Review: The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

 

Goodreads Overview:

Ashton is getting tired of being good, of impressing her parents and playing ideal girlfriend to Sawyer Vincent. Sawyer is perfect, a regular Prince Charming, but when he leaves town for the summer, it’s his cousin Beau who catches Ashton’s eye. Beau is the sexiest guy she’s ever seen, and even though he’s dangerous, Ashton is drawn to him.

Beau loves his cousin like a brother, so the last thing he wants to do is make a move on Sawyer’s girl. Ashton is off-limits, absolutely. That’s why he does his best to keep his distance, even though he’s been in love with her forever. When Ashton wants to rekindle their childhood friendship in Sawyer’s absence, Beau knows he should say no.

Ashton and Beau don’t want to hurt Sawyer. But the more they try to stay away from each other, the more intense their urges become. It’s getting way too hard to resist....

Review:

One of my fellow Book Nerds recommended this book when we were at a convention several years ago. The author was there signing free copies, so I picked one up. I never got around to reading it, so I finally downloaded the audiobook from the library when I was looking for something to listen to.  

Ashton, Sawyer and Beau were best friends growing up, but when Sawyer and Ashton began dating, her relationship with Beau became strained. They were both secretly drawn to each other, but Ashton felt like she had to choose the boy her parents and everyone else approved of. Sawyer is a star athlete from a wealthy family and can provide the type of lifestyle everyone expects her to have. Secretly she is pretending to be someone she isn't just to live up to Sawyer's and everyone else's expectations.

When Sawyer is gone for the summer, Ashton uses the time to rekindle her friendship with Beau. She remembers all of the great times they had growing up and how easy it was to just be herself around him. While people in town think of him as a bad boy because of his parents reputations, there is much more to him than meets the eye. 

Overall, I enjoyed the premise, but felt like the story was forced. The preacher's daughter, bad boy, perfect boyfriend labels were thrown at you every other page. Everything seemed to be exaggerated to play into this narrative including the country bumpkin dialog that was forced on Beau's character. I haven't read any of Abbi Glines's other books, so I don't know if this is a one off that I just didn't connect with, or if her writing style just isn't for me. The book has almost 4 stars of Goodreads, but I only gave it 2 stars. I finished the book, but if someone asks me for book recommendations, this will not be on the list.