Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

There is so much that is so wrong with this book and it shouldn't have been that way. There is no lead in to the characters. You find out why Abby is trying to get away from her old life halfway through the book. This would have been good to know in the first three chapters. You never know why Travis is so violent and why he flies into rages at the slightest provocation or sometimes without provocation. Why are Abby and America best friends? It's never explained. Neither of them have any substance. The only thing the reader knows about them is the color of their hair and only finds that out one third of the way through the book. What happened to "show, don't tell"? Weird names and nicknames that are unnecessary and hard to follow. And why, oh why, the poker player dad and the mob plot in the middle of the book. It was just so stupid. This book would have been better if there was more attention to the sports aspects of the UFC and Travis as an athlete. The constant bickering and jealousy between Travis and Abby was annoying and boring after the first time. Travis apparently has good grades and tutors Abby, but this aspect of his college life is never developed. We don't even know what anyone is majoring in. Now for what was unrealistic . : . Abby sleeps with Travis in his bed for a month, no sex, and they are just friends. Right. Abby drinks 15 shots of tequila on her 19th birthday and only pukes. 15 shots usually equals alcohol poisoning. Travis and his roommate buy Abby and America so many flowers that they fill the apartment. Flowers are expensive and this is unrealistic for two 20 year old college students without jobs. Where did they get the money? Parker buys Abby a diamond tennis bracelet after the second date. Nobody does that. And she accepts it, too. Just wrong. Travis never winds up in jail for beating anyone up for looking at or making a comment about Abby. No college student is ever broke or on a budget in this story. No one ever gets an STD after all the hookups. Now for the bad messages: Travis can't separate violence in the UFC from violence in his personal life. This doesn't make him a romantic bad boy, it makes him disturbed and dangerous. Co-dependent relationships are not romantic, they are unhealthy and destructive. Abby just makes bad choices all around with Travis. In real life she won't be able to fix Travis without about a decade of counseling for both of them. All of the descriptions of women other than America and Abby in this book are degrading to women. Way too much alcohol consumption and driving in cars and riding motorcycles afterwards. Irresponsible, random, meaningless sex. Unprotected sex. Women are dehumanized and used just for sex. Just really bad messages to send to young women about what is healthy and acceptable behavior coming from a life partner.