(ARC) Book Review: Two Roads by L.M. Augustine

Two Roads
by L.M. Augustine
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Published: August 26th 2013 by Amazon Digital Services, Inx.
Format Acquired: eARC (thanks L.M.!)
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

The only person poetry-loving Cali Monroe hates more than herself is Logan Waters, the geeky kid who lives in the dorm building next to hers.

Ever since Cali's parents told her she would amount to nothing, she has felt entirely inadequate. Friendless and alone, she takes on the mean girl role in hopes it will make her feel better--and Logan serves as the perfect target. He infuriates her with his obnoxiously long lashes, his all too perfect dimpled smile, and his complete lack of personality outside of his intelligence. It doesn't hurt that he's part of the reason her brother is dead, either. So Cali hates him, and he returns the favor. Thus, their prank-filled, insult-driven rivalry is born, and torturing Logan quickly becomes the highlight of her life.

But when Cali's parents set them up on a blind date, she begins to realize Logan might not be as boring as she always thought. He shares her love of poetry, takes a sadistic pleasure in making fun of crepes, and he makes her blush when he calls her smile pretty.

And hey, maybe those long lashes of his aren't that obnoxious after all…

Two Roads is New Adult Romance about finding love, standing out, and learning to embrace who you are. It contains some language and mild sexual content.

L.M. Augustine is back, this time with an emotional New Adult book with the right dash of nerdy cuteness that is sure to charm its way into readers' hearts.

While I enjoyed the book to an extent, I had some issues with it too. My biggest concern is that Cali and Logan remind me so much of Cat and West from Click to Subscribe. It's like they could pass off as college versions of themselves except they have intense pasts and that's totally not Cat and West. I suppose this wouldn't have bothered me had I not read Click before. It may seem unfair but I like characters from two different books to have distinct voices. Reading Two Roads was a bit like déjà vu.

Another thing I didn't quite like about the writing were the long paragraphs describing all the feels. I like detailed descriptions of how the protagonist feels but in Two Roads, it reached a point where Cali was being repetitive. I like feels, really, but you have to offer the reader something more. I wanted a clearer explanation of Cali and Logan's rivalry. The whole time I was reading the book I didn't really see their rivalry to be anything serious. I just thought they were being playful. Flirty, even. As Cali's backstory unraveled though I finally got the idea that, oh okay so she really is mad at Logan. I just wish that they weren't so freaking cute together. The message would've come across clearly without having to explain it all in long paragraphs.

Did I say they're freaking cute together? Despite my complaints, I still found myself enjoying their cute nerdy banters. I'm all for nerds falling in like so this pair's romance was definitely for me. They had terrific chemistry and it showed whenever they would loosen up. You just know they're bound to get together but the anticipation was frustrating. In a good way. Forget about the fake rivalry and just kiss her already, Logan! Yes, Cali and Logan are adorable like that. Oh and I also like that this is a clean New Adult book. It's a nice break from the usual, you know?

Three stars for for L.M. Augustine's first New Adult book. It was sweet alright but my biases got in the way. The romance was very enjoyable though and that's something you'd want to check out.

P.S.

The term "nerdhole" was used in this book. Win.