Self Destruct Tour Stop!

 

Becca Scott spent years burying her traumatic past under alcohol and boys. With the help of her best friend she struggled to accept herself and let go of the pain. She thought she had her life under control for once, until she met Aiden.

Aiden Ryan lives with constant self-hatred. He allowed those close to him to manipulate his life for their own gain, because he felt he deserved it. He was resigned to marry a woman he didn't love, until he met Becca.

Becca and Aiden try and let go of their painful pasts to be together, but will their pasts let go of them?

   

Before I continue with this review, I need to remind you that this is my opinion and with every opinion out there, we view things through the filters that have been created in our own lives.  While the writing talent of this author is very good, there were many issues I found annoying and angered me.  So let’s start with the negatives so I can end on a positive note.

When I first started reading this book, I instantly connected with Aiden and Becca, two college students carrying around a ton of baggage from their past.  Aiden living with guilt and loss, found himself trapped in a relationship that is slowly killing him emotionally day by day.  Becca running from a traumatic event that she was never able to talk about, was lied to regarding the details and trying to stop her coping habits of drinking and making out with any man she could find.  When the two saw each other it was like the heavens opened and the answers to their problems were raining down on them.  This is where the story took a bad turn for me.

Without giving away spoilers, what I can say if this couple had one major event happen after another.  It was seriously to the point I was telling myself if she gets kidnapped, drugged, abused, slandered or has one more fainting spell I am going to throw this kindle across the room.  She gave frequent flyer miles to the ER a new meaning in this book.  It was an excess of drama to keep the story going I feel.  The sad thing is, the book was flowing smoothly and was an entertaining quick read in the beginning, it was at the point the drama was inserted that I found myself checking to see how much more book I had left to read. 

The second issue I had with this book is the author was dealing with some heavy topics, things that would cripple a normal human being, but Becca was often seen falling apart, claiming how upset she was and all it took from Aiden was to say a few words and poof, Becca’s anxiety was gone.  I would get excited reading about a scene, the buildup, waiting for that climatic explosion that would happen in normal life and it was never there. 

There is also another scene regarding her virginity that was written very realistic, but by the end of the book I was left wondering how certain events could have happened in her past and she still remain a physical virgin.  It didn’t add up to me. Yet another scene, Aiden had been prepared to kill the man who hurt Becca, when the face to face meeting happens……they talked, more explosive information was given to Aiden and he allowed the man to walk away without calling the police.

Now the good things, the characters themselves were over all wonderful.  Unfortunately by the time I finished the book, my favorite characters were two of the secondary people, Jeremy and Toni.  They made me laugh and I was in love with them by the middle of the book.  I think the overall theme of the story was charming and I would have really enjoyed it if we could have taken out the need for constant events that was meant to cause intensity.  The relationship itself between Aiden and Becca was intense, seeing them clean up their past messes and come clean with each other was exciting enough.  I didn’t need the other stuff. 

Please once again remember this is how I feel about the book.  I felt with the trauma she was going through, for her to be so easily distracted from that anxiety was an insult to those women who are dealing with it in the real world.  It left a bad feeling for me because I hope other readers don’t assume that their recovery should come so easily and quickly with just a few words from their boyfriend or a good roll in the hay.  I viewed this story through my filter and my taste in books, so with that said I would not discourage anyone from reading it.  

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K. D. Carrillo is a graduate of Central Washington University, the setting of Self Destruct. This is her second self-published title. Fighting Destiny (Central Coven 1) was released in May 2013. 

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