.
Hot Steamy Sex-nothing too raunchy.
Quotes:
"Tight jeans, tank tops, and a gun. Damn, I've been living in the wrong fucking state."
"No matter what diva the drunk says you need to eat first."
"Because I've had a taste and I'm not sharing. This isn't just for fun. I may be slightly addicted."
Don't tell my other fictional boyfriends, but I am totally fangirling over here.
After her mother's death, and with no place else to go, nineteen year old Blaire is forced to move in with her estranged father, until she can get back on her feet. However, when she arrives at what she believes to be her father's home in Florida, she quickly finds out that is in fact, owned by the son of his new wife, Rush, and that her father is on vacation for an unknown amount of time. Rush is the womanizing, hot HOT offspring of a Rock God and Blaire's stepmother. Against better judgement, Rush agrees to allow Blaire to stay in his home for 1 month; find a job and get herself together. Though Blaire tries to spend as little time as possible in Rush's prescience, they cannot get each other out of their minds. Pretty soon, they go from acquaintances, to something much, much more. But when something happens that rocks Blaire to the core, she must figure out how, and if she can, trust again.
Abbi Glines did a superb job developing her characters in this story. I really felt a realistic connection between Rush and Blaire. Their relationship was real, believable, and steamy. Nan,( Rush's sister) was a constant thorn in my side. Glines rocked my emotions sending me from euphoric, dancing in my couch happy, to weepy and distraught with just the turn of a page. The only thing is disliked about this book, was during some of the, ahem, more intimate scenes a lot of actions were repeated, and by the end, I wound up a leeeetle creeped out by the repetition. But, as I moved on, I quickly got over it.
Finishing this book left me a little broken, and wanting more, much more from Blair and Rush. Luckily, Never too Far, the second of the this series is out now, (review coming soon!) and the third ,Forever too Far, is due out June 10th. I cannot wait!
Currently the Kindle edition of this book is Available for $.99. I would highly recommend grabbing a copy and checking it out for yourself!
Rating: 4After her mother's death, and with no place else to go, nineteen year old Blaire is forced to move in with her estranged father, until she can get back on her feet. However, when she arrives at what she believes to be her father's home in Florida, she quickly finds out that is in fact, owned by the son of his new wife, Rush, and that her father is on vacation for an unknown amount of time. Rush is the womanizing, hot HOT offspring of a Rock God and Blaire's stepmother. Against better judgement, Rush agrees to allow Blaire to stay in his home for 1 month; find a job and get herself together. Though Blaire tries to spend as little time as possible in Rush's prescience, they cannot get each other out of their minds. Pretty soon, they go from acquaintances, to something much, much more. But when something happens that rocks Blaire to the core, she must figure out how, and if she can, trust again.
Abbi Glines did a superb job developing her characters in this story. I really felt a realistic connection between Rush and Blaire. Their relationship was real, believable, and steamy. Nan,( Rush's sister) was a constant thorn in my side. Glines rocked my emotions sending me from euphoric, dancing in my couch happy, to weepy and distraught with just the turn of a page. The only thing is disliked about this book, was during some of the, ahem, more intimate scenes a lot of actions were repeated, and by the end, I wound up a leeeetle creeped out by the repetition. But, as I moved on, I quickly got over it.
Finishing this book left me a little broken, and wanting more, much more from Blair and Rush. Luckily, Never too Far, the second of the this series is out now, (review coming soon!) and the third ,Forever too Far, is due out June 10th. I cannot wait!
Currently the Kindle edition of this book is Available for $.99. I would highly recommend grabbing a copy and checking it out for yourself!
I am a sucker for YA romances this is one of my favorite all top favorite book
Rating: 5a-maz-ing Cant wait to read the next one thanks to a lend from a friend at Bookienookie lending group! Gotta love book lending ;) I begin right after work.
Rating: 5This book is a must read. From the first page I was hooked. Blaire is a girl who had a rough past but never felt bad for herself. Her mother has past away after a long struggle with cancer and she is left alone and broke. She reaches out to her father for help and he sends her an address. Rush is the son of a Rock star Dean who has a dirty reputation and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Rush is know for huge parties and "free love". When Blaire arrives at his door step he looks at her in disgust. Her father use's his mother and ruined his family why would she be any different. Rush finally gives in and lets her stay in the maids room. Blair doesn't ask for anything more. She finds her own job to save money and promises to be gone as fast as she can. But, of course she wonders why Rush hates her so much... Don't you? Don't miss this amazing trilogy that will have you laughing, crying and gasping at every twist!
