Review: Crashing Into You by B.D. Rowe

Title: Crashing Into You
Author: B.D. Rowe
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: October 3rd, 2013
Pages: Paperback, 310 pages
Rating: Two out of Five Stars


Description: Bookish college sophomore Sydney Baker wants Evan Taylor with every ounce of her being. The hottest stud on campus, Evan is six foot four, ripped, stacked with muscles. He's even easy to talk to.

There's just one problem: he's her roommate Melanie's boyfriend.

But when Melanie tragically dies after a night of wild partying, Sydney and Evan turn to each other in a time of intense grief. And it doesn't take long for their close friendship to blossom into something more.

Unfortunately for Sydney, secrets from the past soon put her relationship with Evan to the test. Especially when a sexy blonde freshman makes her way into Evan's life, and tries to rip away everything Sydney holds close to her heart.

Review: I'll be honest, I didn't and still don't quite know what to make of this book.

The cover is gorgeous, and is part of what drew me in - it definitely suits the title and in some ways, the story that is told in the book. The problem is, throughout the book there were times when I had the distinct feeling that the author was trying to preach to me, and that's not necessarily something that I look for in fiction, particularly romance.
 
At times it felt as though the book itself was trying to decide just what it was, romance or a lesson about drunk driving. The way this was expressed through Sydney's conversations and reactions to those around her made it quite hard to get through, at times - it just didn't sound like a college student, but someone much older, someone with an agenda.

Considering everything that happens in the book - from our introduction to Sydney and the events that shape her character, to the storyline with Evan - it felt like the book feel a bit short. I felt that the book itself wasn't quite long enough for what the author seemed to be trying to accomplish, and for me the conclusion wasn't satisfactory, either. It seemed as though it was trying to be shocking for the sake of it, and I didn't come away with any real message as to what the book was really about, what it was trying to accomplish. The story the author was trying to tell, rather than just 'alcohol is bad and can screw stuff up, kids'.

Overall, this just left me wanting a bit more. The emotions and drama were there, it just didn't quite come together. 

Disclosure: ARC provided through Netgalley for honest review.