Bend in the Road by Sara Biren Review

 Hello Everyone :)

I pray today finds you all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another book review here on The Preppy Book Princess.

I've been on a quest the last few months, which I've already talked about a little bit on my blog. I'm on a quest to find a good young adult contemporary novel (other than the ones by Kasie West who is my all time fave), and it's not really going that well.

I used to love this genre, but oh the recent releases have left me so disappointed, and remind me again why it is that I stopped reading so many secular titles.

The content in so many of them is downright atrocious, and I miss the days when young adult books weren't just adult books disguised as being for teenagers.

With all that being said, let's dive right in to today's review, and I'll share whether or not this particular title ended up being what I was looking for.

Bend in the Road by Sara Biren:

Source: Library

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams

Publication Date: September 28th, 2021

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Contemporary

Synopsis:

A teen rock star returns home to Minnesota and finds himself falling for a local farm girl in this steamy YA romance

Seventeen-year-old Gabe’s life is a mess. His debut album—produced by his rock star dad—made him an overnight sensation, but his second album tanked, he just got dumped by his on-again, off-again girlfriend, and he’s desperate to come up with the money he needs to fix a major screwup. The only place he can be free from the paparazzi and rumors is the family farm—the farm that seventeen-year-old Juniper’s family has managed since before she was born. When Juniper learns that Gabe’s about to inherit the farm, she worries that he’ll sell it. She comes up with a plan to get close to him and stop that from happening. At first, Juniper and Gabe couldn’t be more at odds, but the more time they spend with each other, the more they grow to like each other. Can they set aside their differences to do what’s best for the farm—and each other? Or will all the drama and secrets tear them apart? 

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

I went into this one without super high expectations, but I have enjoyed this author's writing style previously, and I thought the premise of this one sounded interesting.

Unfortunately, this book was definitely not what I was looking for, and it was definitely not for me. While I loved the setting (the farm sounded so idyllic and beautiful), I enjoyed how it took a realistic look at the effects of substance abuse and addictions, and I enjoyed how the characters were determined to work through all the horrific circumstances that have been thrown their way, I didn't end up liking anything else about it.

The romance was boring and never felt realistic. I couldn't figure out why Juniper and Gabe were even falling for each other in the first place because none of their interactions really gave off that vibe to the reader. Secondly, I honestly felt like not much happens during the course of the entire story. I kept waiting for more action and adventure, and I was still waiting by the end of the story. One of the major plot points was never truly resolved in a way that made sense to the reader, and I don't really understand why the author chose to leave it that way.

Lastly, while this author's earlier works contained lots of explicit language, this one literally takes the cake. As someone who doesn't care for that in books, I wasn't prepared for it to be used over and over again throughout the entirety of the story. I did appreciate that the romance stays fairly clean, but it wasn't enough to redeem this one in my eyes. 

Final Rating: 1/5.

It sounded cute, but it was not what I was expecting, and I don't think I'll be picking up a book from this author in the future.

Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)

This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.