Shannon's Reviews > Swink

***Well, here my review is, folks! Beware, I end in a mic drop so... Sorry***

You know how a lot of times when reading a story, there can be that lull between say, 50-70%? You know the one, after the characters finally get together but before the actual drama starts in the form of a climax. Sort of stuck in a lull, the status quo, not rocking the boat and coasting along... Well, to be frank, when reading Swink, I felt like I was stuck in this blank space for the entire book. That may sound harsh, and I'm not trying to be, I'm just trying to portray my thoughts as honestly and bluntly as I can.

As you can see, absolutely everyone, save for basically myself, Wil and 3 or 4 other reviewers has been head over heels in love with this book. Some of you will look at my review and think I'm too critical or have my head up my butt or am just nasty. You know what? Good for you. Think what you wish. If you disagree with me, all the power to you! But I for one was disappointed in this book and let me tell you why.

First off, this relationship has been hinted at since Lincoln's book (book 2, for those of you who don't know. Cam's story is book 5), so this is really not a new idea. With that being said, I expected this story may run parallel with the others or pick up fairly early on in their relationship, but NOPE. It starts when they had already been dating for ten months. Okay...? Where's the fun in that? A romance book for me needs to have that meet cute, those initial butterflies and the warm fuzzy feeling, stupid smiles, staying up late, thinking about the other person, etc. That to me is the best part of the book, and in Swink, it was completely skipped over. But it's not even like we got flashbacks or memories to relive those moments, it just wasn't mentioned. Zip. Nada. Zilch. So this immediately put me off a bit, but don't worry, I'm flexible, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. But then as I kept reading, nothing happened. And I couldn't really understand how I was reading so many pages and going through the chapters but there was nothing happening. Now this brings me to my next point.

Readers love seeing cameos from their favourite characters in previous stories. I'm personally not this type of reader. Anyways, to me this didn't feel like a Camilla and Dominic story. This felt like a Landry Family Special starring Barrett and Alison and Huxley and Lincoln and Danielle and Ryan and Graham and Mallory and Ford and Ellie and Sienna, with side appearances from Camilla and Dominic and Nate. *deep breath, that was a lot*. I kid you not, I was 30% into this book, and the ONLY thing that had happened so far was announcements (babies and marriages all around, oh the joy) from the other characters as it related to their own stories, and a family dinner at the Farm. There wasn't romance, there wasn't character development between the main couple, and there sure as hell wasn't any plot. I didn't read this book because I wanted to catch up with the other siblings, I read this because I wanted to see Camilla's love story, and I felt cheated out of that.

Also, this is a fighter book? News to me. It's barely mentioned. Dom has one fight, it's hardly a big part of the story and he can just walk away from it so easily? A fighter is who you are as a person, not just a hobby. And I for one didn't get the whole alpha vibe on top of that, but I digress.

After I finished this book, I made a point form list of everything that I could think of that happened, and sent it to a fellow blogger who also read Swink. *Note* we both read this book but didn't discuss thoughts or details until we had both finished, as to not sway any opinions, and you know what? We felt the same. So I sent her this point form list, it had, I don't know, ten to twelve or so items on it? From this list, which I included EVERYTHING I could think of (seriously, one of the points was that Dom has a bubble bath), six, I repeat, SIX (half of twelve) had to do with the MCs. So there's already half of the story down the drain with other sibling stuff that I didn't care about. From those six, again,
-Dom had a bubble bath,
-they bang, and
-something about money, all made this list.

I know, I probably sound like an ass right now but I don't really care. Frankly, I love Adriana. I've enjoyed the Landry books that I've read, The Perception was one of my top favourite books of 2016, and I never thought that I'd get to this place with her, but I'm so disappointed in this book.

Authors say that they must be current to stay on the radar of readers, but I'd rather have you put in enough time and effort to produce a complete story instead of a mediocre, rushed one. And in the same note, can you not take a little more time, come up with a solid story, and let readers discover another author in the mean time they might enjoy? It's not a competition, it's not an either or. People love to compare coffee and books, so here it goes. You can get a book from a different author, just as easily as you can get a coffee from a different store. It doesn't mean it changes your preference or favourites, it just means you're *gasp* getting something different that day.

I do not see this as a story. There was no plot, there was minimal romance (and even what was there was hardly believable --- the hero couldn't decide how he felt about the heroine. I'm sorry, you've been together for TEN MONTHS, figure it out, mkay?), and there was plenty of extra shit that I just didn't care about.

So I guess what I'm getting at is:
I read this book.
I wasn't a fan.
This is the last I going to think about it.
I'm going to wipe my hands of it now that I've said what I thought.
I did promise an *honest* review, after all.

So I'm sorry if this seems to mean for anyone or if you think of me as the grinch who stole Christmas because Dom and Camilla were just so swoonworthy in your eyes. I'd have to politely, but firmly, disagree with you.

Adios.
-drops mic-