Rating: 5Yet again, Abbi Glines has roped me in to one of her series! WOW is all I can say! Blaire is looking for a new life... She has lost everything. Her mom and sister gone. Her dad left. She finds her way to her dad's new life, or so she thinks! Enter Rush. Her new step brother. So dark, typical brooding playboy. Of coarse they fall in love... But can that love over power the huge family secrets that are tearing them both apart but also form a bond between the families and themselves? This is a bumpy ride, and the story isn't over....
Rating: 4I am so happy I read this book. It was soooooo good. one of the top 10 romance books I've read. I so love the characters. can't wait to read more. Stayed up all night reading this...thank you Ms. Abbi Glines for a wonderful evening...
Rating: 5Nothing original in this book.. It's really difficult finding an NA book that follows the same pattern of virgin girl meets bad boy, falls for him (insta-love ugh!), he tells her he is bad for her and has a lot of secrets, she still fawns over him because he is "beautiful", soap-drama happens, things get solved.
I don't hate this book, nor do I love it. I see it as a book that could have had a lot of potential. Blair started as a tough bad-ass, then she suddenly becomes this doormat martyr that falls in love with the guy who is an ass to her.
I did finish the book though, and it's more of 2.5 stars for me.
Rating: 2I don't hate this book, nor do I love it. I see it as a book that could have had a lot of potential. Blair started as a tough bad-ass, then she suddenly becomes this doormat martyr that falls in love with the guy who is an ass to her.
I did finish the book though, and it's more of 2.5 stars for me.
READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!! ***********
"I have me. I found out three years ago when my mom got sick that as long as I held onto me and didn't forget who i was that I'd always be okay.". Hmmmm....
This is an AMAZING book! Don't read it unless you have some serious time to invest because once you start you can't put it down! Read it in one day! The day isn't over and i am fixing to start book 2! Wow! Great characters love Blair and Rush! Crazy cliffhanger though!
Rating: 5"I have me. I found out three years ago when my mom got sick that as long as I held onto me and didn't forget who i was that I'd always be okay.". Hmmmm....
This is an AMAZING book! Don't read it unless you have some serious time to invest because once you start you can't put it down! Read it in one day! The day isn't over and i am fixing to start book 2! Wow! Great characters love Blair and Rush! Crazy cliffhanger though!
I don't want to write this review. It has to do with the fact that I have always enjoyed Abbi Glines' books. Even if I they are all very similar they have the entertaining factor that keeps me reading them.
I had so many expectations for it, the premise sounded wonderful, the cover is gorgeous. Unfortunately, to me, it just didn't deliver.
Why?
The love between Blaire and Rush was...rushed (pun intended). It was shallow, too intense, too soon without any plausible explanation other that "omigod he's so hot I want him".
I didn't love Rush. He reminded me of every other male character in her books (apart from Marcus).
Poor playboy with tortured soul trying to stay away from beautiful, virginal Blaire, except not. For how much he claimed he tried to stay away from her, he kept leading her on all the time, acting all possessive and confusing her and it annoyed me to no end.
Another thing, Blaire witnessing Rush having sex, not once, but twice...it's a romance killer. I wish authors didn't do this. Yes, he can have sex with other girls. No, she doesn't have to see it.
The author spends a lot of time convincing us that the heroine is strong, smart, resourceful. I loved her. Up until she turned into a shallow, weak, lovesick puppy and fell under Rush's spell (not really a spell, he's as transparent as a window). Though she does end up being the strong character she was in the end.
It is so slow that nothing except sex and her working happens for the majority of the book. The last (maybe) 20% was of faster pace when everything blows up but it wasn't enough to save the book for me.
The conflict? So easily avoided if the hero wasn't a selfish jerk. She is right, everything they had (as blown out of proportion as it may have been) was a big, fat lie. I can't love a hero like that.
Now, let's make it clear that I'm not saying the book is bad. I loved the way it was written and I kind of loved Blaire. I did read the whole book, after all. It just didn't cater to my personal tastes. I do recommend everyone read it, though. I just had to get this review off my chest.
