Hi guys! I’m back with another book review! This time I had finished reading the book “Such a Rush” by Jennifer Echols. To be honest, I had finished this book a while ago (last week that is) but I didn’t have the time to type up something about it. So, forgive me if there are some things that aren’t quite clearly mentioned within this review/rant.
Yes, you saw that right – a rant. Which means…
SPOILER ALERT!!! And there is LOTS OF THEM!
Cover = nice looking if you see it on a shelf across the room. Close-up: not the same effect I realised
Before we begin, this is the blurb taken from GoodReads.com about the novel:
When I was fourteen, I made a decision. If I was doomed to live in a trailer park next to an airport, I could complain about the smell of the jet fuel like my mom, I could drink myself to death over the noise like everybody else, or I could learn to fly.
Heaven Beach, South Carolina, is anything but, if you live at the low-rent end of town. All her life, Leah Jones has been the grown-up in her family, while her mother moves from boyfriend to boyfriend, letting any available money slip out of her hands. At school, they may diss Leah as trash, but she’s the one who negotiates with the landlord when the rent’s not paid. At fourteen, she’s the one who gets a job at the nearby airstrip.
But there’s one way Leah can escape reality. Saving every penny she can, she begs quiet Mr. Hall, who runs an aerial banner-advertising business at the airstrip and also offers flight lessons, to take her up just once. Leaving the trailer park far beneath her and swooping out over the sea is a rush greater than anything she’s ever experienced, and when Mr. Hall offers to give her cut-rate flight lessons, she feels ready to touch the sky.
By the time she’s a high school senior, Leah has become a good enough pilot that Mr. Hall offers her a job flying a banner plane. It seems like a dream come true . . . but turns out to be just as fleeting as any dream. Mr. Hall dies suddenly, leaving everything he owned in the hands of his teenage sons: golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson. And they’re determined to keep the banner planes flying.
Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business—until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers—and the consequences could be deadly.
Now, for the record, I love Jennifer Echols’ books. Her writing style is really unique, and the way she is able to put engaging dialogues on paper is really awesome. However, throughout the story, I cannot brush off the feeling that the characterisation of each individual within the story (the three/four protagonists involved in the story) are just too unrealistic for their age, especially both Leah and Grayson.
About Leah. I kind of had a love/hate relationship with her. But, that huge chip on her shoulder is VERY HARD TO MISS! I mean, I commend her efforts to try and live a considerably ‘normal’ life by being passionate about flying, despite her living in a trailer park with a crappy mother (or rather with the lack of presence from the maternal figure) and obsessive sorry excuse dick-of-an-ex-boyfriend however Leah honey, you don’t have to act as if the world hate you. Seriously, with that sort of attitude within you, it is no wonder that people tend to avoid you ><. Other qualities within her that I kind of groan at, such as her stubborn attitude to just ‘let go’ at times (especially when Mr. Hall dies. I mean come on, he was such a fatherly figure/surrogate father to Leah, yet she feels that she couldn’t even express her grief in public…WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!) exist however, there are some others that seem to be redeemable.
As for the other characters – not so much. Grayson…what can I say? Well, *clears throat* EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM FOR SOME DAMNED REASON BOTHERS ME!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Do forgive me for that moment. But please, hear me out before you judge.
1. The plan to blackmail Leah. Sure, Leah is a perfect candidate for the job but seriously, as if the romance thing wasn’t obvious enough. And to set both his brother and Leah up was just a crappy plan FROM THE BEGINNING. The ‘big secret’ which Grayson refuses to share with Leah (despite her being the most important part of the plan itself) is absolutely bullshit. I just couldn’t stop thinking that this plan has so many problems with it that I was even thinking ways of changing it to make it seem as if Leah REALLY didn’t have another option out there.
2. The maturity and responsibility place upon him. Yes, he has lost his father in a tragic accident, with his old brother only a month before that. However, how did a 17 year old boy suddenly change into a businessman seen in really, really bad erotic stories (trust me, I have seen those…not proud of it ><) who are the age of 30+? This maturity that Grayson evokes really gets under my skin because it just does not seem realistic enough. I can understand that due to the loss of both his father and older brother could have triggered something within him to take initiative to become more mature however Echols could have walked down that route a bit more, and expand about that side of his character more. Maybe that way, I could empathise with him more, rather than just think of him as a huge prick.
3. The way he treats Alec. Come on Grayson, HE IS YOUR TWIN BROTHER!!!! Not a three year old toddler. You are seriously underestimating him for 3/4 of the bloody story. And, did I forget to mention that HE IS SOMEWHAT PART OF YOUR SO-CALLED PLAN? And not just a nuisance…
Finally 4. *quote from one of my favourite YouTubers* “I WILL PUNCH YOU!”
This gif…anger sated.
Okay, calm down Hyunnie, calm down. *deep breaths*
However, the ultimate annoyance I found about this story was definitely Molly.
Molly, Molly, where do I begin?
Nothing to say really, apart from the obvious of ISN’T SHE THE MOST CONTRADICTORY CHARACTER OF ALL-TIME??!
I have never seen a person who can be so understanding one minute, and then turn ultimate bitch-mode the next, and that’s saying something. Plus, chasing after the brothers, like what the hell was that for??
Don’t deny it, she so deserves one 😀
And Alec. Poor Alec, a lifeless and empty character. Really, I had to admit, I had to keep reminding myself that Alec was the twin brother of Grayson, and that HE EXISTS. Seriously, the master plan involves Leah trying to convince/make Alec believe that she has the hots for him i.e. the major plot of the story. It is a bit disappointing that we couldn’t learn much about his side of the story, and how he was coping with the loss internally.
And, one final note. This story dragged on FOR TOO GOD-DAMN LONG! The whole idea and the plot really interested me, and the fact that it was another story by Jennifer added to my interest. It is really rare to see such a badass idea with a female-main protagonist however, I feel that the overall pacing of the story has not done the blooming idea justice. Even for a tech/mecha freak like me, I just couldn’t sense that passion Leah had for her planes and flying. It seemed more like a documentary of how to fly, rather than a campaign to sell me tickets to fly the plane, which I believe would have been more interesting (in terms of plot-wise obviously ><)
Final Thoughts (FINALLY! *huff*):
This book had so much potential. I had such high expectations for it (which I realise is never a good thing most of the time) from both reading about the plot, and also recognising the author. However, this has been classified as a
“A sexy and poignant romantic tale of a young daredevil pilot caught between two brothers.”
which I have to admit, is not fulfilled sufficiently. And the bit that I would point to and tsk upon is…the entire statement. This story has been an underdeveloped romance with the lack of one brother’s participation for literally the entirety of the novel. Sure, there are sexual tensions here and there during the novel, but it is between one brother, not two. I would have loved it if Echols continued with that line, as it would have probably distracted me enough to ignore the other flaws that were clear as night and day.
Do not be fooled though, as I will still keep supporting Echols in all of her future works however, she definitely fits the more fluff and quirky stories. I’m aware that many will like this story however, do not forget that this is my own opinion, and in no shape or form am I allowed to tell you what to do/not do. Please, go ahead and read it if you wish; be my guest (that was spoken with sincerity, trust me :D)
I do apologise about this really lengthy and stupid rant from yours truly however, this novel has been barking up my butt ever since I finished reading it and I just had to say SOMETHING about the novel.
Hope you all enjoyed, and I’ll be back very soon with another review! See you all soon~~
❤ Yami Hyunnie ^^~
Asia Reviewer Maniac 