Twenty year old Emma hasn’t left the house since she was attacked as a child. Now, with the impending release of her attacker from prison, Emma knows it’s more important than ever for her to regain control of her life. From her unrelenting nightmares, to her strained relationships, to her crippling agoraphobia, Emma feels as though her life is spiraling out of control.
When her professor, Simon Anderson enters her life, Emma must deal with feelings she has never experienced before.
Though both she and Simon know their relationship is bordering on inappropriate, neither of them are able to ignore the intense chemistry that is quickly developing between them.
What was supposed to keep her mind off the attack has left her more confused than ever. When there are so many reasons why you shouldn’t be together, is simply being in love really enough?
Author: Missy Johnson
Title: So Many Reasons Why (So Many Reasons #1)
Genre: Young Adult > Romance > Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: March 2013
Links to Purchase: Amazon
Reviewer: Megan
My Review: 3 out of 5 Stars
This is a rare occasion where there may be a couple of small spoilers because I simply could not avoid them and successfully give me honest review!
This book has so much promise so it disappoints me have to give it only 3 stars. And to be honest if it weren't for the redeeming qualities it did have I'm not sure I would have been able to get through it- and this is difficult for me to say. Okay, so let me see, where should I begin. Lets start with what I liked since that it usually what I do. I liked the premise of the story- Emma's attack, her agoraphobia, her two best friends, the family drama she uncovers... her grandmother! I thought the author did a good job setting up the details of the attack, Emma's reluctance to interact or trust others and so on. However these things led directly into what I didn't like.
First, I was totally confused as to where the author wanted us to think this story was taking place. I kept praying she would mention it because I was baffled by some of the language (slang) being used. She mentioned London and New Zealand, so I thought... oh okay, this must be Europe- which made sense because Emma kept using British or Australian slang (some of which I had no idea what she meant so I had to re-read the sentence or paragraph to try and decipher it) THEN out of no where she starts talking about Kansas and Connecticut. WTF?? And low and behold more than 3/4 of the way through the book we learn Emma lives in New York?? Then why the hell is she talking like she is British or Australian (Mate, Las... it went on and on). I believe I saw the author was from Victoria which I am assuming is British Columbia, so this is probably how she talks. However, as a reader, it was really confusing and the slang should have been more americanized.
Second, It took me a loooooong time to jump on the Fifty Shades bandwagon and I never officially took the leap. I read the first two books and was sooo annoyed 30 pages into the third, that I have yet to finish it. So, when I started seeing words/phrases/behaviors from fifty shades (ie. inner goddess, biting her lip, calling her Miss Mancelli) I was annoyed. I loathed some of these things in Fifty Shades because they were so overused. I will also say, while I don't mind some romance I am not really into erotica AT ALL!!! So when suddenly the book took this turn I was forcing myself through these scenes. Not that they weren't well written, don't get me wrong. They were. The author did a good job portraying erotic, vivid sex scenes, but this is just NOT my thing.
And FINALLY, the part that irked me the MOST... so Emma's attack-her agoraphobia... it all made sense. It was a cool twist and had SO much potential. She was unwilling to trust anyone but her two closest friends, she was fearful of opening the door, she was petrified of the day her attacker would be released from prison. I liked ALL of this. THEN out of no where she sends an email to someone a professor she doesn't know and within hours they are flirting back and forth. She's smitten and crushing on him and acting like a school girl. Okay, still believable I suppose. Then suddenly, in the middle of the night he calls her?????? Wait, didn't she smash her phone that morning? Didn't Tom give her his phone as a replacement?? How the heck would he have her number?? Emma takes this call in stride like it's no big deal... hmmm. Then when he randomly shows up at her apartment she opens and the door and invites him in like they are old friends. Isn't she supposed to be a scared, jumpy, agoraphobic who freaks out when she has to answer the door? And to just let him in? This is where the book pretty much lost me... and it
So on this scenerio continues, progressing very quickly until within a few days she is having this erotic, raunchy sex with a man she barely knows, after being sexually abused years prior that has forced her into hiding. To me, this seems contradictory. While some victims of sexual assault become promiscuous, Emma's behavior just doesn't add up at all and this really bothered me. It became too unbelievable. One minute she's ranting about her attack and agoraphobia and the next she is...well you know. On a final note, I will say that I was glad to see that Emma's problems weren't magically solved by the end of the book... this helped redeem it somewhat, but at the same time, there was one event that was very predictable to me, but I guess we will have to see how it unfolds in the next book.
I will more than likely read the second book in this series because that's how I am.... I just have to finish a story, but I certainly hope some of these things are worked out... well as much as can be at this point.
