Review: Make It Last by Bethany Lopez

Make It Last by Bethany Lopez

Book One of the Friends and Lovers Trilogy

Publication Date: November 3, 2012

Rating: 3 stars
Source: Ecopy sent from the author

(Old review: original review posted HERE on December 26, 2012)

“New Adult”, “Mature Young Adult”, whatever you want to call it, has been catching the attention of readers and authors alike. These days, there is an abundance of books in this age level, and Make It Last is one of them. Please do not be deterred by my so-so rating – I actually enjoyed this book. There were some things in this book that I loved, and other parts of the book that I thought could use some work. Overall, this book is a quick, fun read.

Summary (from Goodreads):

In a small town, it's hard to recover from being dumped by your high school sweetheart. That's just what Briana has to do after Colin leaves her to follow his dreams. She focuses her energy into her friendships and the pursuit of her own goal of becoming a chef. Just when she finally feels like she's on the right path, he comes back to town.

Colin knew breaking up with Briana before leaving for college was the right thing to do. He was determined to leave small-town life behind forever, and that included his high school girlfriend. But when a sports injury puts him on the sidelines, he's forced to return home. Seeing Briana again brings back a lot of memories, and Colin wonders if he made the right decision. It doesn't take long for him to realize he wants her back, and this time, he wants to make it last.

What I Liked:

I liked the cast of characters that Bethany Lopez has introduced. There are so many, and I do not think that all of them go through some sort of character development, but most of them contributed nicely to the plot of the story, or to the major characters.

Briana and Colin’s relationship is supposed to be rocky and tense at first, and then explosive and dynamic. I liked that Briana gave him a second chance – even though when they broke up so long ago, she said that she would not take him back. The overall feel of the book is pretty good. I enjoyed reading the story.

What I Did Not Like:

There are a lot of things that I did not like. To start, I did not understand Colin’s real reasons for breaking up with Briana. The break-up scene seemed flat. And Briana said that she would not give him a second chance, but she did. I am glad that she did, but that was a little hypocritical. I think she should have a least drawn that out a little, because it did not take long for Briana and Colin to get back together.

That was another thing that I did not like – the pacing. This book went be extremely quickly. That does not have to be a negative thing, as some books are meant to be short, but the sequence of events seemed rushed, and not fleshed out. As I said before, there should have been more time between Colin coming back to town, and Briana taking him back.

I also saw little character development in Briana and Colin, the two leading characters. And Briana seemed very fake at times. For example, when she “broke up” with Kent, she seemed lifeless and automated. I did not want her and Kent to be together anyway, but Briana did not seem to care at all about Kent’s feelings, even if she said that she did.

And I did not really feel anything towards Briana and Colin’s relationship. I liked them together, but I did not really get into the chemistry of the two. Furthermore, there seems to be no real conflict in this book. I did not really understand the point, I suppose, besides Colin and Briana getting back together, and moving forward in their lives.

One of my main sticking points is the grammar. I hate to say it, but the sentence structure is a huge hit and miss – mostly a miss. Spelling errors and misplaced modifiers were everywhere. I do not go looking for grammar and structural mistakes with a fine-tooth comb, but when they are obvious, or I can see them clearly, I notice, and point them out. Writing a book also means editing the book.

Would I Recommend It:

Eh, if you like “New Adult”, contemporary, shorter, less complicated stories, go for it. Otherwise, you might be better off skipping this one.

Rating:

3 stars. Again, I enjoyed this book, but there were many things that rubbed me the wrong way.

This series definitely has potential, and I will read I Choose You (book 2), and the next book.

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