Rating: 2I had so many expectations for it, the premise sounded wonderful, the cover is gorgeous. Unfortunately, to me, it just didn't deliver.
Why?
The love between Blaire and Rush was...rushed (pun intended). It was shallow, too intense, too soon without any plausible explanation other that "omigod he's so hot I want him".
I didn't love Rush. He reminded me of every other male character in her books (apart from Marcus).
Poor playboy with tortured soul trying to stay away from beautiful, virginal Blaire, except not. For how much he claimed he tried to stay away from her, he kept leading her on all the time, acting all possessive and confusing her and it annoyed me to no end.
Another thing, Blaire witnessing Rush having sex, not once, but twice...it's a romance killer. I wish authors didn't do this. Yes, he can have sex with other girls. No, she doesn't have to see it.
The author spends a lot of time convincing us that the heroine is strong, smart, resourceful. I loved her. Up until she turned into a shallow, weak, lovesick puppy and fell under Rush's spell (not really a spell, he's as transparent as a window). Though she does end up being the strong character she was in the end.
It is so slow that nothing except sex and her working happens for the majority of the book. The last (maybe) 20% was of faster pace when everything blows up but it wasn't enough to save the book for me.
The conflict? So easily avoided if the hero wasn't a selfish jerk. She is right, everything they had (as blown out of proportion as it may have been) was a big, fat lie. I can't love a hero like that.
Now, let's make it clear that I'm not saying the book is bad. I loved the way it was written and I kind of loved Blaire. I did read the whole book, after all. It just didn't cater to my personal tastes. I do recommend everyone read it, though. I just had to get this review off my chest.
Waiting! Uggh, what an awesome book. Now if we can just get the next one!!
Rating: 4After her mama dies, Blaire hightails it to Florida to find her father who has promised to help her out until she can get on her feet. But old pops has run off to Paris with his new wife and the only one left is her sexy stepbrother (barf in my mouth- I have a stepbrother, ew) Rush, who is of course a bad boy womanizer, but is fast overtaken by Blaire, her radiant blonde hair, innocence and Alabama drawl within a few chapters.So me and Fallen.......we have a love/hate relationship....I really loved the overall premise of this book and the twisty end was worth reading it. I hated the cover- not really means anything about the story-line but I want Glines inside story to match the outside cover, not scream sleaze fest..and that kissing it just looks ugly. I hated some of the awkward sex scenes and the screaming of Rush Rush Russsssssh, but I really do love Glines style and her writing personality so in the end it was a quick few hour read that outside of the sex had a good storyline.
Rating: 33.5 Stars. Kind of disappointed.
Rating: 34.5 stars! Oh man! That was great! I loved it. Blaire rocks! I could totally identify with her. She seemed very realistic to me and acted in ways that I would have if I were in her situation. I thought Rush was super sexy even though he made a selfish choice and had no idea of the consequences. Can I forgive him? Absolutely! The situation should have never involved him to begin with! Am I moving on to book 2? Hell Yes, right now!
Rating: 5❤️❤️❤️
Rating: 5
I've only read the first book and im hooked! But what a fucked up situation they are in.
Rating: 5
I love this book all of the books
Rating: 5Awesome series
Rating: 5I’m hooked on Abbi Glines’ books. I started the Rosemary Beach books in the middle, and decided I needed to start from the beginning since Rush’s book was coming out. Holy Hell!!! Why did I wait so freaking long????
I freaking love Blaire. She’s smart, independent, and can take care of herself. She shows her strength even when people look down on her. She’s like super woman! Rush is totally hot. He’s a complete ass most of the time though. You can see how he changes throughout the book.
Blaire and Rush have this whole love/hate thing going on, and it keeps me wrapped up in their lives. It’s too much drama for me, but I can’t help but want to watch it unfold for others, especially in books. And the freaking ending!!! I looked at my hubby, and said, “She just HAD to end it there?????” He, of course, looked at me like I was nuts. So I had to explain it to him.
Glines knows how to write a story, and suck you in. One of the many reasons I love her books. Now I’m going to devour the rest of the series.
Rating: 5I freaking love Blaire. She’s smart, independent, and can take care of herself. She shows her strength even when people look down on her. She’s like super woman! Rush is totally hot. He’s a complete ass most of the time though. You can see how he changes throughout the book.
