Review: Drowning in You by Rebecca Berto

Drowning in You by Rebecca Berto

Publication Date: April 5, 2013
Page Count: 314
Self Published New Adult
Source: Purchased

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Secretly crushing

Crushed by a tragedy

Charlee May’s been crushing on Dexter Hollingworth since she was fifteen. Five years later, a horrific skiing disaster at Mason’s Ski Lift Resort leaves her millionaire dad critically injured and her mom dead at the hands of Dexter operating the lifts. Charlee is suddenly the sole caretaker for her little brother while their world falls apart.

Dexter couldn’t be more different from Charlee. He’s tattooed, avoids exclusive relationships and his Dad has a fair share of illegal dealings. With Dexter’s reputation, almost everyone believes he planned the Mason’s skiing disaster.

And after all these years he’s still crushing on Charlee May, the girl who’s too good for him.

When this cruel twist of fate ties Charlee’s family and Dexter’s reputation together, Charlee and Dexter wonder if their feelings are reciprocated, while Dexter discovers his dad is trying to steal the May’s millionaire fortune.

But like an addiction, one look, one touch, one taste—they’re hooked no matter the consequences.

Disclaimer: Recommended for mature readers due to sexual content and crude language.

I've had this book on my tbr for quite a while, and I really wanted to enjoy it. The synopsis sounded appealing to me and I thought it would be a good angsty type love story. However, I was really disappointed in this and had to force myself to finish.

I will tell you right up front that the writing is horrible, and there is no easy way to say that. Horrible writing really makes a horrible reading experience. I had such a hard time knowing what was going on for most of the book. And it was really difficult following and figuring out the dialogue. During text exchanges it wasn't clear who was texting or what the conversations were about. The whole book is a jumbled and confusing mess.

I don't know how I feel about the characters. I couldn't relate to any of them, and their personalities were so blah that nothing really stood out about them. Dexter needed to get his shit together and quit blaming everyone around him for his problems. He had heartache in his past, and he didn't get along with his father, but at 21 I would expect him to be able to take some responsibility for himself and do something about his situation. I also didn't like his passive aggressive behavior towards Charlee. Decide if you want to pursue a relationship with her or not, and then take some action.

Charlee got on my nerves because she was constantly acting so immature. She was in extreme denial about her father's condition, and she really tried to avoid situations where she would have any responsibility. Even though I could understand and sympathize with Charlee about her feelings for Dexter, her constant indecision about him bothered me. Make up your mind if it's worth being with him and then do something about it.

The accident that happened at the ski resort and the real reasons behind it were hard to figure out. Dexter's father went from being an abusive asshole to simply being misunderstood, and I couldn't get behind the reasons for his character's turnaround. I felt that the story wrapped up way too neatly and easily.

I usually love dual POV because you really get to know both characters, but it didn't work for me this time. The changes from chapter to chapter were too noticeable, and it seemed like the timeline got too confusing for the author. Being inside both Charlee and Dexter's head really didn't add anything to the story for me.

While I believe that this could have been an awesome book, it had way too many problems to make it enjoyable.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars