| Title: | Beauty From Surrender | |
|---|---|---|
| Author: | Georgia Cates | |
| Publisher | Self published | |
| Publication Date: | May 30, 2013 | |
| Publisher's Description | After Laurelyn Prescott walks away from the love of her life, she returns to Nashville to pursue the only dream she has left. Determined to find a distraction from the pain of losing Jack Henry, she immerses herself in her music. But with her old life comes old acquaintances and new expectations. When Laurelyn refuses her record producer’s outrageous demands, she finds herself without a career—until an unforeseen opportunity presents itself. From there it’s a rocket ride straight to the top where Laurelyn finds the success she’s always dreamed of. Will it be enough to bring her the happiness she so deserves, or will the absence of Jack Henry leave her wanting more? Jack Henry McLachlan never expected to fall in love with Laurelyn Prescott—but he did. After he foolishly let her slip through his fingers, he spends three months searching for her, but their reunion doesn’t come easy. The woman he finds isn’t the same one who drifted away without a goodbye. No longer an insecure girl on an Australian adventure, this Laurelyn is a successful musician with a promising career. Her dreams are becoming a reality, and Jack is terrified his American girl won’t have a place for him in her new life. With only a month to convince her otherwise, will it be enough time to make her visualize a life beyond the glitz and glamour, a life that includes him? |
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| My rating: | 0 stars | |
At the end of the first book in this series, I would have given it 2.5/3 stars. The writing is good, and I’m thankful that Ms. Cates doesn’t have the apostrophe and comma troubles that plague many new adult authors, but just knowing where to put punctuation isn’t enough to win me over as a reader. Caution: spoilers abound and I’m too tired to wield the spoiler tag with any hope of success.
I really like romance novels, and I understand that there are certain conventions that most authors adhere to. I get that a lot of readers like their romance heroes [and oh, how I hate the language one uses to discuss romance protagonists; what, exactly, is it about these men and women that we are supposed to find heroic?] to be really macho, but Jack is just bad news. He takes his strength of character and, instead of building her up, repeatedly uses it to mold Laurelynn into who he wants her to be, her wishes be damned.
Jack is basically a really big toddler, and is completely okay with throwing tantrums or being petulant, as long as it gets him what he wants in that moment. How is this guy a successful businessman? He seems to lack both patience and the ability to compromise. For Jack, Laurelynn must either give up everything she’s ever worked toward or they’re not going to survive. When he wants something to be a certain way, there’s literally no other option in his mind. This guy is a squjillionaire, and he can’t think of any way that maybe the two of them can both achieve their dreams? Like, not at all? Couldn’t they split the year in their respective countries? Couldn’t he hire a manager to help run his vineyards for the time when he’s in the States with Laurelynn, supporting her career the way he assumes she will for her? Oh, right, no. Because everything is all about Jack. Talk about a failure of imagination.
Maybe this book gets better. Maybe Laurelynn’s parents become less awful and Jack pulls his head out of his butt, but I’m done. I couldn’t make it past yet another person in Laurelynn’s life thinking that they knew better than her and telling her that what she wants doesn’t matter as much as what others want for and from her. Laurelynn: cut your hair, change your name, and go off the grid for a few years. Girl, get your mind right.
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