Kassiah's Reviews > Drowning in You

Flounced.

This review also appears on Fictionators.

I have a bunch of notes in my kindle about this book, and most of them are WTF?!? and lots of this is stupids. When I started reading Drowning in You , Erin either tweeted or texted me, laughing and saying she couldn't wait to see what I thought of this one. I wish I had taken that as a sign and just...stopped right then. Because this one is a clusterfuck.

The summary is actually pretty good. Dexter was operating the controls on the ski lift when Charlee's parents are in a terrible accident, resulting in her father being critically injured and several people dying, including her mother. Charlee has been in love with Dexter for years, but he's never noticed her. Dexter has diabetes, but he doesn't do a very good job of controlling it and frequently has incidents, for lack of a better word. Because I don't know how else to describe whateverinthehell happens to him. Oh, and he's wanted her forever, too, but knows he's not good enough, so he never tried anything with her, and now he can't ever even imagine a life with her, you know, since he killed her parents and all.

The plot for this story was dumb. First of all, I find it very difficult to believe that a twenty-year-old boy who was operating the controls on a ski-lift would be able to cause the total system failure that happened here. I looked it up, and when I realized that I was doing more research than the author obviously had done, I quit. Secondly, there was some question over whether or not Dexter uses drugs (because apparently, no one really knows he has the horrible diabetes! much better to imagine him a junkie *rolls eyes*). There is no way in hell that they wouldn't have done a drug test on the operator of the ski-lift right away.

Charlee is ridiculous and totally flighty. She's twenty, not sixteen. She resents her parents because now she has to help take care of her little brother, Darcy. They are insanely rich and have a maid and (I think) a nanny. She tells Dexter that he can "do" her, then go back to the girl that is basically his Friend with Benefits. Every Charlee-POV chapter ends with her thinking about Dexter killing her parents. Then, there's this:

So, what? I have feelings for my parents' killer.

I run to the bathroom near the pool house, hearing my cell pinging with notifications from Rosa but I drop that on the way because I can't stand imagining all the things she's saying to me. This house is so cold now and the wind I create as I dart for the shower sends chills over my skin. They settle on my bones and I'm shaking again. I turn the water on full hot. Steam curls and climbs up the glass walls. I lock the door, step out of my suit and let the water burn my skin.

I would just like to point out that she just dropped her phone and ran away and hid from it. Her phone. And that's when I flounced.

Then there's the supposed love triangle that kind of happens here. Dexter's best friend, Elliot, meets Charlee and is instantly smitten. Elliot tells Dexter that he met a girl, named Charlee. Now, I don't know about you, but Charlee doesn't seem to be the most popular name (especially for a girl) on the planet to me. Add to that that his best friend was involved in an epic tragedy that has left everyone in their small town hating him, and I would think that Elliot would at least wonder if this were the same Charlee. Also, Charlee has been obsessed with Dexter for five years. You'd think she would have noticed his best friend who is always with him a time or two. The whole idea that everyone wouldn't know everyone involved is just asinine.

And don't even get me started on her dad. Just believe me, you don't even want to know.

The sucky, disjointed plot, atrocious editing, and dumb character actions aren't all that I hated about this book. There are things like this, too:

I'd rather not see her now. She's a poisonous animal in my world--the type of animal who rocks bright colors and is utterly irresistible to other wildlife until the prey gets cocky and wants that stunning animal for itself and then dies from her poison.

Um...

I don't know who these supposed "beta readers" (Beth Horwood, Emily Mah Tippetts, and Lauren McKellar) or the "editor", Tanya Saari, think they are, but they should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this product to go out with their "professional" stamps on it. Really, ladies, shame. on. you. For the record, Rebecca Berto is also a "freelance editor." I would suggest if you were thinking of hiring any of them, don't.

Trust me, Fictionees. You don't want to waste your time reading this. If you do it anyway, don't say I didn't warn you.