Taking Chances

Taking Chances #1

by Molly McAdams

Her first year away is turning out to be nearly perfect, but one weekend of giving in to heated passion will change everything.

Eighteen-year-old Harper has grown up under the thumb of her career marine father. Ready to live life her own way and to experience things she's only ever heard of from the jarheads in her father's unit, she's on her way to college at San Diego State University.

Thanks to her new roommate, Harper is introduced to a world of parties, gorgeous guys, family, and emotions. She finds herself being torn in two as she quickly falls in love with both her new boyfriend, Brandon, and her roommate's brother, Chase. Despite their dangerous looks and histories, both men adore Harper and would do anything for her, including taking a step back if it would mean she'd be happy.

Genres: Romance, New Adult, Contemporary, Young Adult, College, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit

466 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 16, 2012

About the author

Molly grew up in California but now lives in the oh-so-amazing state of Texas with her husband, daughter, and fur baby. When she's not diving into the world of her characters, some of her hobbies include hiking, snowboarding, traveling, and long walks on the beach … which roughly translates to being a homebody with her hubby and dishing out movie quotes. She has a weakness for crude-humored movies and loves curling up in a fluffy comforter during a thunderstorm ... or under one in a bathtub if there are tornados. That way she can pretend they aren't really happening.

Reviews

[Ava · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never - never - been more enraged in a book.

I didn't finish reading it. I quit at about sixty percent and skimmed the rest. I couldn't bear to do it. I'm not brave enough. The book outraged me. You're going to be hearing a lot of these words, so prepare yourself.

Synopsis

TAKING CHANCES is incredibly cliché and must've been done a billion times before. A lot of 'New Adult' books simply follow the same trend, but the only one I've found worth reading is Easy.

The book follows Harper, an eighteen-year old who needs to be featured on Breaking Amish. She's homeschooled, lives with her father (she calls him 'Sir') on the base, and her best friends are a bunch of young Marines.

She's basically missed out on everything girls her age should've at least done, and decides to go to college at San Diego State University to escape her controlled life. She quickly befriends her roommate - a kind-hearted promiscuous girl who's brother, Chase, is a hot underground fighter.

After introducing Harper to Chase and Brandon (another fighter), Harper turns into a party-girl and ends up in the most ridiculous love triangle I've ever read with Chase and her boyfriend Brandon. A night of lustful passion ends up completely turning Harper's life around.

Basically, that means that Harper cheats on her boyfriend Brandon and has sex - twice - with Chase. Without protection, since she claims she doesn't care and just needs him. Now, darlings, what sometimes happens when someone has sex without taking a birth control pill or using protection?

Harper ends up pregnant. What else? Of course, she's shocked and sickened that she's knocked up. Meanwhile I'm just laying on my bed trying hard not to laugh. What the fuck did this girl expect?

And while she's doing it with Chase, she actually has the fucking nerve to think:

"I wasn't meant to do this with Brandon."

AHAHAHAHA, what the hell is wrong with this woman?

The phrase "I love you" is used over one hundred and nineteen times, and over seventy of them are Harper telling Brandon and Chase she loves them - or Brandon and Chase telling Harper they love her, after they've learned she cheated on them.

Let that sink in for a moment.

ONE HUNDRED AND NINETEEN.
ONE HUNDRED AND NINETEEN.
ONE HUNDRED AND NINETEEN.

Are you kidding me? Every other page, it's SOMEBODY going on about how much they wuvvvvv Harper.



Throughout TAKING CHANCES, various women try to steal Chase or Brandon from Harper by sending nude pictures and such. One night, Harper finds Chase in bed with another woman and refuses to believe him when he tells her that he genuinely doesn't know what's happening. This is around the time when Chase and Harper are sort of planning to live together and get married for their baby and what not.

You'd think that Harper would actually wise up and realize that's she's surrounded by a bunch of jealous bitches who want to steal her popularity and her men, according to her, but she's too stupid to think for one moment. So the first thing Harper thinks when she sees Chase and the girl is:

"I recoiled at the thought of him asking me to marry him while he'd been cheating on me."

What. The. Actual. Fuck.

She has absolutely no right to fly into a rage because he'd "supposedly" been cheating on her. She did it, many times, and still has no regrets because she was "in love with Chase and Brandon", and apparently that makes it all better.

"I was more in love with Chase than I realized, but I couldn't live without Brandon."

That is the biggest load of bullshit I've read all year.

And Chase actually ends up dying - so not expecting that - when he runs a red light and hits a semi-truck trying to prove that he didn't cheat on Harper.

TAKING CHANCES continues with Harper's pregnancy and the aftermath of Chase's death. She turns to Brandon when Chase dies, and seemingly doesn't give a shit after that. Everything she does is supported by "Chase would've wanted this," when if I was Chase I would've been like this:



Harper ends up getting married to Brandon at nineteen (or twenty, I forgot), and her child is born alongside Chase and Brandon's happy families.

Two months after Chase died.

TWO MONTHS. His family got over it so quickly! And they encouraged Harper to move in with Brandon as soon as possible, which makes no effing sense.

By the way, you ought to know that Brandon's family was not the least bit upset when they discovered she cheated on him and wasn't pregnant with Brandon's child.

Harper gets knocked up by Brandon- this time before she's twenty-two, I believe, and Chase is referred to as "Uncle Chase" by Harper's children. This is wrong. Even if Brandon is the one of the child's adopted father, Chase is not some random dead uncle - HE ONE OF THE CHILDREN'S FATHER.



Characters

Harper "Harpy" (I call her that) is a disgusting hypocrite, and for someone who grew up under her father's thumb, she sure grows up pretty fast. Despite no previous sexual experience, of course she's amazing in bed.

Seems legit.

Obnoxious, unlikable, immature, naïve, snobby - this only begins to describe her. Everyone - and I do mean everyfuckingone - adores and loves and CHERISHES Harpy for reasons unknown to me. She gets away with everything, and people worship the ground she walks on. Every man who sees her falls head-over-heels in love with her, because she's supposed to be "perfect".

SPESHUL SNOWFLAKE.

She thinks of marrying both Brandon and Chase so often in such a short period of time it made me sick. One day she's in love with Brandon, the next she's making out with Chase and confessing her love, and then a week later she's telling Brandon how she won't be able to survive without him.

Apparently, she is the most beautiful girl anyone has ever seen, and the lengths taken to empathize her perfection are enraging and unreal.

"[...] everyone said I was the cutest pregnant woman they'd seen. My legs and arms hadn't changed a bit, my hips were not even a fraction of an inch wider, the only difference was my chest and stomach [...] I looked like a normal Harper again... until I turned to the side or faced front."

Somehow I really fucking doubt that. You can't get pregnant, have the baby, and look exactly the same - like a petite Victoria's Secret model, mind you - the next day. It's impossible and incredibly stupid.

She calls every single girl who lays an eye on her two men sluts, whores, tramps, skanks - anything she can possibly make up.

"I didn't recognize you without that tramp on your arm."
"Go find another brainless bimbo to screw."
"You really thought you could marry a whore?"
“Oh I'm sorry, but I don't have any STDs. I'm not your type.”

And I really hate saying this (as someone who fights for equality it pains me to write this), but if anyone is a slut, it's Harpy. Not because she wears short clothing or sleeps around without a partner, but because she bounces back and forth between love interests and leads them on. Being "in love" with the man you cheated on doesn't grant you a free pass to "it's fucking fine" land, you idiot. She does end up continuously cheating on both boys for weeks.

Plus, she keeps on claiming that her child is in her stomach.



I'm pretty sure I lost brain cells reading this.

Harpy spends most of her time feeling bad for herself and her woe-is-me attitude got annoying real fast. She even compared herself to Elena from The Vampire Diaries, which really was the last straw. How could this girl even begin to even- UGH. UGH. UGH.

Chase was a typical douchebag with absolutely nothing charming about him. He screwed girls on his couches, not his bed or even his room, because of course, they're too shitty for that. Chase was about as unsexy as you could get, and as typical bad boys do, he went mad without Harpy. His favorite thing to do was preach about how "special" and "different" she was. He was possessive, controlling, and I absolutely hated him. He even tried to pull the "you-can't-wear-this" card on Harpy like Travis from Beautiful Disaster.



Brandon is dull, boring, and supposed to be sweet. Now typically, I'll always fall for a properly-written gentleman, but Brandon is just... plain. I don't know what anyone saw in him. And he was too nice to Harpy - trust me, if I found out she'd cheated on me, I'd be so much more upset. He forgave her so fast it was unbelievable. After all her crap he suffered through to discover she was pregnant with another man's child? I would've been pissed.



The surrounding characters blend together and have no importance in my mind. And everyone is rich and has money and faces no problems in freaking life except for love triangles and cheat-babies. Don't forget that every friend of Harpy's is stunningly beautiful, too!

Oh, and WHITE.

They're all gorgeous, rich white People with a billion people in love with them.

Writing
Simply put, terrible. Various commas were missing when they should have been included, the dialogue is very stiff and unnatural (I mean honestly. What teenager regularly uses the term 'oh my word' anymore?) the style itself was dull and odd, and am I the only one who doesn't see people's eyes darken?

I'M SO SERIOUS.

When have you ever seen a guy's eyes turn a darker color when they're angry or passionate? I have never seen this shit. Will authors please stop making character's eyes do crazy stuff that... isn't... real.


Yes, those are actually MY eyes from my vlog review of TAKING CHANCES. Make it a meme!

Unless they have an eye disorder or some funky disease, normal people's eyes don't darken on cue. Stop this stupidity. Seriously. Stop.

STAHP.

Wrap-up

This book made me very upset, most of all. I can't believe that Harper is probably an inspiration or something to people. Her life had a happy ending that she never deserved in the first place.

And look, I get it. There are books about cheating, and I'm not so furious at the cheating part of it, because, well... that's what it's about. People doing stupid things. I'm mad because the main character doesn't even think about what she's going to do, does it without regrets, and spends the whole rest of the book bitching, being a hypocrite, and blaming everyone else.

We should be able to sympathize but not like or forgive the main character when she does this, and we should feel for the men she cheated on. But TAKING CHANCES acts like it's not a problem to do these things.

