The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines | Rating:★☆☆☆☆ (1.5)

"Trouble can be a lot of fun. It's the straight and narrow that makes life tedious and boring."

From 2012. The Vincent Boys promises to be a delicious, steamy love story perfect for summer fantasy fueled days you spend inside from the rain. I was able to download a free copy of this eBook on iTunes and cleared my night to begin reading it, one summer day, and fully expected to have a delightful time. But the thing about The Vincent Boys is it's a slightly far out, cliched mess that even Abbi Glines writing talent couldn't bring me to love -- and that's the most disappointing thing of all.

Abbi has a way with words, that's apparent in her other works, but this story in particular was too jumbled, cliched and rushed for me to actually feel any sort of connection to the characters. I couldn't feel much towards them, it was like they were running by me and I wasn't seeing them, really seeing them.

Now I know what you're thinking: BUT JESSICA! But, Jessica, the book has a lot of buzz to it. And Abbi is fantastic in her work. This is very true -- nearly everyone I know enjoyed the book. Friends, family and book bloggers alike all agreed that The Vincent Boys was fun and sexy and overall an entertaining read. Really, I feel appalled that I didn't like it. I'm giving you permission to throw rocks at me for this.


My hopes were high and dashed, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't check it out. I could be the exception, the fluke, the one silly girl who simply did not connect with the story, the romance or the characters.

But it just wasn't my cup of tea. It wasn't memorable, the romance didn't make my heart race and the story was like something I'd read a thousand times. Although Abbi's writing style is easy to read there was something severely lacking from each character that made them stay on the page in a dull whirl. I felt like they were each a cliche in their own right that they had no real personality or sense. Ashton, the leading lady, had the potential to be one of the great women in the contemporary romance genre, but I didn't feel much from her.

A good girl who wants a bad boy. A good girl who wants to break free but can't because of her family. A good girl who does some very bad things, in spite of her family and boyfriend, and although shows some guilt, she doesn't have much remorse at all. She doesn't even do anything that is horrendous or any of that, just exploration of some sorts, but she didn't appear sympathetic towards her at all. It's all been done before, it's all the same and it all just lacked sparkle or warmth for me. I literally couldn't get myself to like the characters or their relationships. I couldn't stay focused.

I'm so disappointed.

Now, here's the thing guys: I didn't find myself attracted to or interested in the novel. Perhaps I have outgrown this sort of romance, perhaps I just wasn't in the mood, but that's only my opinion. I don't want anyone to read my review and think 'OH! Well if she doesn't like it, I don't!' -- please, read the book first. It's light, it's easy and it's something that could very well be your guilty (or an all-time) favorite. I would say, only, to not judge Abbi Glines based on this particular piece of work. The Vincent Boys may have not connected with me, but her skills in creating worlds of words that flow together effortlessly is apparent even in her weakest release.