Reading is like breathing...

2 stars**DNF at 60 %. I think my pic is more entertaining than the book.**Review posted May 10, 2013

As a side note
My review of Down London Road is negative. Recently I have been accused of bullying for posting another negative review. Again, reading and reviewing is a very subjective matter. A review reflects my opinion. It reflects my feelings and it will always reflect why I enjoyed a book or why I didn't like it. Besides, I'm living in a democratic country and if I remember correctly then we're living and breathing our statutory right called "FREEDOM OF SPEECH". With that said, I would appreciate it immensely when those authors and readers who don't appreciate my take on a book would stop wasting their time by reading my reviews and posting vicious comments. Thank you.

Just to make this very clear: it was NOT Samantha Young who accused me of bullying, however, I wanted to add this side note to my review to point out that I have a right to express my honest opinion. 







Jo's mother is unbelievable. Enough said. Maybe I could add that I'm going to dedicate a special shelf to...what's her name...? Can't even remember her name anymore. You can't blame me, though, because she is so forgettable. 




**My review contains spoilers!**


I bought Down London Road on a whim and I must admit it was a mistake. The first 10 % of the plot were incredibly BORING. It picked up a bit but I never really got invested in the story. When I read...

"You were a lot more loquacious last time we spoke."
Cam raised an eyebrow. "Loquacious? Does someone have a Word of the Day calendar?"

"A heads-up." Cam's deep voice washed over me. "So you're not too disappointed that Disney lied--no matter how much you wish it, I'll still be here when you open your eyes."
"I forgot to say condescending," I muttered unhappily. "Despicable, judgmental, self-righteous, obnoxious, condescending fuckwit."

…I really thought we were on the right path. Was I ever wrong though.

Let's talk about inconsistencies. Our heroine is twenty-four years old, however, I wanted to yell at her to grow up already. She is responsible for her wee brother's well-being, she looks after him and does a fairly good job as far as I can judge, but at the same time she comes across as insecure, whiny, needy, and totally immature. She is even bad-mouthing herself. Can you believe it?

"It's just part of being in a relationship with a guy who has money. I'm not good at many things, Joss. I'm not a scholar like Ellie or a writer like you. I'm a girlfriend. I'm a good girlfriend and my boyfriend likes to show his appreciation by being generous with his money."
(….)
"One: There's much more to you than that. Two: Do you realize you pretty much described yourself as a glorified whore?"

Why she felt a sting of tears in her eyes is beyond me when she belittled herself all the time. Grow a pair already!

Riiiight. So, our heroine who has a major history of hooking up with rich men is not good at many things but she is a good girlfriend. Not a bit of it! The money issue bugged me. Granted, Malcolm didn't pay her bills but there's no getting round to state the fact that the money was on her mind. I felt it was some kind of golden parachute; the dough just kept lurking in a corner of her mind. Well, I guess you need to keep 'em warm, right? *rolls eyes*

I don't know why anyone would call his lover "boyfriend" if you are not in love with him. Let's be honest, I call that an occasional f@ck buddy. Come to think of it, she doesn't even spend the night with her "boyfriend" because after the deed is done she is leaving his flat to go home to her brother and mom. They tell each other "I care about you." Um…I care about my nice furniture as well. And I swear I really did care about my hamster when I was a kid. Sorry for being a tiny bit sarcastic, but there is a difference between caring for someone and loving someone. It was very obvious that she didn't love him and she didn't want him anymore. She was, however, way too chickenshit to address the issue.



I must admit the "mental" cheating was crap-tastic! Congrats, Jo, you outdid yourself! Seriously? The sex must have been very boring (or the man) when you need to think about another guy to get off. Can't remember that I've had another dude on my mind while in the throes of passion. Besides, she hasn't dumped her so-called boyfriend and yet she has no shame whatsoever to spend time and have fun with Cam. Plus, she was shamelessly lying to herself and to her friends all. The. Time. Does she not have any self-respect? PATHETIC. Of course that goes the other way round too. Right, Cam?

My own hand smoothed over my stomach, slipping under my pajamas and knickers so I could bring myself to climax, fantasizing about Cam screwing me against Su's desk.
I muffled my moan as I came and once the tremors stopped, I curled into my side, guilt cascading over me once again.
I was a terrible girlfriend.

I couldn't agree more!

…I did the unthinkable. I closed my eyes and imagined Cam.
I came each time.
Malcolm took this to mean he and I were back on track and whatever had been bothering me before was dealt with.
I was an awful, awful person.
Yup. My world was full of color. Red for want. Yellow for shame. Green for jealousy.

I have to admit there are times when I truly feel ashamed to be a part of the female species when I have to make the acquaintance of women the likes of Jo. 

Imagine, Jo is jealous of Becca. She'd rather mind her own bloody business! *shakes head disbelievingly*

I coughed up the lie quite easily these days. "Of course. I'm with Malcolm. Why?"
(…)
"Because it definitely sounds like Cam's too busy shagging some noisy bird to want to have coffee with us."
My whole body froze as I stared at my brother, my heart pounding, a horribly uneasy feeling in my stomach as jealousy seized hold of me.

Friendly advice, Jo, if it's not to your liking anymore then call it quits. But. Please. Act. On. It. Don't wait until the situation is escalating. Stilted drama, anyone? Honestly, and then when they did split up (at 45 %) poor Malcolm--who I really liked up until that incident--told her he would be waiting for her when the other guy would dump her. He seriously told her he would take her back. WTF? Does he want to be her doormat? *serious headdesk moment* It's safe to say that my appreciation for Malcolm went down the drain at that very moment. He must have been incredibly desperate to articulate such nonsense. Uh-huh…dump him and jump the other guy's bones within…hmmm…how many minutes? Is this woman for real? She deserves a f@@@ing gold medal. And Jo should spare me her guilt trips. *insert major eye roll moment* 

Shortly after, Jo and Malcolm happily exchanged texts in secret.

Cam cocked his head to the side. "Female logic. It needs its own decipher code."

I sure as hell need a decipher code to understand Jo.

The long legs and the hardening, tightening and pebbling nipples were all over the place. And let's not forget that bloody fake giggle. Repetitiveness, much?

What I liked
Be Caledonia. That was lovely.


Overall the book was a huge disappointment. It provided too much stilted and forced drama, an extremely unlikable heroine, an even more extremely unlikable mother (yes, I need to borrow Lenore's gun) and the sex didn't do anything for me. At. All. Additionally I didn't feel their chemistry, the plot was mostly boring and the writing rather uninspiring. In conclusion, I'm going to return the book to Amazon for a refund because I didn't get my money's worth. I'm not willing anymore to pay Euro 8.52 for a bad ebook.



This might as well be another case of "It's not the book, it's me."Though it's safe to say it wasn't my cuppa. Just read it and I hope you'll end up enjoying it. Good luck!