In fact, it glorifies it. Teenage pregnancy? Check that, or check it twice, actually. Teenage marriage? Check. Slut-shaming? Check. Adultery? How about a check for that.

Unlikable characters, amateur writing, angering messages, selfless slut-shaming, an unoriginal plot make TAKING CHANCES one of my least favorite reads of the year. Or my life.

It practically screams YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE SO SCREW IT UP WHILE YOU CAN



"TAKING CHANCES" = cheating on your boyfriend and getting pregnant, and basically causing the lover's death.

[Donna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Non spoiler review – Spoiler review at the very bottom, but you will have enough time NOT to read it.

TEAM CHASE!!!!

I finished this book 8 hours ago and I was hoping once I had a few hours to think about the events that happened, I would have a different opinion. Well, 8 hours later and I still feel the same. When I started Taking Chances, I was really looking forward to it and you know what, it was so damn good too. Within 4% of reading, I was hooked. It had similarities to Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire but was unique in its own way and I loved it.

The story starts with Harper starting college and while there she meets Chase and Brandon, two extremely hot guys who she has a deep connection with. She starts dating Brandon but can’t get Chase out of her mind and one night she gives into her passion with Chase and that changes her life forever.

I could not put the first half of this book down, it was so addicting, hot and intense – all the things I love about a novel. I enjoyed it that much I even started adding bookmarks to my pages in my kindle, so I could go and re-read them at some point, and yes most of them where of Harper and Chase. I was rooting for this two and they had to go through so many obstacles, the main one being Brandon. To start with I was unsure who would be a better person for Harper but you once you start reading about Chase, you just can’t get him out of your head.

Now I bet you’re wondering why I only rated this book one star? To be honest, I’ve been going back and forth from a 1 to 2 to 4 and now I’m back to 1. Around 50% of the book, something happens and because of what’s happened, it changed everything for me. I cannot get my head around why the author thought it was okay to make readers invested and care for her characters and then snatch it all away with an event that seemed, in my opinion, pointless and unnecessary. Maybe she was going for the shock factor? – Well if she was, she won! I need a new word for shocked! I cried, I almost threw my kindle, I was gobsmacked. I just couldn’t believe it! I felt like my heart was pulled out of my chest – it hurt that much. Once this event happened, the book became very predictable – you just know what she was planning to do and where the story would lead and I didn’t like it! I ended up skimming the last 40% because everything I loved about the first part of the book….was gone. The characters I was invested in and loved…was gone. So really what was the point of me reading anymore?

Now I hear the author is doing a book from Chase's point of view and while I’m intrigued to read it, I have to ask myself if I will ever it? Well….probably not! Why? Because it’s pointless! What’s the point of starting to fall for him all over again only for it to be taken away? It broke my heart once; I won’t let it happen again. =(

This book easily could have become a favourite of mine but because of the direction the author took this book, I didn’t like it. If anything, I became frustrated, angry and mad – even more so as time passed, and I like to enjoy my reading not be a blubbering mess. I don’t like rating books poorly, but I have to be honest and even if you read this book, and don’t agree with me – that’s okay because I hope you love this book - I just couldn’t.

If you don’t want to read my spoiler review aka a major rant (lol) then please stop reading!
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Grrrrr! I’m so, so frustrated, angry, mad, sad and so frigging annoyed. This so called ‘Event’ I’ve been talking about? Well, she kills off Chase! She kills him! I can’t believe it. I’m 50% through the book and I’m so excited because Chase and Harper are having a baby together. Yea a baby, and it’s such a great story because I’m rooting for them so bad. But then, there are a number of things that set off this tragic event, first some girl claims that Chase has cheated on Harper with her, when really CHASE WOULD NEVER DO THAT! Not only that but Harper thinks things are weird and you know deep down she know he would never do it, but yet she chooses to believe it. So an angry Chase sets out to prove her wrong, he runs a red light and gets frigging killed and the worse thing – she’s 5 and half months pregnant. Talk about heart-breaking! I know Harper still loved Brandon but she loves Chase too and come on, at least kill off Brandon – the guy that no-one is rooting for! It’s just frustrating to no end and I’m that frustrated with this book that I honestly wish I had never read it.

Don’t get me wrong, the author is a good writer and she nails the hot and steamy scenes but what was she thinking when she wrote this? I know it all comes down to Harper was always meant to be with Brandon but Chase got in the way but I don’t buy it. I think Harper could have been happy with Chase but it was taken away by him being killed off. So you can pretty much guess what happens next? Harper runs back into Brandon’s open arms (even though she did cheat on him and Chase’s family support her for going back to him) and yeah all is forgotten. They raise the baby – who by the way the name after Brandon’s father – which is just wrong. At least call him Chase seems as he is the father (actually he does have Chase as his middle name but it’s not the point) and not only that when the boy is old enough, he visits Chase’s grave and calls him Uncle Chase. WTF! I’m not trying to be mean but I’m trying to get my feelings out about this book and when like I said before, when I’m invested into a character and it’s taken away from me so unexpected, how am I supposed to feel?

The more I think about this book the angrier I get so I’m not going to say no more! Thanks for listening to my rant <3

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alright, *cracks knuckles* let's do this.
Taking Chances was like reading Beautiful Disaster all over again. I was past being annoyed. Every single person and event in this book set me off. This book had me laughing... at it, not with it.

Harper is one of the most throat punching females I've read in the longest. She comes from a very sheltered background. VERY ridiculously sheltered. Girl hasn't even gone to a mall before. Yeah, I don't believe it either. I get that your dad is a strict marine guy, but I can't understand why he would want to keep her from a mall. Makes no sense. Then Harper is the type of girl that EVERY guy wants. Every guy must have her. If you've read any NA you know what I'm talking about. When this occurs in books I get so annoyed. Every guy within a ten mile radius turns into a giant caveman just knowing she is close. All the guys that are falling head over for her are dying too: take care of her, protect her, declare their love for her; all while being un-deserving of her at the same time. Why all these men are doing this is beyond me. Harper is boring as watching paint dry. She has no personality and no depth. On to Chase, the tattooed bad boy from the right side of the tracks. He is of course a man-whore, rebel, tough guy. He slores around campus and the ladies just love him and his arrogant ways. Now Brandon. Good god help me. McAdam's had to top the bad boy so she just takes Chase and decides "hey how can I make him better? Give him an amazing personality? Ha, no that would be ridiculous... I'll just make him a hotter version". So what does she do? She of course makes him a quick tempered underground mma street fighter *cough beautiful disaster cough*. She doesn't stop there though she gives him grey eyes... but grey eyes aren't enough! His eyes change colors!!!!! He literately has all the eyes yall! Like I know this is a real thing that can happen... but it's really not at the same time.

So as you can guess there's a love triangle between the three of them. The first 200 plus pages are Chase and Brandon dick measuring, fist fighting, pounding their chest, and practically peeing on Harper to mark their turf. Someone is either punching someone or running off in tears. You're probably thinking at this point that Harper is just going to bounce back and forth between the dudes... You're wrong. She starts dating Brandon but is sleeping with Chase... Cool your jets it's not a spoiler. This is where the story goes from bad to worse. The plot starts spiraling out of control.

This is where I start rambling and dropping spoilers! Look away if you don't wanna know.

So Harper is cheating on Brandon and gets knocked up by Chase. She doesn't tell anyone but his family! WHO DON'T EVEN TELL HIM!!! LIKE WTF MOM AND DAD!? Then she sees Chase tell him she broke up with Brandon days ago-which is a lie- continues to keep the baby a secret- finally breaks up with Brandon- Chase stumbles upon the ultra sound because Harper is living with his family. Not him just his family. He gets all lovey and of freaking course wants to marry her. So they start becoming legit and things start to actually get kind of cute, but that last all of like two seconds. A random girl is introduced at the shop Chase works at (failed to mention as a college student he somehow managed to become a full time tattoo artist). So of course this girl is hell-bent on breaking the two up so you guessed it she drugs him at a party, takes pictures of them together, and sends them to Harper. This of course send Harper into a jealous rage. (Don't worry Brandon is there to be a shoulder to cry on) She has a moment with Brandon decides to put on her big girl panties and face Chase. Even though Chase swears he never did anything and doesn't remember it happening Harper still dumps him and says she needs space. He says he loves her and will give her time... He then leaves the house... you flip the page only to find out in the first paragraph that he died right after leaving the house! WTF. Seriously goes straight from the fight to wham dead. This is what really did it in for me... because at this point in time I'm solely reading so I can be fully pissed... After he dies home-girl goes back to Brandon!!! Like with no time passing at all. Chase's family actually convinces her to do it! STFU right???  Wait for it.... Now after all this Harper gets pregnant again. This time it really is Brandon's... here it comes. THE KIDS END UP CALLING CHASE UNCLE CHASE!!!!!!!! UNCLE CHASE!!!! Uncle. Chase. GTFOOH!!!!

If Brandon and Chase were characters in a different book, with different settings, and a different plot then they might have stood a chance. I'll be real; I didn't love them but they were alright. Harper and the plot were my biggest issues. I heard this was a huge tear jerker and one of the best NA books... I mean shoot just look at the ratings... But I was highly highly disappointed.

There's no doubt McAdam's can write. I hope to pick up stories from her in the future and actual enjoy it.

[Dianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not in the mood for an in depth review right now. I'm so devastated. My heart is crushed to its core. A beautiful story and a lovely ending but I can't seem to accept the bittersweet truth of it all.
Because I was shocked... utterly shocked! The twist is an uber blow, I swear I didn't see it coming.

So allow me to show you how I felt..

I was like this...


And this..


Then this...



I'm glad Brandon and Harper have their happy ending... But is it so wrong to wish one for Chase?

I'm sorry but all I have right now is the sheer disappointment for the story. It has great potential, only if it was told in a different way. And I'm tired of hearing people say that "It's the reality of life, somehow we have to deal with it." Grrrrrr! I want to tell them can't you see how it made me feel? Now would you say that to yourself if you are in Harper's place? That's why I think the plot is unforgivable. If you want to torture yourself, go read it. But if you want to save yourself from the all the trouble, I'd support you all the way. I don't want to give away the story but I just want to make you guys think first before reading this. It will be tough if you go in blind.

If you don't want to read the BIG SPOILER you can stop here..

