Review: Random (Going The Distance #1) by Lark O'Neal

Book Title: Random (Going The Distance #1)

Author: Lark O'Neal

Release Date: November 12th, 2013

Publisher: Barbra Samuel

Genre: NA Romance

Series: Book 1 in Going The Distance

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Link: Amazon 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Life is random…

19-year-old Jess Donovan knows better than most that life is random. Her mom is dead, and she’s on her own, patching together a living as a waitress when a car crashes through the restaurant where she works. In two seconds, she loses her job, watches her best friend hauled away in an ambulance…and meets Tyler Smith, one of the hottest, most fascinating—and mysterious guys she’s ever met. 

Both for the good and the bad…

Within days, Jess is swept up into the mesmerizing force that is Tyler. Their every touch sizzles, every kiss dissolves them both, and the sex is…fierce. But there’s more to Tyler than his hypnotic eyes. He’s adrift, too, and his body—and his soul—are covered with scars. How can she find herself with a guy who is lost himself? 

Until you take charge….

Jess is determined to find her way, and make a life that is better than the one she was given. But how?

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

It's no secret that I have had very little luck with NA recently. It's pretty much down to only two authors who have made NA enjoyable for me. I received this book back in 2013 and I realized that I wanted to read it now. I wanted to get all of the 2013 ARC's/e-ARC's off of my review log so I could focus on the new ones. While I didn't hate this book, I didn't love it either.

We first meet Jess the morning of a huge accident at her workplace. I liked her instantly. She seemed smart, funny and kind. Later on that day, after her workplace gets plowed into by a car, we meet her boyfriend Rick. What an absolute prick he was. Wow, he was the stereotypical musician with a band. I saw no redeeming qualities in this jackass.I was beyond relieved when Jess finally ended the relationship that night.

Now Tyler was a sweetheart and I thought he was great for Jess. He wasn't into all the stuff that Rick was into so Jess was about to escape that life. She wanted something different for herself which I loved. I loved how they didn't rush into sex. They started off pretty slowly especially considering that this was an NA book. However it seemed like once they did the deed, that was all they did. 

At one point Jess says she needs to talk to him about his past that he was so secretive about. Yet talking didn't happen. She showed up at his place and within seconds nakedness ensued. That drove me crazy. Especially since Jess had been so certain that she needed to talk to him about his family and his "rough years"

They talked about Tyler's attractiveness nearly constantly. Multiple times I felt like saying "Um, we already know he's attractive. Tell us something else." It's great when a guy is phyiscally attractive but there has got to be more to a guy than his physical attributes.

Cheating is one of the major dealbreakers I have when it comes to books so I was thrilled that Jess didn't cheat on Rick. He may have been an asshole but Jess took the high road and just broke up with him before getting involved with Tyler.

I wanted to absolutely adore the characters but I ended up not adoring them. I liked them both but I didn't adore them. Jess' self esteem was in the toilet which drove me crazy.Her self esteem seemed to be attached to her relationship with Rick. She seemed to feel unworthy of better things. Plus she was incredibly naive which on occasion drove me nuts. Tyler wasn't much better. He clearly didn't have a backbone when it came to his family and his family or at least his sister seemed to know that and work it to her advantage. I wanted Tyler to stand up for Jess against his family, but he didn't.

So this book gets 3 stars. Some parts were good but the characters oftentimes drove me insane to the point where I wasn't even sure I wanted to finish the book. I don't know if I'll continue the series.Maybe I will, maybe I won't. It's not a series that I am just dying to finish or anything. It was better than several NA's I've read recently so give it a shot,you could end up really enjoying it.