book recs, author services, general badassery
  • Blog
    • Free Romance Reads
    • Our Thoughts
    • 1-Click Wonders
    • Author on Authors
    • Chattin' with Authors
    • So You're New To...
  • Book Recs
  • Reviews
    • 5-Star Reads
    • Contemporary Romance
    • Historical Romance
    • New Adult Romance
    • Paranormal Romance
    • Romantic Comedy
    • Romantic Erotica
    • Romantic Suspense
    • Teen Young Adult
    • Hall of Shame
  • About
    • Contact
    • Review Policy
    • Guest Post Guidelines
    • Advertising on Romance Rehab
  • For Authors
    • Romance novel blurb help
    • Referral Program
    • Romance Remedy
    • Romance Author Services
    • Online Writer's Resources
    • Proofreading Test >
      • Proofreading Test Answers
  • Blog
    • Free Romance Reads
    • Our Thoughts
    • 1-Click Wonders
    • Author on Authors
    • Chattin' with Authors
    • So You're New To...
  • Book Recs
  • Reviews
    • 5-Star Reads
    • Contemporary Romance
    • Historical Romance
    • New Adult Romance
    • Paranormal Romance
    • Romantic Comedy
    • Romantic Erotica
    • Romantic Suspense
    • Teen Young Adult
    • Hall of Shame
  • About
    • Contact
    • Review Policy
    • Guest Post Guidelines
    • Advertising on Romance Rehab
  • For Authors
    • Romance novel blurb help
    • Referral Program
    • Romance Remedy
    • Romance Author Services
    • Online Writer's Resources
    • Proofreading Test >
      • Proofreading Test Answers
Picture

5 Years Later by Jaxson Kidman and London Casey

8/7/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture

​CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Publication date: 04/25/2017
Cliffhanger: No

5 Years Later, despite having a great blurb and having been written by an author I’ve read and enjoyed in the past, didn’t work for me AT ALL. It’s basically the story of an alphahole jerkwad who disappears from a woman’s life just long enough for her to get her crap together, then comes back to wreck everything for her, over and over again. Rinse and repeat. I could end the review there, but let me elaborate on all the stuff I hated about the book: ​
Aidan, the “hero”
I use the term hero very, very loosely here. I don’t mind so much that Aidan has dependency issues and is a recovering addict. I could forgive that. But every time he comes back into Lily’s life, he ruins everything for her, never really apologizes, immediately jumps back into bed with her (while promising that “this time”, it’s forever), then abandons her without a goodbye for another 5 years. (He also insists on condomless sex, even though he’s been high and far from celibate while they were apart. Dick.) The last time he comes back, it’s with a kid in tow, and he refuses to give her any info about where he’s been or what he’s been doing for a LONG time after they start having sex again. He’s an ass. I hated everything about Aidan.

And after everything he puts Lily through, at the end, when he has one setback, his first instinct is to immediately go back to using. He isn’t even able to stop himself. It takes the help of his sponsor and Lily to get him to admit he’s being an idiot. So, what’s Aidan going to do when things don’t go his way in the future? From what I’ve seen in this book (including right up until the end), he’ll go back to drugs and probably leave Lily high and dry.  

Lily, the heroine
Lily is a wimp. Not only does she tolerate Aidan’s behavior, she encourages it by taking him back with open arms (and legs) whenever he reappears. She doesn’t ask too many questions, or expect an apology. A good heroine, in my opinion, would have kicked Aidan in the nuts the second time he popped back into her life, then gotten a restraining order against him. I also hated how Lily was so ready to burn her life to the ground whenever Aidan waltzed back through her door. Have some self-respect, girl!

The bouncing timeline
Keeping up with all the time jumps in this story was like trying to follow all the character names in Game of Thrones. It got tedious after a while.

For all the grammar Nazis out there, it’s probably worth mentioning that you’ll find lots of errors in this book. Missed words, misused words, punctuation errors, weirdly phrased stuff that doesn’t read anywhere close to right...these are all issues you’ll have to tolerate in order to finish this one.

Long-story-short, I hated the hero with a fiery passion and wanted the heroine to grow a spine so that I could fix her up with a better hero from another book. That is all.

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
It’s not really stigma-y, just annoying.

Other reading suggestions
I liked When I’m Gone by Jaxson Kidman. And if second chance romance is your jam, you’ll want to check out this “best of” list. Enjoy!

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Romance Rehab newsletter sign up

    FOLLOW US 
    Reedsy Top Book Reviewer 2019

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017

Picture

BLOG
FREE Romance books
​Book Recommendations

Our Thoughts
1-Click Wonders
5-Star Reads
Authors on Authors
Chattin' with Authors
So You're New To...
What Not to Read
REVIEWS
​
Contemporary Romance
Historical Romance
New Adult Romance
Paranormal Romance
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Erotica
Romantic Suspense
Teen/Young Adult
ABOUT
Contact
Review Policy
Guest Post Guidelines
Advertising on
​Romance Rehab

​
FOR AUTHORS
Online Writer's Resources
Proofreading Test
ROMANCE AUTHOR SERVICES 
Romance novel blurb help
Romance Remedy program

Referral program

Romance author services
  • Book cover critique
  • Animated book covers and social media graphics
  • Beta reading
FREE Romance Rehab newsletter: ​Subscribe here
KnockinBooks LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
​© 2020 KnockinBooks LLC