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If you're reading this I want to tell you in advance that the love interest, the gorgeous, hot, sweet, loving Chase was killed! I'm sorry but I'm just frigging mad I even bothered reading this. It would've been better if the author didn't make the readers love Chase, if she wrote it in such a way that you would hate him. But it wasn't that way! She made Chase's character seem lovable and not to mention there was too much effort in his character development. So I thought he was the one! And just when you start loving and swooning over him, something happens, then BAM! Everything goes down the drain. Your hopes, dreams, expectation comes tumbling down. It was an absurd effort to stir the reader's emotion but all it does was make you miserable.

I was so happy about how their love story turns out. I was like "Wow! They're getting married soon and they're going to have a baby! So excited!" But then 50% through the book, he died in a freaking ACCIDENT His death wasn't even given enough justice! One minute they were having an emotional fight, then he died the next page! To tell the truth I was asking myself, "Is this real?!" Because killing the love interest is unbelievable! Preposterous! Yup Brandon is still there but how about the guy who blew me away the first time I read about him??! How can the characters, especially Harper, move on that fast?! How can she be with Brandon as if nothing happened?!

Again, I apologize for the major ranting or shall I say outburst. I just need to vent this.

I heard the author will write the story in Chase's POV..
Well....



There's no way I'm going to break my heart again. I don't want to torture myself any further than I already have.

“That first night, I did realize I would never meet another girl like you. But you deserve someone who has waited for you as long as you have waited for them. And no matter how much I wish I could be that guy, I can't Harper."-Chase

.. Ugh...I miss him...
I think I need a support group for this book. I'm extremely pissed.



xoxo

[Tough Critic Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book should come with a warning label...

I'm scared of bananas. True story. I'm absolutely terrified of a yellow fruit shaped like a penis...I feel sorry for inanimate objects. I once bought the ugliest bird shaped candle just because I was afraid nobody else would. I named him Herbert...I think that every time someone renews their driver's license they should be required to take a test on the rules of a four-way stop...I've never kissed a girl and I'm pretty sure I'm the only human being with a vagina that DOESN'T think Jensen Ackles is hot!!

What does all of this have to do with Taking Chances? Abso-f**king-lutely nothing!! I'm just desperately trying to get this book out of my head. I can't get it out! GET IT OUT! My head is like f**king Alcatraz! Every thought, every feeling, every emotion for the past twenty four hours can be traced back to this book. I haven't stopped thinking about Taking Chances since the moment I finished!

The book started off as a cross between Thoughtless and Beautiful Disaster. That's one helluva literary cocktail. I'll take two! But eventually the story completely evolved into something totally unique. A story that left me emotional incontinent.

Molly McAdams didn't just go all "Temple of Doom" and rip out my heart! She ripped it out, played hacky sack with it for a bit, then attempted to kiss it and make it better. HELL NO! You almost destroyed me, but it hurt so good!!

Taking Chances is almost like having two books in one. I felt like I was reading a book that was immediately followed by its sequel. I totally loved that, but it did kind of make the ending drag on. Maybe by that point I was just too emotionally exhausted, but I feel it could have been edited and trimmed down just a bit. However, that was my only complaint.

As much as this story tore me apart, I realize now that everything happened as it should. Yes it broke my heart and left me feeling breathless, but it also took me on an incredible journey that touched my soul. And by the end of the book...I healed!

READ ON!

[Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried guys, I tried. For those people who have messaged me and told me to not be so critical when I haven't finished the book. Well I tried. AGAIN. FOR YOU.
And AGAIN, I JUST COULDN'T.
There's just so many things wrong with this book. Even if I read it to the very end I can most assure you Taking Chances lovers that my views will never change. I ask that you respect my views and if you do not well.... write your own review.. simple.




I COULDN'T FINISH THIS.
IT WAS TOO HEARTBREAKING, I CHOKED UP AS MY HEART BROKE INTO A MILLION TIMY PIECES, I AM STILL SITTING HERE SHOCKED AND GASPING FOR BREATH WITH TEARS STREAMING DOWN MY FACE.

This is where the spoilers come in, so if you haven't read this…

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I'm sorry Chase is what?? DEAD? NO NO THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING. AND THEN THAT SKANKY TRISH HAS THE NERVE TO WALK INTO HIS HOUSE WHERE HIS PREGNANT GIRLFRIEND IS ON THE FLOOR DYING AND HIS FAMILY IN PIECES ONLY TO TELL THEM THAT SHE DRUGGED HIM, SNUCK INTO HIS BED AND TOOK PHOTOS BECAUSE SHE WAS JEALOUS AND WANTED HIS GIRLFRIEND- HARPER TO LEAVE HIM.

THIS WAS HIS LAST CONVERSATION WITH HARPER BEFORE HE LEFT AND DIED IN CAR CRASH BECAUSE HE WAS TO DISTRAUGHT TO THINK CLEARLY:

We walked into the living room, and I almost chickened out when I saw Chase sitting on the couch. He lifted his head when he heard us come in and started to stand but Robert held him down. His eyes were puffy and red, and his cheeks were still wet. Robert tried to smile warmly at me, but it came out more of a grimace, and Claire looked like a wreck. She wrapped her arms around me and began crying. It took me a minute, but after recounting Bree's worry that I wouldn't come back, I realized why everyone else was upset too. Mom and Dad thought I would leave and take their grandchild with me.

I squeezed her waist and whispered so only she could hear me, “I won't take your grandson away from you Mom, promise.”

“Oh honey, I'm glad for that, but that's not what I'm worried about. I'm hurting for you Harper, I love you as if you were my own daughter.” She kissed my cheek, then the three of them left, leaving Chase and I alone in the room.

“Baby –”

“Don't. Call. Me. That.” I hissed through gritted teeth.

“Harper please, I messed up.” A choked sob escaped and his tears started falling harder. “I don't remember anything, you have to believe that I wouldn't do that to you.”

“Why her Chase? The one person I hate! How could you do this to me? How could you do this to our baby?!” I fell into a chair near me and kept my eyes on him.

“I didn't. I mean I don't know, I don't remember anything! I was at the party and the next thing I know I'm waking up to Breanna and Konrad screaming at me and Trish is in my bed with me. But I swear I wouldn't touch her, I wouldn't touch anyone. I love you!”

So the tramp got back in his bed after we all left, completely distraught? Classy. “You really expect me to believe this? You know how I feel about her Chase, and then you invite her to a party I just happen to not be at? Everyone thinks you came back to me last night, and yet she walks out of your room this morning wearing your shirt and you were practically naked in the bed?”

“I didn't invite her, she invited me over again and I told her no with the excuse of the party. I didn't know she was going to show up.”

“Why did you have to have the party as an excuse? Why can't I be excuse enough? You should have told her a long time ago that she needed to stop, that you were in a relationship and going to be a father and her flirting with you wasn't okay! Instead, you let her continue to flirt with you and invite you over to her place in the middle of the night. When I was around she would be hanging off your arm, and you think I'm going to believe that you didn't sleep with her when I wasn't around?”

“I thought she was gay! But I wouldn't sleep with her baby you have to believe me!”

“You're still sticking with that? That is exactly why I don't believe you, you can't even tell me the truth when you know I've seen the pictures.”

His face fell, and eyes grew wide, “What pictures?” He whispered horrified, when I didn't answer he shot off the couch, his deep voice so loud I almost covered my ears, “WHAT PICTURES HARPER!?”

“Come on Chase, they were taken with and sent to me from your phone.”

He yanked his phone out of his pocket and checked it for a minute, “I don't see anything.” He mumbled.

I powered up my phone and waited for it to stop chiming from the dozens of texts and voicemails I'd received from Chase, Bree and Mom. When they were done I opened the texts from Chase and scrolled through the ones he had sent me after waking up this morning, until I got to the pictures. I held my phone out and waited for him to come get it. He took it with a shaking hand and after a moment that felt like a lifetime sucked in a sharp gasp.

“Oh God. No. No, no I wouldn't.” His legs gave out and he hit the ground hard.

“Well, you obviously did.” My voice was shaky, but I kept myself calm.

“I don't remember this, I wouldn't do this to you! You know I love you!”

“Maybe you were just that drunk.”

“I didn't drink last night, I swear! Ask Bree!”

“Chase,” my voice was low, almost soft, “just stop lying to me.”

“I'm not lying!” He scooted closer to me and placed his hands on my thighs, “Please believe me!”

I removed his hands and took a deep breath, “Chase, if you still want to be in the baby's life, I would love that. But I can't continue to be in this relationship, besides, we both know it has been doomed from the beginning.”

“No it hasn't!”

“I can't trust you Chase. Especially after this.”

“Harper. We. Are not. Breaking up.” He gripped my hands in his, his whole body shaking. “I was going to propose to you after graduation tomorrow!”

I recoiled at the thought of him asking me to marry him while he'd been cheating on me. “We need to.” I continued, “You obviously still want to live your old life, and I need to not have to worry about what you're doing when I'm not with you.”

“I don't want my old life! I don't want anything without you! You are my everything Harper. You and our baby are my everything.” His head fell into my lap while his body was overtaken by sobs.

I sat there silently and ran my fingers through his shaggy blond hair until he calmed down and looked back up into my face, “Maybe sometime later, after you've had a chance to think about what you really want, we can give us a shot again.”

“Princess please, please don't do this. I can't lose you.”

“You don't have to,” I whispered, “we can remain friends, you can be at all the appointments and I will continue to live here if that's what you want. But Chase, you have just shattered my heart, over what will probably only be one night with Trish. Because of that, I can't be yours right now. I can't be the naïve girlfriend at home with a baby, while you're off with other “I'm not lying!” He scooted closer to me and placed his hands on my thighs, “Please believe me!”

I removed his hands and took a deep breath, “Chase, if you still want to be in the baby's life, I would love that. But I can't continue to be in this relationship, besides, we both know it has been doomed from the beginning.”

“No it hasn't!”

“I can't trust you Chase. Especially after this.”

“Harper. We. Are not. Breaking up.” He gripped my hands in his, his whole body shaking. “I was going to propose to you after graduation tomorrow!”

I recoiled at the thought of him asking me to marry him while he'd been cheating on me. “We need to.” I continued, “You obviously still want to live your old life, and I need to not have to worry about what you're doing when I'm not with you.”