Blaire and Rush have this whole love/hate thing going on, and it keeps me wrapped up in their lives. It’s too much drama for me, but I can’t help but want to watch it unfold for others, especially in books. And the freaking ending!!! I looked at my hubby, and said, “She just HAD to end it there?????” He, of course, looked at me like I was nuts. So I had to explain it to him.
Glines knows how to write a story, and suck you in. One of the many reasons I love her books. Now I’m going to devour the rest of the series.
I think I should just give up trying with New Adult literature. So far, the genre has offered none of the maturity or complexities of the liminal period between teen years and full-on adulthood, instead preferring what merely amount to college age erotic romances with a hefty side dish of misogyny. Indeed, the frequency with which sexist portrayals of women and relationships appear throughout works labelled New Adult suggests that the pair go hand in hand. While “Fallen Too Far” didn’t reach the despicable lows of “Thoughtless”, it did come pretty close thanks to its incredibly unsettling portrayals of women and relationships.
Let’s start with one issue this book presents that I think represents a real disconnect from the contemporary world it claims to depict. Blaire moves from Alabama to Florida to live with her father after the death of her mother, with nothing but $20 in her pocket and a rusty old vehicle. She needs a job to make enough money to get a place for herself. The book is set in 2012 America. We currently live in a world of falling living standards, rising unemployment and a widening gap between the working and middle classes. This applies not only to USA but to most of what is known as the developed world. Blaire is a 19 year old high school dropout with a GED and some brief experience in a couple of after school jobs. Within one day of moving to a completely strange place, she has a well-paying job at a country club, where she is frequently given $50 and $100 tips. She literally walks into this place, says she wants a job and is given one with barely any questions asked. This bugged me for a number of reasons, the main one being that it was insultingly unrealistic. The defenders of New Adult keep talking about how this burgeoning genre has such amazing potential to depict real-life situations that modern young people face every-day, from the personal to the political. Glines took the cheapest route possible with what could have been an interesting twist on the contemporary drama. Unemployment and money troubles are huge issues for my generation, and those stories are dying to be told, so seeing the heroine have it all handed to her so easily (and really? $100 tips?) felt like a real slap in the face. I’ve talked before about how YA and romance tend to fetishise wealth, and “Fallen Too Far” does this to some degree. While it’s made explicit to us that the country club regulars are all lecherous old men or “jealous sluts”, the designated love interest Rush is conveniently very wealthy and will never have to worry about money.
Once again, we have another New Adult book where Those Other Women fall into one camp of characterisation – bitches and sluts. If they’re not unreasonably jealous of the beautiful and perfect gun toting virgin Blaire, they’re throwing themselves over Rush or begging for sex constantly. Even side characters, such as country club worker Darla, seem to have nothing but sex on the brain, as she tells Blaire to essentially sex herself up for tips. The virgin/whore complex is rampant throughout. Every single woman in this book who isn’t the heroine is shamed in some manner, be it by the heroine herself or the men around them. It’s the laziest characterisation imaginable and it’s also horrifyingly sexist, particularly when coupled with the male characters of the story, who seem to be nothing but walking erections. Every man in this book except for Blaire’s father leers at her, openly proposition her and make it very clear what they want to do to her. Not only are women seen as objects throughout this novel, every woman aside from Blaire is portrayed as one.
Unfortunately, not even the sainted heroine makes it out of this damaging double standard unscathed. Yet again, we have another NA romance where the heroine is simultaneously infantilised and sexualised by the designated love interest. Rush is very controlling (of course), getting angry when Blaire turns down his offer of food (and of course we have another romantic hero who is obsessed with getting the woman to eat, although shudder to think any of these authors would ever portray the heroine as anything other than the stereotypical skinny size), and talking about Blaire as if she’s an object. He’s obsessed with other men touching her or wanting to touch her because apparently they don’t deserve to touch her. The book also includes the delightful line “Your pussy is mine” (to paraphrase it, I didn’t write it down for obvious reasons). The sex scenes are as awful as you imagine them to be, chock full of cringe-worthy dialogue about how hot, tight and deep the sexual experience is. You’re not drilling for oil, Rush, you’re having sex, and being “so in the moment” that you forgot to put a condom on makes you a fuckwit, not a romantic. The “romance” is more lust-based than anything else (of course), with no discernible reason given for why they’re so dramatically in love other than they’re both gorgeous (of course). It seems to come from nowhere in the beginning – Rush goes from being cold and showing absolutely no interest in his step-sister to telling her to stay away to throwing her against a wall in lust to getting angry when others flirt with her at her place of work. It was exhausting, but not as exhausting as the pathetically weak attempts at plotting, characterisation and grammar.
