Ashleyjo's Reviews > Gable

At only 220 pages, I really wondered how the author was going to pull off a 'hate em before you love em' story here that would even remotely be plausible. Well, props to Harper Bentley cause this author nailed it ... Yeah, yeah... that's whatshe said!

I have found very few NA romances that are above par, mostly because they lack realism or because they're a smut plot that's incongruently laden in juvenile antics and voices. So, don't let the NA classification scare you off here... That is if you don't mind a college setting. This book is a college setting & the voices and interactions reflect such.

I'm surprised at the low ratings. I've read some bad shiznet, and this really doesn't deserve to be lumped in with 1 & 2 star books. You want one of those try my recent DNF "Kiss a Stranger" by RJ Lewis that was so horrible I bet the author's computer had an STD and PTSD after keying it out.

Onward...


Gable can be a real douche at times. It's clear his mouth is ahead of his brain more often than not. This leads to the female MC, Scout, being hurt and confused through a lot of the book. It's easy to hate his ass & her for wanting him. But, actions also often speak louder than words. For example, the decision he made in the car after their haunted house trip was one that respected her as someone he didn't want to hurt and his own obvious conflicted feelings. In looking beyond just his words, I was able to connect with him and get that his words were often a blanket he hid under. If words, dialogue alone propel your likes and dislikes character wise & you aren't a reader that looks at intent, then you could easily hate Gable. Maybe this ^ explains the low ratings?!?

While this book doesn't have a lot of explicit sex (two & one sexting scene) or rock your world FSOG moments (NONE), it has a little something in all the other departments.


Angst: Poor Scout was just a mess, & damn if I wouldn't have been too. Gable was one confusing sexy arse Mf.

Mystery: Scout has an anonymous pen pal assignment; she's #6 and he's #4. The author did a great job with 'does he or does he not know'... I was damn sure he knew... Then I wondered if maybe he had someone else doing his assignment for him... Then I was absolutely positive he did know.., Then I considered maybe he really didn't know after all. ~ Oh, and the truth will set you free!

Humor: There were plenty of offhand humorous banter moments, a couple of cute what the F kinda scenes, a lot of sexual innuendo, some tit for tat emails and texts, and a quirky gay dude in Victoria Secret to round out the angsty end of the romantic plot:)

Now, for my complaints:(

I would've preferred to have Gable's POV beyond the very short epilogue. Since he took off twice, it would've been nice to have at least a little perspective on the shit he was mentally working out, and I think this would have prevented a lot of the negative ratings by helping readers better understanding Gable through words. I can use my imagination and deductive reasoning skills on his part, but I don't want to; that's why I'm reading, not writing or daydreaming.

Given the amount of sexual innuendo and self-proclaimed Sex God label, it would've also been nice to have a better feel for if and why the label is applicable!!!?!???!! You feel me? Yeah, yeah... that's what she said !

I loved the farm scene, but the resolution felt a tad bit rushed. A better, more thorough dialogue of 'why' at the farm & a broader epilogue for the future would've made the story more complete for me. I got the gist...just felt rushed.

4 1/2 stars for writing, characters, and plot. Complaints= Minus 1 star, leaving a 3 1/2 star book rating IMHO.