“I don't want my old life! I don't want anything without you! You are my everything Harper. You and our baby are my everything.” His head fell into my lap while his body was overtaken by sobs.

I sat there silently and ran my fingers through his shaggy blond hair until he calmed down and looked back up into my face, “Maybe sometime later, after you've had a chance to think about what you really want, we can give us a shot again.”

“Princess please, please don't do this. I can't lose you.”

“You don't have to,” I whispered, “we can remain friends, you can be at all the appointments and I will continue to live here if that's what you want. But Chase, you have just shattered my heart, over what will probably only be one night with Trish. Because of that, I can't be yours right now. I can't be the naïve girlfriend at home with a baby, while you're off with other “I'm not lying!” He scooted closer to me and placed his hands on my thighs, “Please believe me!”

I removed his hands and took a deep breath, “Chase, if you still want to be in the baby's life, I would love that. But I can't continue to be in this relationship, besides, we both know it has been doomed from the beginning.”

“No it hasn't!”

“I can't trust you Chase. Especially after this.”

“Harper. We. Are not. Breaking up.” He gripped my hands in his, his whole body shaking. “I was going to propose to you after graduation tomorrow!”

I recoiled at the thought of him asking me to marry him while he'd been cheating on me. “We need to.” I continued, “You obviously still want to live your old life, and I need to not have to worry about what you're doing when I'm not with you.”

“I don't want my old life! I don't want anything without you! You are my everything Harper. You and our baby are my everything.” His head fell into my lap while his body was overtaken by sobs.

I sat there silently and ran my fingers through his shaggy blond hair until he calmed down and looked back up into my face, “Maybe sometime later, after you've had a chance to think about what you really want, we can give us a shot again.”

“Princess please, please don't do this. I can't lose you.”

“You don't have to,” I whispered, “we can remain friends, you can be at all the appointments and I will continue to live here if that's what you want. But Chase, you have just shattered my heart, over what will probably only be one night with Trish. Because of that, I can't be yours right now. I can't be the naïve girlfriend at home with a baby, while you're off with other girlfriend at home with a baby, while you're off with other women.”

“I won't be, I only want you.”

I sat there a moment, concentrating on deep breaths in and out, “It's going to take a lot for me to believe you again Chase, but I'm willing to give you the opportunity to earn my trust again. We're going to have to start over as friends though.”

“I don't want to be your friend Harper!”

“It's that or nothing Chase.” I tried to keep my tone composed for the both of us.

“Baby I'm so sorry. I promise I wouldn't have done that to you, I don't remember anything from last night.”

“I told you, I'll give you a chance if you want it. But I need a few days before we can try to be friends. I really – I'm hurting Chase, I feel like you just confirmed every fear I've ever had of being in a relationship with you. And I'm still not sure how to begin to deal with this.”

He kissed me firmly, and cupped my face, “I will get to the bottom of whatever happened. I love you Harper, more than you could ever imagine.” He brought his mouth to mine again, and I let our lips move against each other for a few moments. I couldn’t help it, I didn’t know if or when we would have this again.

Chase's phone rang, snapping us out of the moment. He started to press ignore, but did a double take and answered, “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!” He stormed off into the kitchen, face bright red from anger, “No! You just ruined my life, do you understand that?! Don't fucking apologize to me! Harper is the only person you should be apologizing to, but understandunderstand that if you ever contact her, or me for that matter, again, I will make the rest of your life a living hell!” He ended the call and threw his iPhone against the wall, shattering the case and sending pieces towards me. “Oh God, Harper. I'm sorry!”

I shrunk into the chair when he came near me, he still looked like he was about to kill someone. When he saw my movements, his face fell, his anger quickly fading.

“I have to go, before I mess this up more.” He brushed his knuckles along my jaw, “I'm sorry for everything. I can't say that enough Harper, I'm so, so sorry. Please don't end us though, I will earn your trust again somehow, just don't do this.”

“Don't make this harder for either of us, you know how I feel. Let's give it a few days, and we'll see if we can start again as friends. No matter what happens to us Chase, I want you in his life.”

“I love you Princess.” With tears falling freely from his eyes, he kissed me quickly and walked out the door.

DON'T TELL ME YOUR HEART WAS STILL WHOLE AFTER READING THAT AND KNOWING THAT WHEN HE LEAVES WILL BE THE LAST ANYONE WILL SEE HIM ALIVE.

KNOWING THAT HE DIED A BROKEN MAN ALL BECAUSE THAT SKANK FALSELY MADE OUT HE SLEPT WITH HER. EVERYONE HATED HIM.
BEFORE HE DIED WAS THE WORST FEW MOMENTS OF HIS LIFE. AND THE WORSE THING? NO-ONE BELIEVED HIM. NO-ONE GAVE HIM THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT THAT HE DIDN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING. THAY ALL JUMPED TO CONCLUSIONS, CHOOSING TO BELIEVE THE WORST AND HE HAD TO LEAVE HIS OWN HOUSE TO TOP ALL OF THAT.

IM SORRY IM ALL CHOCKED UP AND I AM FUMING. BECAUSE I CAN SEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN NOW. SHE WILL GO BACK TO BRANDON AND FORGET ALL ABOUT HIM. BUT I WON'T I WAS IN CHASES CORNER FROM THE BEGINNING AND IT IS WHY I CANNOT READ ON.

IT SHOULD'VE BEEN- I KNOW IT'S HORRIBLE SINCE HE'S DONE NOTHING WRONG BUT- IT SHOULD'VE BEEN BRANDON WHO DIED.

CHASE HAD A BABY ON THE WAY, A GIRL HE WANTED TO MARRY AND SPEND THE REST OF HIS LIFE WITH. HE CHANGED THEOUGHOUT THIS BOOK, HE BECAME A GOOD MAN, HE WAS FAITHFUL AND BECAME A DAD SINCE HE FOUND OUT HE WAS GOING TO BE ONE, HE PROVIDED FOR HARPER EVEN THOUGH SHE HAD HER OWN MONEY.

I REFUSE TO RATE THIS BOOK, PURELY FOR THE FACT THATI REFUSE TO FINISH IT. UP UNTIL THEN IT WAS GOING TO BE A FIVE STARER BUT NOW.. HOW CAN I RATE A BOOK I HAVEN'T FINISHED AND THAT IM BIASED OVER THE FACT THAT CHASE HAS DIED.

I DONT MIND THE CAR CRASH BUT WHY KILL HIM OFF? TO MAKE HARPERS CHOICE EASIER?SHE DID LOVE THEM BOTH..

I WOULD HAVE KILLED TRISH, KILLED HER SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY. SHES TO BLAME FOR ALL OF IT, THE JEALOUS MURDEROUS, BITCH OF A HUMAN BEING. SHE IS THE LOWEST OF THE LOW.

I THINK THIS IS THE LONGEST REVIEW EVER AND ALL I'VE DONE IS SLAG TRISH OFF AND SAID HOW I FEEL.

IM SORRY BUT THIS HAS TRULY MADE ME FEEL A LITTLE BETTER. NOT MUCH, BUT A LITTLE.

[Tee Loves Books · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me see if I can scrape together the pieces that are left of my shattered heart and try to come up with a way to review this book. I debated for a few days whether or not I wanted to bother, but I decided to go ahead for one reason, and that is to give the character I fell head-over-heels for the attention and remembrance that he didn't get in this story.

I freely admit that I'm an emotional reader. I read as an escape, to immerse myself in the thrills, suspense, romance, and beautiful writing that can make that all seem real. For that reason, I don't want to get completely invested in a character only to have them unhappy in the end. So, I didn't go into this book blind after I saw some very upset readers' comments, and I thought what I knew of the story prepared me for the heart-wrenching event I'd heard so much about. In fact, I was completely engrossed in this book and loving every bit of it until that moment, which really just makes it that much worse. Knowing what I know now, though, I wish I had just never read this story (ugh, Donna, if I had just read your review first!!!).

60%. That's where I stopped. That's where for me, this beautiful story was thrown away and turned into something I wanted no part of. I did end up skimming through to the end, just to reaffirm some of the comments other irate readers were making and so that I could say with confidence this book deserved the rating I'm giving it. I'm really not sure what part angers me most. I don't want to completely give away the plot here, but I definitely feel the need to share what I think was a huge mistake for a writer to make. The heartbreaking moment in this story was something that could have been handled without a complete disregard for the emotional investment of the readers, but it wasn't. I honestly feel like McAdams had more concern about making this story shocking and dramatic so that it stands out in it's genre, instead of thinking about how upsetting it would be for her readers. I'm actually shocked that she was even okay with writing the story this way, because to me it shows a complete detachment from a beautiful, memorable character that she herself created. And I think that's where she really lost me, because I want a writer to be just as emotionally invested as I am when I'm reading a story like this.

Okay, so here's where the spoilers come in, so don't read on if you don't want to know specifics....







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Before anyone starts in about the beautiful side to the rest of the story that needs to be recognized, I have to disagree there. I'm not just sitting here as a "TEAM CHASE" reader who's upset because he didn't get his HEA. I was actually more a fan of Brandon for awhile, since Chase started out as a mega alpha-male that didn't seem emotionally invested in Harper. But as the story goes on and we see how their incredible spark turns into a deep, heartfelt relationship between them, I fell so hard for Chase. McAdams made him such an incredible character, my heart just melted at the thought of the beautiful life he and Harper would have. She had tamed him, changed his life and made him a better person that made better decisions in his life. Hell, she was even practically a member of their family already, she'd been going to family Sundays over at the parent's house for months and was best friends with Chase's sister. They were truly just perfect for each other, despite the pain it had caused Brandon. So when soon-to-be father Chase was killed off, I was done.

After I made the decision to skim through the remainder of the book, I tried to detach myself from Chase's story and just take in whatever else happened. But the more I read, the more it infuriated me. THe story post-Chase turns into this fairytale of "we're all so happy, come on, that's what Chase would have wanted", as if his life really didn't mean enough to cause a change in their lives in any way. I was so disgusted that Chase's passing had no affect whatsoever on the rest of the story, unless you count Harper and Brandon taking Liam to his daddy's grave once a year (and don't even get me started on Liam's name...BRANDON'S dad's name??!! Why don't we just completely erase any memory of Chase at all...oh no wait, Liam's MIDDLE name can be his dad's name. Right). Harper's reaction was probably the most difficult to stomach; when she tells Brandon she was "made to love him" as if Chase was never a factor, and has Liam refer to his deceased daddy as "Uncle Chase", it just made me ill.

