I didn't get it at all why Zoey tried to stay together with Brandon all the time and why she even believed they were together since she knew him and his use-each-woman-only-once-and-discard-her method well before and it was clear that she hooked up with him spontaneously because of her helplessness concerning her family situation. In addition, I really had difficulties to understand what her friends, the twins and others, were talking about, the strange dating conversations she has with them; Zoey's - in my eyes unnecessary - paranoia in the cafeteria and at the swim meetings concerning what the others might say about her puzzled me to no end.
Also I didn't grasp why Zoey obeyed her father so much. What could possibly happen to her if she just defied him? In my head I shouted: "Go, Zoey, talk to the psychologist, buy a car, take that boy to your bedroom. Give your shitty, self-centered father a piece of your mind. In the end he will not care, he has the most to lose (i.e. his face and consequently his smoothly running business) and your mom is a lawyer and will back you up." She never even tested the waters, which was pretty frustrating.
I am a sucker for tormented, sensitive, love-challenged guys, though: I enjoyed the "Desperate-Doug"-moments tremendously, which results in a 3.5 rating. Plus, Doug turned out to be half-Japanese (thus I didn't buy the translucent, green eyes) and I pictured him bone-meltingly drop-dead gorgeous.
And ... although they are always only short, frozen in the middle or switching into something else entirely, I have to admit Jennifer Echols has this talent to cook up incredibly sexy make-out scenes. Care to write an adult novel, Mrs. Echols?
Thank you, Janina, for giving this book to me. I do not consider the reading time wasted.
