Waiting on Forever: Ashley Wilcox

by - Friday, April 26, 2013

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(Spin-off of Planning on Forever)

College.

Parties, sororities and getting drunk.

Oh, yeah. And learning.

This may be true for most college students, but not for Leah Bennett. College life for her includes studying, working, and excelling in school. When it comes to the social ladder, Leah is at the bottom. Popular girls, hot guys and star athletes are of no importance to her, except for one.

Matthew Jacobs.

Matt is the starting wide receiver at SUNY Cortland, the most wanted guy on campus and Leah’s best friend. Although Leah’s feelings toward Matt run deeper than just a friendship, it is something she would never let be seen because the odds of someone like Matthew Jacobs going for someone like Leah Bennett are slim to none.

When Matt starts showing an interest in Leah that goes beyond friendship, she is dumbfounded and doesn’t believe it is possible – until one weekend that changes everything.

Will Matt and Leah’s popularity status get in the way of having a chance at a real relationship?

Or does status mean nothing when it comes to true love?

"I've been fallin' since day one."

Waiting on Forever just didn't work for me. I hate to type sentences like that, but unfortunately sometimes I have no choice. This was a quick light read, something others would call fluff. I started out liking it, but somewhere along the line, I just couldn't stay connected. I found it very hard to connect with the heroine. Leah was supposed to be "nerdy," the girl the "jock" fell for. I was looking forward to the sweet shy girl whose focus was on her books, but in all honesty for me she came off as a bitch 90% of the time. I liked her spunky take no crap attitude at first, but after a while it just grated on my nerves and I truly didn't understand it. I wanted her to be a bit more softer sometimes, not always on the defense. I know she had her reasons for hating the "it" girls, but the descriptions and thoughts became overwhelming and it pulled my focus from the actual story on different occasions. It seemed she judged a lot and lumped them all into one stereotype without actually giving them a chance as an individual person.

"And Leah?"
"Yeah?'
"You're the only girl that I've ever allowed in my bedroom, so don't feel grossed out about sitting on my bed."

Matthew Jacobs, star football player. Now Matthew I loved, absolutely adored him. He is the reason this book gets 3 stars. Matt was such a sweetheart. His character was written perfectly for this book. Nothing was forced with him. Matt took thing slow, he didn't rush, and you could tell he truly adored Leah. His attention was always on her, and he never gave her reason to doubt him. What you see is what you get with him.

Which is where my biggest issue comes in. The big dramatic incident. For me it just didn't fit the story, I honestly couldn't wrap my head around it. Matt never ever gave Leah reason to doubt him, like ever! I mean this man did everything slow, and yeah he had a past before her but nothing that should of ever made her doubt his sincerity and love. I seriously sat there shaking my head, solidifying my thoughts on the heroine being a major bitch. Again it all comes back to Leah. The thing is for me, the heroine will either make or break the story. I judge them on a different scale then the heroes and unfortunately I judge them with more scrutiny. I think if the author had left that part out, and just went with the twist at the end of the story it would have been a better read.

"Oh, there's no competition here. He's going to shit his pants when he sees my skills."
"You've got skills huh?" Matt says with a flirtatious smile. 
"Ones I don't think you'd be able to handle." I whisper to him.

I'm not saying there weren't good parts to this story, because there were.  I loved when Matt and Leah were together and she dropped her bitchiness. Their flirting was wicked fun. When Leah showed her softer side and enjoyed herself in the moment, she made a great heroine. Also I loved the plot line the author went with in the beginning. Neither asked each other out, their relationship just kind of grew and before you knew it they were "together." Matt was perfect in the way he glided them to that point. Nothing was over dramatic it just flowed.  Their relationship felt believable, until the big incident.

I also enjoyed the bit of a twist at the end. It gave the little bit of drama this book and couple needed to show they were more than fluff. It added an element of emotion to them. As I said earlier I think the author could of expanded on this a bit and got rid of the other. Ashley also summed it up with a fun ending. This was my first read by this author, and although the book didn't work for me, I would definitely give her another try.

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