Even with all of this, I think the biggest, most unforgivable mistake made with this plot for me was how Chase's death happened. I could possibly have gone on with this story if Chase had died in a way that wasn't so cold, cut-off, and heartless. I still liked Brandon and could have seen them consoling each other in grief while they kept Chase's memory a pivotal part of Liam's life in honor of his dad. But Chase's death comes immediately after a heart-wrenching scene where a jealous twit sets him up to look like he cheated. Harper breaks up with him and sends him away completely crushed, determined to prove to the mother of his child that he's innocent. So alone and shattered, he races through an intersection and slams into a semi. Alone, in unbearable emotional and physical pain, with no one to say goodbye to as he passes on, he dies. Never reading anything by this author again because she clearly couldn’t care less about her readers or the characters she created for them.

[Nora · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm blown away reading these reviews. I'm sorry, but am I the ONLY one who found this book painfully predictable and poorly written? Am I the only one who saw the picture-perfect characters and situations completely unrealistic? I may be a happy girl with a happy life, but even I was rolling my eyes SO OFTEN at the cheese factor. Why did I keep reading? Because I never start a book and don't finish, it's just a thing. (Some tiny spoilers in this review but nothing major. Just general ranting).

Anyway, the story is entertaining for sure (love triangle, woohoo!), but I just don't think this book was well-written or well thought out at all. The characters are all soooo super gorgeous, which is referenced over. And over. AND OVER. God forbid Harper doesn't go back to looking perfect a day after having a baby. WE GET IT. Everyone is completely in love with Harper, which I never understood because there is NO in-depth character development. I finished the book and all I knew about Harper was that she falls in love incredibly fast and moves from guy to guy incredibly fast and everyone thinks she's just the bees knees. I have no idea who this girl is. When I read a novel as long as this one, I should feel some connection to the main character. Nothing here. She spends a lot of time bemoaning her situation, which doesn't help me like her either. "Oh my god, two guys love me and I love two guys, waaaaah life is so hard and they're both so sexy how could I ever choose." Yawn.

All of the other characters just struck me as so cliche. This whole book was cliche. I won't ruin the "crazy plot twist", but I can tell you I saw it coming a mile away. Nothing in this book surprised me, which is a problem. I read this book after reading about 10 amazing books, so that also may be why I was so dissatisfied with this story.

Every situation is just wrapped up with a neat little bow all too often throughout the book. It's ridiculously unrealistic. And I feel like everyone is making speeches every other page. Brandon makes a speech about how much he loves Harper after having one date and making out constantly. Chase makes a speech about how much he loves Harper and how much he wants to be with her but he "just can't". Harper makes a speech about how confused her poor little heart is. Bree makes a speech about how awesome Harper is and everyone loves her just so much. I CAN'T TAKE IT.

Of course, everyone is super rich and no one faces any real struggles. Harper has tons of money, Brandon has tons of money (from his awesome totally rad underground fights, guys!), Bree and Chase's family has tons of money, on and on and on. Does no one else find this boring? Yay, we all have nice cars and homes and who cares about two babies before age 21 because we're super loaded, yeah! Ugh. Lame. I took it as poor writing and zero creativity. It's way more fun to read about perfect situations, right? Sure.

The whole issue with her dad is weird to me. It was just solved waaaaay too easily at the end. I won't say how, but I was pretty much like, how convenient. The Carter thing was also dumb, he served no purpose except to be ANOTHER person that was COMPLETELY obsessed with Harper because she's gorgeous with great boobs and aww look she's so cute and tiny (sidenote: She couldn't get off the kitchen counters? Was that part supposed to be funny? Maybe if it made any sense, she's 5'2" not a toddler). Nothing going on in the personality department with the chick, so I'm assuming it's physical. Lord knows that was made clear.

So the sex scenes. There's a lot of sex, and making out, and touching, and heated glances, and "husky voices" in this book. They are actually written pretty well and are really hot (if also unrealistic at times - of course Harper is amazing in bed when she has ZERO previous experience). I can appreciate the romance. But even so, I would never recommend this book to anyone. If you want to read something amazing that will leave you breathless at the end and completely impressed with the author and wondering how your life can go back to normal after reading something so incredible, read anything else.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audio re-read November 2018

Gah! I forgot how painful this book was... it doesn't get easier. I'm glad I did a re-read because I do love these characters and the story, but I'm not sure if I'll ever be crazy enough read it again. Time will tell ;)

5 stars!
Okay what to say about this book? I LOVED IT! Well, that would be an understatement! All the characters were wonderful (except Trish) and it was just a great story. I really loved Brandon by the end of the book, which surprised me because I was team Chase all the way. Be prepared to pull an all nighter reading and be ready to bawl your eyes out. One of the best books I have read this year!

[Akanksha❤ Søren♰ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh boy! I think I found my new favorite book :')
It was just.. I don't have words at the moment.

It was so much like Beautiful Disasters, Thoughtless and Vampire Diaries(the show, without the fiction) and yet so much more ❤

A total emotional roller coaster, I cried, I laughed, I blushed, I was shocked, I fell in love with two wonderful guys tonight! Stayed up the whole night to finish the book, reach the end and damn was it worth loosing sleep over.

The twist which is comes around 50% through the book is SHOCKING, Like seriously.. Its like BAM!
It was heart breaking, left me breathless, I though I read it wrong till I re-read the page again and I was like WHAT??? NO!!! There has to be some error in my book.
I wont give out much, because the suspense is mad. This book is so worth it and so very amazing.
It is long, but not dragged. Beautifully written :)

Harper is just woah, mature, loving, sensible, adorable and just everything right
Chase, AH.. Every girl's wet dream ;) haha I love his possessiveness and his pure desire. Boy, I feel head over heels for him ;)
Brandon, FUCK. I want to marry someone like him, Seriously, could the guy get any fucking cuter, sweeter and adorabler? He too is every girl's dream ;) :P
Harper's father is a BITCH.

I loved the whole college romance thingie, the summary of this book doesn't give it justice, its wayh more and its beautiful.

Each and every character in this book is amazing, all the way from her best friend to the parents :D LOVED THIS BOOK, a great great read.

“Oh I'm sorry, but I don't have any STDs, I'm not your type.” - Harper

"AY-DIAS. All I Do Is Eat And Shit.” - Hahaha, Carter you idiot :P

DO READ THIS BOOK
ASAP!! :*

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pardon me but ...



Just no!

[Jennifer Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

TO: MOLLY MCADAMS--- “FOR THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES, WE ARE NOT FRIENDS."

This book ripped my heart out and left me in mourning. I had to gather the strength to read on and finish. How can it be that the main character is blissfully happy and I am utterly miserable to the very end of this amazing story?

There are three drool worthy guys included in this book, but one of them stole my heart from the very beginning: “Oh My God! Princess! You're my new favorite." I fell completely in love!

I found myself going through the "7 stages of Grief" one of which is Bargaining: wishing that the book would take a paranormal route so I could be happy again, trading characters out, etc.

The final step of grieving is Acceptance and Hope: I'll get there eventually!

[Limonessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

That I subject myself to stuff like this over and over again can only be definitive proof of my masochistic tendencies. I really don't know why I choose these absurd stories, un-freaking-believable, where the characters are clearly made out of cardboard, where the writing is bad, bad, bad and the editing is worse, where there isn't an original idea even if you look for it with a microscope and which are also about 75% too long than needed.
I kid you not, I was at 30% and had the impression that the story could just as well have wrapped up at that point (as it probably should have).
I don't know what to say; I can't, in all honesty, find a redeeming quality in this book.
The characterization is appalling: Harper is this absolutely amazing, incredibly beautiful girl who is of course completely unaware of her feminine powers and who goes to college after living with her unloving, completely absent father. He is in the military, a Marine, and she calls him "Sir" (he should have sent her to war, not to college if you ask me and good riddance). Once she gets there, she gets paired up in the dorm with a girl, Breanna, who loves her like crazy from day one and takes her shopping and makes her even more beautiful than she is. Not only that, but she introduces Harper to her friends, who all fall in love with her immediately and who incidentally are these gorgeous, tattooed studs (all six feet three at least). As soon as they see her, they all turn from manwhores to monks, obviously. But that's not all! Even her best friend's parents get so enamored with her that they practically adopt her and have her call them Mom and Dad.
Enter the love triangle, which at one point even becomes a square. From there on it's a downward spiral, believe me. I'd like to go more into detail and give you more of a hint of how much this book is messed up but I won't, not to spoil the story for you in the unfortunate case you decide to pick it up.

This is a book that lovers of Beautiful Disaster or Thoughtless might appreciate. Maybe.
As for the author, I have just one piece of advice: you might want to look up the definition of consecutio temporum. Oh, and apply it.

[Alexis *Reality Bites* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoiler Free Review
3.5 to 4 STARS out of 5
Genre: YA/New Adult-Mature content

Passengers please lower your harness and fasten your seatbelts for safety. This book hits sharp turns has high peaks and fast drops.
**smiles** Please enjoy the ride!
Emotional Roller-Coaster does not even begin to describe this book. My face leaked from every hole it has I'm talkin can't stop cryin nose blowin mouth drooling weeping. YES it is that intense. Don't say I didn't warn you.

'I wanted to have dysfunctional relationships and flings but did that happen? Nope. I felt like Elena from the Vampire Diaries. She has two insanely hot men who are in love with her and would do anything for her. One of which, she would give almost everything to be with, and the other she continues to push away, even though she can't ever actually stay away, so she won't have to admit she was in love with him too. At least my guys weren't brothers. Thank God for that.'
-Harpers inner monologue in Taking Chances


Dear God make me a bird so I can fly far far away
After eighteen years of growing up under the strict rule of her Marine father properly titled 'Sir.' Harper is finally breaking free. She is now on her way to college clear across the country from North Carolina to the sunshine state. San Diego California. Harper is described by one character as being pure as the snow. She has never had a boyfriend and has never been kissed. AT EIGHTEEN! **Throws hands in the air**
Unbelievable right?!
After unpacking she takes a nap. She is later woken up by her procacious roomate Breanna. She tells Harper that her brother is having a party at his house and they will be in attendance. After ruling out everything in Harper's wardrobe Breanna decides they need to hit the mall.

