Monday, June 27, 2016

Core by Teshelle Combs

                                                        
                 THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW. BE FOREWARNED 


I really liked this book.
It was funny, and sweet, and it was interesting.
I did have a few problems with it, which I will get into in a moment.
I loved how tough Ava was, but it bothered me how much she was unable to open up. And for someone with trust issues, she seemed to trust a little too easily at times.
I adored Cale, he was so cute when he was being protective of her (at the times when it wasn’t warranted). It bugged me that everyone was so quick to assume that sweet, honest Cale had committed the crime he was accused of, his own father disowning him without asking him whether or not it was true.
I did like the Anders, although we didn’t really get to know them all that well. Rory was probably my favorite, aside from Cale. Karma kind of annoyed me that she was so analytical all the time, and yet didn’t seem inclined to offer her opinion very often.
I felt like she could have been a really cool character, but at times it felt like she was just there to provide cold, mechanical observations and information, but the way it was handled was well done, so I didn’t not like her.
Cameron was about the same, he is probably my second favorite (or third, after Cale), as his coldness had a humor about it at times that was lacking in Karma. And I loved when he spoke with Cale, their game.
(And can we just talk about the scene where Cameron and Cale were taking turns making the bouncer at the Cave uncomfortable? I laughed so hard at that. Made me love them even more)

And now onto the things that bugged me:

1. As mentioned above, how come no one gave Cale the benefit of the doubt? Just believing the charges instantly, as his own father did. I know the charges are sort of explained at the end, but it still bothered me.
2.  The pacing felt kind of inconsistent at times, one moment they are just meeting, but in the next scene they act as though they have known each other for ages. Literally the next day Ava goes over to his house and he pulls her onto the bed with him and falls back asleep, and she just lays there and goes with it. At least she mentioned how weird it was, which I felt was the author’s way of excusing the actions at times.
3. The fight scenes. The small skirmishes and the minor battles were detailed enough to be pictured, yet the big fight scenes like the one at the Grand Nest was glossed over, as were a few others.
And that may have been due to whether or not the author was comfortable with writing fight scenes, didn’t like doing them, or just wasn’t confident in them, considering how few fight scenes there actually were.
If so, I can respect that.

There were a few typos throughout, mainly towards the beginning, which didn’t take away from the story at all, I just thought I’d mention them.

Overall, I really liked this book and I look forward to reading more about Cale and Ava in the future, as I am really curious as to where their story will go.

I am just sorry that it has taken me this long to read it.