Book Review: Never Too Far by Abbi Glines

Book: Never Too Far (Rosemary Beach #2; Too Far #2)
Author: Abbi Glines
Published: January 20, 2014
Publisher: Atria Books
Number of Pages: 273
Format: ebook
Source: Library
Rating: 1 Star
Tags: #COYER, Contemporary, Romance, NA, Why?, I'm Pissed at this Book

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Synopsis: He had held a secret that destroyed her world.

Everything she had known was no longer true.

Blaire couldn’t stop loving him but she knew she could never forgive him.
Now, she was back home and learning to live again. Moving on with life… until something happened to send her world spinning once again.
What do you do when the one person you can never trust again is the one that you need to trust so desperately?

You lie, hide, avoid, and pray that your sins never find you out.



 

-MY REVIEW-

Wow... just wow. I... I'm pretty much speechless right now. I mean... people think that he's sexy? I just, I don't know. Maybe I'm not "hip" or "cool enough" to understand how Rush was "cute" and "sexy," but I would like to think that I'm smart enough to realize that Rush was fucking abusive. There. I said it. Rush wasn't sexy in this book, he was fucking scary. 

This is the second book in the Rosemary Beach series and the Too Far series. Blaire has returned to her small hometown after learning the secret that Rush has been keeping from her. Things become complicated when she discovers that she's pregnant. Now she's returned to Rosemary Beach to make a living. But running into Rush makes things more complicated than she could ever imagine. 

Let me rant about Rush. I didn't really like him in book one, mainly due to lifestyle differences, and different views about certain things, but he was fine. I didn't like him, but he seemed like a decent human being. You do you, boo! Then we read through his POV, and I learned that I REALLY didn't like him. Despised him, actually. Mainly because he was overprotective to the point of being borderline abusive. 

"Listen to me, Blaire. If you try to go anywhere, I will chase you down. I will become your shadow I won't let you out of my sight, because I can't live without you."

It was quotes like this that made me want to shove Blaire's pregnant ass into a car, and drive her far away. Nobody should have to worry about leaving, and being stalked because of it. Everything Rush did, he did for himself. He knew that he couldn't go all "caveman" on her, because she would leave him, and he would hurt too much. He never thought about it and though that Blaire wouldn't like it, so he wouldn't do it out of respect for her. No, he didn't want her to leave him. No matter what Rush did throughout the book, he ultimately did it for his happiness. He wanted her so bad, that he literally thought about locking her in his home with him so that nothing could hurt her. Really, Rush? Are you fucking serious? I was really hoping that Glines would pull a 180 and have Blaire realize that she was dating an overprotective douchebag, but alas, that was not meant to be.

If anything, one of the side characters, Bethy, was the saving grace of this book. She actually stood up to Rush, and didn't take any of his BS. I appreciated that, even if she didn't end up helping Blaire as much as I would have liked. If anything, we learned that the vast majority of the males in this series like to own women. I'm serious. "She's mine!" That was the catchphrase of the century in this book. Honestly, all of them were having one night stands (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), but when they get in serious relationships they treated the women like chew toys. Let me give you a hint, the men were acting like dogs, and the women were being blind to it all. I wanted to jump into the book and slap everyone I could find. Because NO. THIS IS AWFUL. WHY DO PEOPLE THINK THAT THIS IS SEXY?

I think that the main thing to take away from this is that it's just a book. Blaire and Rush don't exist, they are fictional. But so many people are put in the same situation as Blaire. They are manipulated, bullied, and guilted into staying with someone who isn't that good for them. If we as a book community set this as the standard of "sexy," and "the cutest relationship I've ever read," what are we teaching the next wave of book lovers that read this series? That the sexiest thing is when a man is so protective and controlling of a woman, that he doesn't want any other guy to talk to her? This all may sound a little dramatic, but I'm worried about this being normalized. Because this isn't normal. This is scary. It's okay to like a book with flaws, but it's important to acknowledged them. So, would I say that Rush is technically abusive in this book? Maybe? I'm not sure. Sometimes I think yes, other times I think maybe no. But even if he wasn't technically abusing her, there were clear cut warning signs of abuse that should have been acknowledged. If you are even considering whether it's an abusive relationship or not, there's probably something that needs to be addressed.  

So over all, I detested this book. While I read it in less than 24 hours, I was so focused on Rush, and how he was treating Blaire, that I wasn't able to enjoy the book. Though, I guess that Glines did her job right, because I immediately checked out the next book to see if Blaire was going to be okay. Should you read this book? It's up to you. While this book had MAJOR flaws (enough that I rated it only a star), it might be an easier read now that you've been warned. 

If you or someone you know is being abused (whether physically, emotionally, or verbally), you can go to the following website for knowledge on what to do.

- The National Domestic Abuse Hotline