The two girls bond quickly and Harper has a hidden crush on Chase; Breanna's brother. Chase is tall blonde with surfer boy hair and piercing blue eyes. He also has a few tattoos. But the guy is a player. Everytime she sees him he is sporting a new chick on his arm lap or wherever else they can hang off him at.
Then she meets Brandon one of Chase's many roomates. Brandon is tall with a buzzed cut and sports a cute dimple in his cheek when he smiles. OH and he is also tatted up. When Brandon returns his interest in Harper Chase decides he is not feeling it so he tries to run interference. He knows he is not good for her and as far as he is concerned neither is Brandon. Unfortunately the choice is not his. Harper is not having it and she let's Chase know that she can do what she wants. Then she goes and does exactly that.

Now this is just the first 11% of the book...

After that you will be taken on an emotional ride as Harper becomes torn in between these two guys. She experiences heartbreak and she hands out heartbreak to not one, not two, but three guys.

-Cheating takes her from one guy

-And lies take one from her

She lost one. Lose some to Win some, right?!?

Thoughts
In all honesty I am a BIG mixed bag of emotions with this book... This is mainly due to the fact that I have a love/hate thing for the heroine Harper. At times I could not stand her. Sorry correction most times I could not stand her. The guys in this book allowed me to enjoy it their witty banter and alpha ways got me all hot and bothered in the best of ways.
Also the author did an amazing job with showing the importance of family and friendship. I loved the parts that showcased the family ties the most.
If you loved Thoughtless by S.C.Stephens and/or Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire then you should enjoy this book. Just make sure you have the kleenex handy. But no worries twice out of the three times i cried they were happy tears.

My Ratings
Characters- Lovable except Harper
Writing Style- Good
Plot/Storyline- Good
Steam Factor- Medium/Moderately Steamy
Overall- I liked it!!!

Now go forth and Read. Then tell us all about it on Goodreads!

[Isamlq · Rating 1 out of 5]

We suspend our disbelief, and not our intelligence in reading. So, know that plenty moments in this had me calling BS (never been to a mall, my patootie.) Frankly, I do see why it's well received by some, what with its tatted-up bad boy, secret fighter good boy, and the girl with zero experience... except, as usual, for me, things got a bit much...

The story's Drama's Progression:

1. Cow eyes from one or two of them directed at her.
2. Love is in the air, and their inner cavemen start coming out.
3. A text, a message and her jealousies cloud her judgment.
4. Cue the waterworks/ walking off/ running out
5. Beg for forgiveness from one of them.
6. Declarations of love (or of her specialness and of his/their desire of not wanting to hurt her.)
7. And, all is well.
8. Back to 1 and continue from there.

The drama just kept going on and on and on, the escalating sort because the girl was prone to overreacting and not thinking things through… and get this: running away! hardly anyone calls her on it and it got unreal.

Drinking Game!

One shot each time she or any one of them says, ‘my word’, ‘oh my word’, or ‘dear lord’;
Two for each declaration of love/ someone saying they just want to take care of her/ protect her/ love her/ make her his;
Three, each time someone says they don’t deserve her.

NO, really.. things got old.

On the bright side, I did get some unintentional laughs out of this especially with her likening their life to Vampire Diaries (she fancies herself an Elena!) So, one must wonder: why keep at it if nothing was working for me? I honestly don’t know, is it enough that the sexy times were sexy? Sadly, no... at least, not this time around.

1/5

[Stacia (the 2010 club) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Revision 10/07/12 because I laughed my ass off that this new book already made it to number 1 on Listopia's Books that seriously piss you off

...and Shark Contemporary week rolls on...

I made it a goal before finishing Taking Chances to remain zen for the writing of this review, knowing full well that the last part of the book might set me on edge. Well guess what? I'm perfectly okay.

Look at me, I'm not raging! It's an early Christmas miracle!

See, the thing is, the part of the book that was supposed to make me angry didn't. It just reminded me of a bad personal memory, so I did a real life frowny face and moved past it. If anything, it wasn't so much that I had a problem with "the incident," it was more that I had a problem with how the incident happened. The incident would have felt more at place within the story without the extra helping of guilt.

Btw...writing this review is darn-near impossible. I can't talk about my feelings if I'm not allowed to express why I'm having these feelings. I can't talk about how the various different game changers were hit and miss if I can't list out what they are.

Most people who have read this book are pretty much in agreement that the first 2/3 of the book was a great read. I felt the same way. The comparisons to Beautiful Disaster and Thoughtless are semi-warranted but any similarities would be on a much more toned-down scale. If you had a character like Travis who was in control of his feelings and a character like Kellan who was able to keep his eye on the prize, then perhaps we can squint and find a few things in common. But please refer back to the 'toned-down' comment from earlier. One of my biggest complaints about Kiera from Thoughtless was that she let things drag on for far too long. I didn't feel the same way about this book. Eventually, decisions were made before we were stuck on a merry-go-round of bad behavior. I respected that.

Honestly, even with "the incident," I still probably would have given this book a high score if three things would have been different.

1. The incident was a product of coincidence and not related to character behavior.

2. Harper's decisions had been spread out over a longer period of time. I did not appreciate that she went from one decision to the next and then to the next with no real breathing room in-between. There is this nifty little thing called a chapter heading...we should have been treated to a heading which said One Year Later (after the incident).

3. The last 30% of the book was absolutely unnecessary. There's a reason why most books end at the HEA. It's because most of the time people become boring as hell when you see them in their domestic lives. I didn't care to see the majority of what happened after the decision that happened after the incident. I'm all for books about the subject of what happened to Harper (I'll let you off the hook, she did not die in a fire...I know that's what you were guessing), but if that's going to be what happens, then make that the actual book subject...don't advertise it as a book about a love triangle.

Random question for those who have read the book : Was there even a reason to have Carter as a character? Love quad? Not really, right?

So for my inability to write a review that is anything other than vague, I am awarding Taking Chances first place in the "spoiler difficulty" competition.

2 stars is mainly because the book simply dragged on for far too long. I would definitely give something else by this author a shot. I was thoroughly enjoying myself for the first 2/3 of the book. Molly McAdams can sure write extremely likable bad boys. I already touched on this a little bit earlier, but let me go back and clarify : Brandon's ability to hold himself back from turning into a controlling prick did impress me quite a bit. We don't see enough of this in YA, Mature YA, College, and New-Adult fiction. Bravo to that.

Between Chase and Brandon, who would I have picked? When I was Harper's age, I would have picked Chase, no question. At the age I'm at now, I'd pick Brandon. Just don't tell Brandon that I was probably swooning harder over Chase.

[Gitte TotallyBookedBlog · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thoughts on Taking Chances.....

I felt myself being pulled back and forth between Chase and Brandon, I couldn't decide at first but I decided on Brandon, and I have to say he was my choice throughout. And yes, I know I am in the minority! So Harper's actions peeved me off no end!!!!!

However, my thoughts on that is that here's this girl who has been like a bird locked in her cage throughout her life, starved from love with no Mum and a Dad who she respected but had a pretty cold and no affection relationship with. She had Carter and the other lads, but these were in her mind friendships, not lust/love. She has never experienced the attraction, the longing, the lust or the love. So it hit her over the head when she met these 2 amazing blokes!

When she gets to spread her wings, express herself as she wants/likes and receives adoration, protection, love in return she herself loves right back. Brandon and Chase are 2 separate objects of affection and love. I think she falls in love with both because at the end of the day not only are they gorgeous, they both offer her what she has been lacking all her life. Chase just happened to come across her first. That initial meeting sparked something in her which if it hadn't been for his reputation possibly could have changed the whole story. Her defense mechanism was to flee, however he was already in her heart.

Harper is one intense and love starved young woman who craves to be loved and love in return. She has so much to give. With Chase however, throughout the story she wanted to protect herself. It is as if she was just waiting for the inevitable to occur, like repeating a mantra of 'he will cheat and leave me loveless'. Brandon on the other hand did not have this reputation, and he loves as hard as Chase, he is almost like the safer option emotionally. I have no doubt though that Chase would have stayed faithful, I am so sure he would have given her everything and never strayed!

My heart broke and I actually wanted to vomit when "the thing" happened. Worst scene EVER!! It still breaks my heart and I still now think WTF!!! I hate it, I really do!!

I LOVED this ending. But then again I LOVE emotional books and if I cry in a book I know it means I just read a bloody amazing one!!! Although at times I really hated Harper with a passion, I kind of understood her.

I know this is fiction, but I also know that stuff like this happens in real life, it really does. People grow up starved of love and they overcompensate subconsciously by loving too much. With sudden freedom comes sudden rebellion against the norm or what is deemed acceptable. But who says it has to be so?!

I hated Trish, I wanted to bitch slap her into tomorrow, however, the guilt she has to live with for the rest of her life, well that is enough punishment as well as what Harper dished out!!

So yes, I both loved and hated this book but Molly's writing has to be applauded for evoking such extreme emotions!!

[Paula M · Rating 1 out of 5]

(THIS CONTAINS HUUUGE SPOILERS)

Okay, this is hard. I usually don’t review books that I have given 1 star but on this one, I’m willing to make an exception.

First, I have nothing against the Author. All the reasons I have given this book a 1 star is really just because of the book. Second, It’s not because of the writing. I honestly think it’s okay-written so yeah.. It’s all because of the PLOT!

I have never – EVER – been so disappointed on a book before! SOMEBODY GIVE ME A TROPHY FOR PUNISHING MYSELF BY FINISHING THIS! I DESERVE IT! The only emotional response I had towards this book was absolute frustration!



The story was on Harper’s POV. The first part of the book was great (yes, I actually liked the first part). Harlot, I mean Harper was introduced as the kind of girl with no experience (at all) of partying and boys because she’s homeschooled.She grew up with a bunch of young marines and her dad whom she calls ‘Sir’. So when she decides to go to college at San Diego State University to escape her life, she immediately became a wild party girl with the help of her roommate, who is also the one who introduced Harper to her brother, Chase (a fighter with tats). Harper also got introduced to Brandon (also a fighter). AND THIS IS WHERE THE STORY STARTS TO BECOME A TOTAL CRAP.

