Thursday, December 18, 2014

Review of Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things...

Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things To Mend By Katie Finn 

Stars: 2 
Source: Audible 

Gemma didn't plan on spending her summer in the Hampton's, she was suppose to be with her boyfriend, building houses in Columbia, but when her boyfriend of two years dumped her and her Mother revealed her and her new husband were going to be staying in a castle in Scotland for the summer she didn't really have a choice. 

Suddenly Gemma's trading in her sunblock, bug repellent and work boots for bikini's, sunglasses and flip flops. However, her carefree summer in the sun comes to a screeching halt when she realizes that the Bridges family is also spending their summer in the Hampton's. 

After five years of guilt and remorse Gemma finally has the opportunity to apologize and set things right with Hallie and her family but when a case of mistaken identity gives Gemma the second chances she's always wanted she can't pass it up. 

So taking on the role of 'Sophie' Gemma sets out to make things right, to prove to Hallie and by association, her brother, Josh that she's actually a good person. 

But when the lies start building up Gemma can't seem to find the right way to reveal the truth to either one and them without hurting them in the process. 

Will she be forgiven or is revenge best served cold? 

So... This was my first Katie Finn book, I got it a couple months ago with an Audible credit and completely forgot I had it until a few days ago. 

I'm not really sure how I felt about this book, it was 'okay'. I felt like the story was very transparent and immature, like Gemma was still that 11 year old girl, now trapped in the body of a 16 year old. It was extremely predictable and from the first couple of chapters I could see how it was going to end. 

I wasn't to pleased with the 'cliff hanger' ending but it goes to show how much I didn't care when I realized there was a sequel that I had no intention of ever reading. 

I'm hoping that Katie's other books are more my style as I've heard such good things about the books she's written under the name "Morgan Matson" but as for this particular book and series I just wasn't impressed. 

*Spoilers ahead* 

Warning this is going to turn into a very long ramble. I can feel it coming now. 

The ending. 

The ending pissed me off to no end. 

After everything that Gemma did to that girl and her family she is shocked to realize that Hallie has been doing the same thing to her all summer? 

"But we were friends!" 

I have no idea how she said that with a straight face. Yes and you were friends when you stabbed her in the back 5 years ago. Nothing Hallie did effected Gemma's family, her father or his career. Yet Gemma can't seem to wrap her head around why Hallie would be so cruel? Seriously? Pot meet kettle. 

She ruined that poor girls life and she destroyed her mothers career- although I'm 99.9% positive that her mother is the writer of that '50 Shades' wanna be book she still can't write under her real name anymore. 

I think that Gemma deserved everything she got and more. Honestly if I were Hallie I wouldn't have gone as easy on her as she did. 

I hope for the sake of everyone who reads the next book that Gemma grows up a little bit (read A LOT) and realizes that she got exactly what she dished out. 

I think I may have liked this book a little bit more if it had been told from Hallie's point of view. I think she would've had a more adult narrative and it would have been a deeper story than the one we got with Gemma. 

I do feel bad that Josh was hurt in the process of all this but to be honest I didn't like him much to begin with. Honestly none of the characters were very relatable or likable for that matter. 

The only person I really liked was Ford and I'm pretty sure he had all of 10 lines in the entire book. 

I found it odd that she never once heard from her mother while she was in the Hampton's and that her father barley spoke to her. I think if he had been more prominent in the story and perhaps found out about Hallie that would've been at least somewhat entertaining. But he was always flying off to L.A or locked away in his office working, to busy to notice anything Gemma was doing. 

Needless to say I had far too many problems with this book to fully enjoy it. 

Until next time, 
Ginger 

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