I don’t care if your book if self-published. If you let it out into the real world and charge money for it, there is no excuse for sloppy grammar and spelling. There weren’t just one or two slips. There were countless examples of this sloppiness. I don’t know who is editing Glines’s work, if anyone is, but it needs to be sorted out. If you want to call yourself a professional author, you need to act professional.
The dialogue is sloppy and predictable, ticking off all the expected boxes of New Adult angst and all-consuming lust (because I refuse to call what these books portray love). The attempts at ambiguity and tension fail miserably because everything is so obvious. There is absolutely no reason for any of the supposed deep dark secrets of Rush and his “bitchy” “spoiled brat” sister Nan to be kept secret. They’re kept secret solely to push forward the bare threads of a plot. The deliberate withholding of information for no reason other than it needs to be withheld for there to be a story is incredibly sloppy writing. When the “cliff-hanger” ending is revealed, we’re left with nothing but a weak excuse for a cash-in sequel.
It’s not just that this so-called contemporary romance is unrealistic and chooses the easy way out over tackling the real world issues of our generation. It’s not just that it’s badly written and terribly edited. It’s not just that there are spelling errors and misplaced punctuation and pacing issues. It’s not just that it’s incredibly sexist, romanticised yet another controlling and unhealthy relationship, all the while shaming women in a way that made my skin crawl. It’s not just that the sex scenes were a mixture of laughable dialogue, irresponsibility and sheer boredom. It’s not just all those things. It’s that “Fallen Too Far”, for all its genre in its sexism, laziness, internalised misogyny and sloppiness, is what we’ve now come to expect from New Adult literature. It exemplifies exactly why this genre has failed to meet its most basic potential. All these books, from “Fallen Too Far” to “Beautiful Disaster” to “Thoughtless”, make me feel a little bit dirty. There is something seriously wrong with normalising stuff like this as romantic and sexy. “Fallen Too Far” was detestable.
Avoid.
Rating: 1Let’s start with one issue this book presents that I think represents a real disconnect from the contemporary world it claims to depict. Blaire moves from Alabama to Florida to live with her father after the death of her mother, with nothing but $20 in her pocket and a rusty old vehicle. She needs a job to make enough money to get a place for herself. The book is set in 2012 America. We currently live in a world of falling living standards, rising unemployment and a widening gap between the working and middle classes. This applies not only to USA but to most of what is known as the developed world. Blaire is a 19 year old high school dropout with a GED and some brief experience in a couple of after school jobs. Within one day of moving to a completely strange place, she has a well-paying job at a country club, where she is frequently given $50 and $100 tips. She literally walks into this place, says she wants a job and is given one with barely any questions asked. This bugged me for a number of reasons, the main one being that it was insultingly unrealistic. The defenders of New Adult keep talking about how this burgeoning genre has such amazing potential to depict real-life situations that modern young people face every-day, from the personal to the political. Glines took the cheapest route possible with what could have been an interesting twist on the contemporary drama. Unemployment and money troubles are huge issues for my generation, and those stories are dying to be told, so seeing the heroine have it all handed to her so easily (and really? $100 tips?) felt like a real slap in the face. I’ve talked before about how YA and romance tend to fetishise wealth, and “Fallen Too Far” does this to some degree. While it’s made explicit to us that the country club regulars are all lecherous old men or “jealous sluts”, the designated love interest Rush is conveniently very wealthy and will never have to worry about money.