Harper was now suddenly torn between Chase and her boyfriend Brandon. Harper the harlot cheated on her boyfriend by having sex with Chase (TWICE!) without even using protection. Because she’s smart like that. Ladies and Gents(?), wanna guess what’s the result of that? HARPER ENDS UP PREGNANT with Chase’s child! Of course she was shocked and sickened and oh my god she don’t what to do.. Anybody want to slap and laugh at her face? I DO!



I’m going to give Harper a highlight on this review because she’s the sole reason why I hated this book with passion. She was so efffing annoying! At any chapter, I was ready to jump inside the book and strangle her.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!



Anyway, now that that part is done let us get through with this. Harper and Chase decided to live together because of their child and of course I have to endure those moments when she’ll get jealous because there are girls who’s trying to steal her maaaan. She even caught Chase with another women on bed and she was raging with anger!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!



DIDN’T YOU CHEAT ON BRANDON AND DIDN’T EVEN FEEL ANY GUILT?! WOW HARPER YOU DESERVE THE 'I-AM-THE-BEST-HYPOCRITE’ AWARD. HERE TAKE IT


THEEEN the crappiest thing happened, Chase dies… he was hit by a truck or something on his way to harper to prove that he’s not cheating.

I’M SO SAD, CAN YOU SEE THE SINGLE TEAR ON MY EYE?

The story continues after Chase death and guess where Harper ran to? Yep, BRANDON! You would think that Harper would just lay low and take care of her baby for a while because of Chase, but NOOOOOO. Harper the harlot is on the move again and she ended up marrying Brandon. All through out she was just thinking that Chase would’ve wanted her decision. That it’s what Chase would’ve wanted.

WELL OF COURSE HARPER, CHASE WANTED YOU TO MARRY AS SOON AS HE DIES. DON’T GRIEVE HIM, I MEAN HE’S JUST THE FATHER OF YOUR CHILD RIGHT?! NICE SEEING THAT YOU CARED ABOUT CHASE.

After two months, Harper moved in to Brandon’s because of The dysfunctional family that convinced her. UGH- don’t even get me started by the family. I just want to slap them all. Harper got pregnant again with Brandon’s child (Ah yes, let’s all give her a pat on the back for not cheating) and now the children ended up calling Chase… UNCLE CHASE!!!!!! NOW THAT’S JUST WRONG!


HE IS ONE OF THE FATHER FOR PETE’S SAKE!

Seriously this book is driving me crazy.



Now let me just wrap this up now.. TAKING CHANCES is a big fat mess! This book really angered me to the point that I questioned myself 'WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU AND WHY DID YOU READ IT?’ This book drove me nuts. Harper the harlot is one of the most unlikeable heroine ever! She’s a whiny brat. (let me just think of more synonyms for annoying) I hate her for making females look dumb!

Author, how can you write a character like that? WHYYYY?


So why did I gave it 1 star again? Because this book deserves it! Should you read it?

[May · Rating 1 out of 5]

UNA NOVELA MUY HAAAAAAAAAASTA LUEGO MARI CARMEN

Arriésgate es una novela juvenil contemporánea muy en la línea de las novedades editoriales que multiplican ventas cada mes. Una novela que cuenta el drama amoroso de una chica de dieciocho años que pasa por romances desenfrenados y giros de vida absurdos para su edad. Una novela absurda, con una trama más absurda todavía, mal escrita y organizada y con personajes desdibujados y planísimos.
Como veis, Arriésgate no ha sido para nada una buena lectura. Siendo sincera tiene un punto a favor: es muy entretenida. Eso no se lo quita nadie. Podría incluso atrapar a lxs lectorxs que disfrutan de estas historias. Pero siendo objetiva, es una novela mal escrita, mal trabajada y que deja bastante que desear.
Empezando por el tema trama: OMG. Dios. Hacía tiempo que no leía una novela con una historia tan sumamente estúpida e irracional. De principio a fin cuenta una idealización romántica del amor, la familia, los triángulos amorosos y... ¡HASTA EL HECHO DE TENER HIJXS! Me parece una novela que reproduce el sistema patriarcal e idealiza una relación adolescente de amor. Porque al fin y al cabo de eso va la novela: de los amores de una adolescente que por primera vez en su vida va a experimentar.
Teniendo en cuenta que la trama es absurda y estúpida, no hablemos de los personajes. Protagonista guapísima que es virgen, nunca le ha dado un beso a nadie y más pura que una monja que resulta que se quita la coleta nada más ir a la universidad. Sumándole el hecho de que se híper enamora de los dos malotes buenorros fiesteros experimentados. Venga haaaaasta luego Mari Carmen.
Los personajes son planísimos -más que una tabla de planchar- y a penas existen descripciones sobre ellos más que: buenorro, alto, musculoso, guapo. Y la protagonista por supuesto: delgada, guapa, tímida, sosa, aburrida, sumisa e idiota. De verdad os digo que hacía tiempo que no leía una novela con personajes peores trabajados que estos. Que llegaba un momento en el que no sabía quién estaba hablando porque todxs sonaban igual.
El ritmo: desenfrenado. Había momentos en los que pasabas dos páginas y habían pasado tres meses. Tal que así. Y sumándole el hecho de que no existían descripciones de la ambientación, la novela se lee súper rápido a base de diálogos y más diálogos.
En resumen, una americanada total, idealización del sueño americano de toda adolescente idiota, vacía de contenido, con giros estúpidos y una trama insostenible. De lo peorcito que he leído este año vaya.

[Maria Clara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lo siento, lo he intentado pero es imposible. El lenguaje es pobre, la trama es un cliché y no entiendo por qué todos los hombres están enamorados de la protagonista (a menos que sea porque es virgen) y un sinfín más de pequeños detalles.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s not like I haven’t been warned. There are plenty of reviews out there telling people just how DRAMATIC this story is. Yet, I couldn’t stay away...I just had to find out for myself. Well, what do they say? Curiosity killed the cat.

What.The.F*ck. Seriously.

You know, I started off liking this story. I have a thing for cocky bad boys and there were some pretty steamy scenes and so I thought this would be right up my alley. WRONG! Things got ridiculous pretty quickly after basically the entire male population (including said bad boy) started to fall all over themselves to take care of Harper, declaring their absolute admiration and undying love for her. Because there’s just something about her, ya know? *eye roll*

With this book everything was just too much, totally overdone and painfully melodramatic.

So I’m going to do myself a favor and stop reading at 65% into the story because I’m just too exasperated with this story, the characters and the author. Now I hope my eye’s gonna stop twitching soon.

Oh, and if you're planning on reading this anyway? Make sure you're not getting invested in any of the characters because that will come back to bite you.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you had asked me for a star rating at around the 50% mark of this book I would have said 5 big shiny stars because up to this point all I had done since picking up the book was ;



I loved it, I was gripped, I couldn't put it down, I had to force myself to put my ipad down just to carry out basic daily functions....wow what a book.......

But then I readjust passed the 50% mark and a certain event happens and I was like;





And then I carried on reading and I was like;



And then I couldn't help but feel like;



And then I kept on reading and reading and reading and I'm sorry to say but it got a little;



So then I got to the end and I was like;



And if you asked me for a rating at this point I would probably have said 2 stars......so now I just don't know.

This was such a Jekyll and Hyde book for me. I cant say I regret reading it because the first 50% was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G but then it just sort of lost it a bit for me. To be honest after the event that happened at around 50%, the rest of the story became very predictable and I got a little angry that what started out as an engrossing, exciting read ended with me skim reading the final 40% because everything I loved about the first part of the book was suddenly ripped away.

If I'm honest I think the story could have finished around the 60% mark and I would have been happy, instead I'm sorry to say i was just left utterly deflated by it all.

But hey we all like different things and maybe I'm just not the target audience for this type of book. So basically if you’re in the mood for a SUPER-angsty, super-dramatic read, then by all means, this is the book for you.

[Christine Zolendz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most emotional book I think I have ever read. I hated THAT part. I hate HE was gone. This book stays with you after you're done and you feel all banged up inside. All I've been doing is hugging my husband.

[Aestas Book Blog]

EEEEEPPPPP!!!!!!!!!! HOLY HELL! I just found out some of the stuff I always need to know before I start a book and I'm pretty sure this book is gonna rip my heart to itty-bitty shreds but I so totally want to read it!! ... will have to save it for when I can lock myself in a room and cry away

[Natasha is a Book Junkie · Rating 2 out of 5]

When a book decides to tackle such serious topics such as this one, I feel that a review has to reflect that. It would be irresponsible and quite out of character for me to just skim over the massive elephant in the room and focus only on how un-puttable-down this story might have been or how pleasantly angsty some parts of it were. This is a serious book, this is not a book for the light-hearted and this is not an easy read. The best way I can describe the way the events in this book affected me would be to compare it to a wash cycle - starts slow, gentle, gradually picks up in pace, faster and faster but still safe and pain-free, then all of a sudden it starts throwing your heart around savagely and with no warning, you find yourself in a spin cycle, not knowing which way is up, and then the pace slows down again, stays slow, attempts to mend your devastated heart, but in the end you can never forget the experience of having been through that spin cycle.

This is the story of a young girl, Harper, raised and home-schooled at a military base until she was eighteen by a strict father who treated her the same way he treated his Marines - with detachment and free from emotions. Surrounded only by males throughout her entire childhood, Harper grows up with no female influences in her life. When she starts college, she finds herself not only away from home for the first time in her life, but also in an environment as foreign to her as it is exciting. She craves to find herself and catch up on all the experiences that she has missed out on while growing up.

“After eighteen years of struggling to achieve a perfection that couldn’t be reached in my father’s eyes, I was finally going to let loose, have the college experience - whatever that was - and hopefully find out who I am in the process.”

She quickly finds herself surrounded by new friends, free to do whatever she chooses to do, left to her own inexperienced devices. But what happens when you let an animal that has lived in captivity for almost two decades, free? It runs, it embraces freedom never thinking of consequences, it takes risks and it makes mistakes. Add to that the emotional immaturity of an eighteen-year-old girl and you’ve got the perfect formula for disaster. Harper finds herself in a delicious little love triangle within a week of her new college life, with no prior experience in matters of the heart or being the object of anyone’s affection. Enter Chase and Brandon, equally scrumptious and equally exciting as potential love candidates for our virginal heroine, but different as night and day.

