Distraction - Book Review

By Angela McPherson

Synopsis

Aside from the normal changes in her life, college junior Elle Richards can always count on her friendship with Tristan. The longing for him to love her back is something she keeps well hidden, even from herself. No matter how many miles apart they are, regular phone calls and texts keep them close…until the day everything changes.

Wide Receiver Tristan Daniels has a good thing going. Much to his, and every single woman’s surprise, he’s in a committed relationship. The possibility of going pro looks more than promising…until his spur of the moment transfer to a rival college is approved. Now, Tristan will be forced to be in the presence of the woman he’s secretly loved for as long as he can remember. Elle.

Being away from one another was enough to keep Tristan and Elle distracted, but angst, confusion, and troubled secrets launch them into a breathless, heart pumping story you won’t want to miss!

Review

Ok, so I finished DISTRACTION a few days ago and have read a few books since then so I’m hoping I can remember enough about this book to give a decent review. Especially since I purchased it through Kindle Unlimited and have already returned the book. See, this is what I get for not reviewing immediately.

Anyway, DISTRACTION is about Elle and Tristan, who are old childhood friends and are now in separate colleges. The two have had feelings for each other for years but have never voiced them to the other or acted on them. Tristan, to help distract him from his perceived unrequited feelings, has turned to women to soothe his pain. Of course, he’s a young man ruled by his hormones so I guess this makes sense. Rather than take a chance and tell Elle how he feels and possibly end up with the woman he says he loves, he sleeps around instead. Does Elle operate the same way? Nope, of course not. She’s remained a virgin while waiting for a chance with Tristan.

After Tristan transfers and ends up at the same college as Elle, he has to confess to her that he’s been in a committed relationship for a while and is now engaged. Already I’m seeing flaws. Why would a young man in the middle of his college years (football scholarship) already be engaged to a woman he’s only been with for about a year, while he’s soooo in love with someone else? Anyway, Elle is devastated and decides she’s done waiting for Tristan and moves on to another man. As Elle starts to move on, Tristan starts to break away from his fiancé, who’s a total bitch. Actually, she’s a friggin’ psycho. Despite her many disgusting shows of her true behaviour, he stays with her while still pining for Elle. It takes her cheating on him for him to finally dump her.

Skip several chapters and both Tristan and Elle are now single. By now, Tristan has told Elle how he feels about her and says the next move is hers. She’s been in love with him for years so you’d think she’d jump at the chance to be with him, but no, she makes him wait. Why? Because she had to wait for him for years and watch him with other women. So therefore she feels he should have to wait for her. For weeks. Silly right? Of course, this pisses Tristan off and after just a few weeks he’s ready to give up. Really??? Yeah, sounds like true love to me.

So finally, when Elle realises she’s about to lose Tristan for good, she says she’s ready for a relationship. Let the love scenes begin. Here’s where I get annoyed again. She’s just given up her virginity, and when they’re about to go a second time, she tells him she’s on the pill and he doesn’t need to wear a condom. I understand that in the story she loves him and obviously trusts him, but she knows he’s been with a lot of women. Given this book is about college aged young adults, I think this sends a very bad message about the practice of safe sex. At least get him tested before you allow him the honour of no barriers. And if he loved her so much, he would have tested himself to make sure she was kept totally safe.

So in the end, Elle and Tristan get their HEA and just when you think the book is finished, you find out there’s a sequel, ADDICTION. I don’t know why, given the happy ending and seeming closure of the love story. But apparently ADDICTION is a continuation of Elle and Tristan’s story. Which sucks, why put them together just to tear them apart again? Haven’t they been apart long enough? If ADDICTION comes out on Kindle Unlimited, I’ll get it since it’ll be free, but I’m not expecting much enjoyment wise. I’ll read it to see how the story (hopefully) ends for real because I hate leaving a series unfinished.

Overall, I feel the story was very slow and the way these characters were written was very childish and not indicative of how college aged kids behave. The sex and the parties, yes. But the level of bitchiness, pettiness and inability to express ones feelings seemed more fitting to a book about high school students.