Once again, we have another New Adult book where Those Other Women fall into one camp of characterisation – bitches and sluts. If they’re not unreasonably jealous of the beautiful and perfect gun toting virgin Blaire, they’re throwing themselves over Rush or begging for sex constantly. Even side characters, such as country club worker Darla, seem to have nothing but sex on the brain, as she tells Blaire to essentially sex herself up for tips. The virgin/whore complex is rampant throughout. Every single woman in this book who isn’t the heroine is shamed in some manner, be it by the heroine herself or the men around them. It’s the laziest characterisation imaginable and it’s also horrifyingly sexist, particularly when coupled with the male characters of the story, who seem to be nothing but walking erections. Every man in this book except for Blaire’s father leers at her, openly proposition her and make it very clear what they want to do to her. Not only are women seen as objects throughout this novel, every woman aside from Blaire is portrayed as one.
Unfortunately, not even the sainted heroine makes it out of this damaging double standard unscathed. Yet again, we have another NA romance where the heroine is simultaneously infantilised and sexualised by the designated love interest. Rush is very controlling (of course), getting angry when Blaire turns down his offer of food (and of course we have another romantic hero who is obsessed with getting the woman to eat, although shudder to think any of these authors would ever portray the heroine as anything other than the stereotypical skinny size), and talking about Blaire as if she’s an object. He’s obsessed with other men touching her or wanting to touch her because apparently they don’t deserve to touch her. The book also includes the delightful line “Your pussy is mine” (to paraphrase it, I didn’t write it down for obvious reasons). The sex scenes are as awful as you imagine them to be, chock full of cringe-worthy dialogue about how hot, tight and deep the sexual experience is. You’re not drilling for oil, Rush, you’re having sex, and being “so in the moment” that you forgot to put a condom on makes you a fuckwit, not a romantic. The “romance” is more lust-based than anything else (of course), with no discernible reason given for why they’re so dramatically in love other than they’re both gorgeous (of course). It seems to come from nowhere in the beginning – Rush goes from being cold and showing absolutely no interest in his step-sister to telling her to stay away to throwing her against a wall in lust to getting angry when others flirt with her at her place of work. It was exhausting, but not as exhausting as the pathetically weak attempts at plotting, characterisation and grammar.
I don’t care if your book if self-published. If you let it out into the real world and charge money for it, there is no excuse for sloppy grammar and spelling. There weren’t just one or two slips. There were countless examples of this sloppiness. I don’t know who is editing Glines’s work, if anyone is, but it needs to be sorted out. If you want to call yourself a professional author, you need to act professional.
The dialogue is sloppy and predictable, ticking off all the expected boxes of New Adult angst and all-consuming lust (because I refuse to call what these books portray love). The attempts at ambiguity and tension fail miserably because everything is so obvious. There is absolutely no reason for any of the supposed deep dark secrets of Rush and his “bitchy” “spoiled brat” sister Nan to be kept secret. They’re kept secret solely to push forward the bare threads of a plot. The deliberate withholding of information for no reason other than it needs to be withheld for there to be a story is incredibly sloppy writing. When the “cliff-hanger” ending is revealed, we’re left with nothing but a weak excuse for a cash-in sequel.
It’s not just that this so-called contemporary romance is unrealistic and chooses the easy way out over tackling the real world issues of our generation. It’s not just that it’s badly written and terribly edited. It’s not just that there are spelling errors and misplaced punctuation and pacing issues. It’s not just that it’s incredibly sexist, romanticised yet another controlling and unhealthy relationship, all the while shaming women in a way that made my skin crawl. It’s not just that the sex scenes were a mixture of laughable dialogue, irresponsibility and sheer boredom. It’s not just all those things. It’s that “Fallen Too Far”, for all its genre in its sexism, laziness, internalised misogyny and sloppiness, is what we’ve now come to expect from New Adult literature. It exemplifies exactly why this genre has failed to meet its most basic potential. All these books, from “Fallen Too Far” to “Beautiful Disaster” to “Thoughtless”, make me feel a little bit dirty. There is something seriously wrong with normalising stuff like this as romantic and sexy. “Fallen Too Far” was detestable.
Avoid.
She did it again. Abby Glines got me hooked again. This book is just....... WOW!!!!! I have no words it's so good. The characters, the struggles, the twist. Dangit I'm in love. I'm ordering the paperback asap. At first I was mad, mad because Blaire wanted Rush even after seeing everything he did and how he treated her but he's good a one and I'm all Team Rush cause I know there gonna be some problems with Cain come March. My fingers are crossed for those two and March can't come fast enough....
Rating: 5