Chase is the archetypal rebel-without-a-cause, a ‘bad boy’ whose longest relationship with a girl has barely lasted until the following morning. Meeting Harper changes something in him - he teases her relentlessly and does everything to repel her but he only does so because he sees himself as unworthy of someone like her.

“I don’t deserve you either. You need someone who will cherish you, protect you and take care of you. Someone that realizes they’d never be able to find another you in the world, no matter how hard they looked. ... That first night, I did realize I would never meet another girl like you. But you deserve someone who has waited for you as long as you have waited for them. And no matter how much I wish I could be that guy, I can’t ... You’re amazing Harper. There will never be anyone good enough for you.”

Their attraction is mutual and equally strong but ultimately fruitless once she meets Brandon. He is the perfect guy for Harper. He is demonstrative, open, affectionate and he doesn’t play games with her. Their attraction is just as strong and it quickly evolves into a proper relationship. Harper’s heart is torn in two, she loves both Chase and Brandon but she only sees a future with one of them.

“I don’t want to be just another girl to someone ...”

Prepare yourself for a very angsty and very bumpy ride at this point, the culmination being a mistake that can’t be corrected or pretend it never happened, and everything changes after that. Harper quickly learns the meaning of heartache, how painful the consequences of her actions can be and how to be a responsible adult. I admired her for the decisions she made at that point but some of her reasoning behind it drove me bananas.

And then the 'spin cycle' starts - with no warning or indication that the story would take that turn - and I was left breathless for a while, gasping for air, wishing I misread or misinterpreted sentences, hoping it was just a tasteless joke at my expense. I hated the sudden turn of events, I hated that the author thought this would have been an acceptable way of dealing with the love triangle situation and I think I never forgave her for it. I personally felt that the shock-effect was unnecessary and that the gravity of the event affected my enjoyment of the rest of the book. It didn’t make the story any more ‘real’ or poignant, it just made it cruelly heartbreaking.

The pace of the second half of the book, 'post-spin cycle', stood in stark contrast to the first half of it. I almost felt it was written by two different people. The dialogues were unnatural, forced at times, and it didn’t flow well for me. When you break your reader’s heart with an unexpected event you have to make sure that you don’t break their spirit as well and that is where this book failed me as a reader. The subsequent events did very little to soothe me, to heal or restore my faith in the story itself. I feel that if you serve a grave injustice to the reader as part of the storyline and know for a fact that it will devastate them, you must also eventually offer an equally important ‘gift’ in return, some sort of redemption to make sense of the suffering. There has to be a balance between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ events and I felt that the scales were dramatically overturned in favour of the bad, for nothing else but the shock value of it. I admit that once the story changed, the characters changed as well, it modified the dynamic between them, it taught them to value what is truly important in life but some of those things could have been achieved differently. I also found that the second part of the book was so ‘detail-heavy’, every single thing was spelled out, from the way a child’s dirty onesie is washed from cake and frosting to how often a child is breastfed during the night and who gets up when he cries. It was unnecessary and apart from confusing me and making me wonder why I needed to know all those details, it added very little to the development of the characters or the plot itself.

“That boy was covered in cake and frosting. I took his onesie off and rinsed it off in the sink so all the food was [to] go down the drain instead of the washer, then helped ... attempt to wipe him down. We gave up not even two minutes later and ... rushed to give him a bath and put him in new clothes.”

I’ll be the first one to admit that I seek angst in my books, I need the cathartic effect that they offer me and I love nothing more than a well-executed emotional roller-coaster. But I do not like having my heart bulldozered and left for dead in the process without even being told the reason for it. The ‘lessons leant’ did not outweigh the 'price paid' and I was left flat, confused, resentful. However, regardless of how I felt at the end of this book, this is a story about the fragility of life itself, about what truly constitutes ‘family’ and about second chances. If you feel like you can erect a bullet-proof wall around your heart and take this book at face value without questioning the necessity of some of its parts, then you will undoubtedly enjoy it.

“People mess up and make mistakes all the time. Everyone deserves a second chance, right?”

~ N ♥

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[Taz-xo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just purchased this for my Kindle from Amazon UK! People are comparing it to Beautiful Disaster which excites me! Can't wait to get stuck in!!

Edit 5/9/12
I think I'm going to put this on hold for now, and I'll tell you why. The first 50% of the book was amazing. I only started it today and I haven't been able to put it down even once, until now. I'll be honest when that predictable event with Trish happened, I was amazed that Harper couldn't see through her. Was it just obvious to everyone else but her? I immediately knew what was going on so that really annoyed me.

*spoilers ahead*


Then...My favourite character is killed off!!! WTF!! I don't want her to end up with Brandon which she ultimately will end up doing now probably. I DON'T LIKE HIM! So yeah..I'm not happy. And I don't want to continue reading this right now. Who knows when I'll pick it back up, if I ever will that is.

[KarenH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a big fan of Beautiful Disaster and Thoughtless/Effortless, I'm always looking for a book that will give me the same adrenaline rush I felt when I read those. Taking Chances was that book for me. It has the incredibly sexy, tatted, buzzed-head hero who makes a living as an underground fighter like BD and the heart-wrenching love triangle between a sweet girl and two equally awesome frat brothers who are both in love with her like T/E. Can Romancelandia get any better for me? Not likely.

Harper Jackson has just started her freshman year at San Diego State University. Being raised by a strict, emotionless father on a military base in North Carolina, she is completely overwhelmed by her over-zealous roommate Bree and the craziness of living in the dorms on campus. Bree's brother, Chase, is the first guy she meets; and, although they fall into a routine of trading snarky remarks with each other, Chase's chiseled, tatted body and surfer good looks have Harper secretly swooning despite her vow to steer clear of the obvious "man-ho". But then she meets Brandon, the sexy "Travis Maddox look-alike" and it is love at first sight for both of them. Unfortunately, Brandon lives in Chase's frat house and it becomes a messy love triangle that escalates to disastrous proportions.

I can't say anything more in detail without giving away the story, but it is an amazing, heart-wrenching, soul-searching journey that Harper embarks upon in her first year of college. It is a long book - just short of 500 pages - but I was so caught up in Harper's dilemma with her two awesome men that I read the book in one sitting. Yes, it is that good!

This is Molly McAdams debut "new adult" novel and I'm excited for her to write more because she has that special "gift" of bringing her characters alive and making her readers feel as though we know these people personally. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to all lovers of a good romance but especially to those who are still in a state of limbo after experiencing Travis Maddox and Kellan Kyle. But heed this warning: Have a box of tissue handy...there are a few situations that will have you tearing up and one incident that will tear your heart to pieces! *sniff*

5+ stars!


Chase


Brandon

[Rosalinda *KRASNORADA*]

***DNF***

Ok, I have been refraining from rating or reviewing DNF books but I am not going to do it anymore. I have seen some friends complaining about people "attacking" them because they do not rate books the same way and this has to stop guys. We are not robot, we don't like the same books and we need to let other people rate/review books the way they want.

I didn't mark this one as read because I know most of my friends are absolute fans of this book and I deeply respect them so pls, respect me as well.

I also want to say I think Molly is a great author and I loved her writing style but something happened in the middle of the book (you all know what I am talking about) and I suddenly lost the interest, end of. I am not rating this because it is not fair as I didn't even finish it.

Let's be more considerate guys, GR is a great place to talk about books not to fight about them.

[L.A. Casey]

Well, that's me emotionally ruined and enraged at the same time.

[Jacqueline's Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Dramatic Stars

This will be a hard review for me because there are a lot of elements in Taking Chances I have personal issues with. So please note, these are personal issues and this is my personal opinion.

Here we go…

A lot of people recommended Taking Chances to me. However, my girlfriend read it and DNF. I asked her why and she basically told me what happened up until the 50% mark. So I have been putting it off for a very long time. I don’t know why I decided to pick up, maybe because I am a masochist or my morbid curiosity? What-ever the reason, I needed to know what happens in the end.




Taking Chances is not a typical book. It’s not cookie cutter, it’s raw, it’s emotional and you will make you cry like a baby. No, there’s not a “chance” you will cry, it’s a definite, 100% you will need tissues and valium to finish reading.

Seriously...


Taking Chances is about Harper, the Heroine and two Heroes, Chase and Brandon. This is their love story. It’s not typical, but sometimes shit
happens.



Let’s get my first issue out, I do not like love triangles when it’s between an indecisive girl and two great Heroes. I need one of the Heroes to be a villain and I didn’t get that. You will fall in love with both men. Chase is the bad-boy player and Brandon is the perfect bring-him-home-meet-the-parents kind of guy. I wavered between Chase and Brandon throughout the read. I couldn’t pin-point who I wanted more and Harper didn’t make it any easier.

This is where my review will become spoiler-ish. I will not give away the main event, but I have to point this out because I do not like this issue. So, do not continue to read if you want a spoiler-free review.


I do not like cheating.

I hardly like a book that has cheating, it’s very rare and when I realized this is pure bluntly cheating, I cringed … major. I have to like the Heroine in some aspects and I just didn’t understand Harper or her issues. I felt like she was just having the best of both worlds. I couldn’t relate.



And there is the “EVENT” as I like to call it. I knew about this, I was waiting for it throughout the read and I didn’t realize it would be at the 60% mark before I got there and oh boy, even though I was prepared, it just gutted me. I couldn’t comprehend the shift in the book. I was thinking there has to be a reason why it’s going in this direction, HAS.TO.BE.

Again, seriously... My emotions towards the read...







The rest of the 40% is cleaning up and when I got to the ending, I was left waiting for something more, like a climatic-ending.

I gave Taking Chances 4 stars because I’ll give Molly props for a dramatic story, despite my issues. I did find some parts dragging and the story a bit long. I think if she had the “event” at the 30% mark, made Harper a little less wishy-washy, cut out about 100 pages and gave me a dramatic ending, this could have been easily a 5 star read. I get the rave reviews and I get the disappointed ones. I feel like I’m in the middle.

I haven’t decided if I want to read Stealing Harper, but for now it’s on my list and I will continue to read McAdam’s reads.

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