Thursday, January 12, 2012

Review: Unlovable by Sherry Gammon

From Goodreads: Port Fare, New York, has fallen into the clutches of true evil. The Dreser brothers have arrived with a scheme to increase drug sales in the area by whatever means possible. Seth Prescott is part of MET (Mobile Enforcement Teams) a branch of the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration). He's been assigned to work undercover at Port Fare High, and things aren't going very well, until senior Maggie Brown enters the equation. He's harbored a secret crush on her from day one, and now that she is in the center of the case, he's trying to stay clear and objective while walking the line between business and unrequited love. Maggie is truly the poster child for Heroin Chic, complete with jutting bones and dark-ringed eyes, but is she an addict, or is there another reason for her appearance? She struggles with her feelings for Seth, fearing he is just another person who will eventually let her down, as everyone in her life has done thus far. Maggie has spent her life caring for her alcoholic mother. A task that has left her heavily burdened and alone. Before long, her mother's health takes a turn for the worst, sending Maggie's life into a tale-spin. While Seth works relentlessly to inject fear into the dealers and flush them out into the open, Maggie fights to stay alive as the hunt turns deadly. 
 
My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Unlovable by Sherry Gammon was a book that started off slowly. But, I soon found myself captivated by the story because although the plot is kind of a little too perfect, Unlovable has characters that are easy to care about and is well-written.

The main character, Maggie, has grown up in relative poverty with an alcoholic and verbally abusive mother. Despite this, Maggie remains a generous and caring person. She even continues to care for her mother in the hopes that her mother will reward her with some attention and affection! Still, Mrs. Brown’s horrible words do have an effect on Maggie, making her believe that she is unworthy of being loved when she catches the interest of Seth.

There are also some occasional chapters from the perspective of Seth and the villains in the story. Bill was bad, but he was nothing compared to his brother whose behaviour suggests that he has antisocial personality disorder. Normally, I don’t find villains very terrifying but Alan scared me because there are actually people like him out and about in the world. Hopefully, we never have to encounter them!

My favourite part of Unlovable was the romance. I thought it was realistically portrayed and found it sweet how Seth got Maggie to open up and let him into her life. Unlike Maggie, you know that Seth is an undercover cop and so as you’re waiting for things to blow up in his face, you can only hope that Maggie’s trust in Seth and their love is strong enough to withstand the doubts and obstacles.

The first in a trilogy, I was pleasantly surprised by how good Gammon’s Unlovable was. What’s nice for older YA readers is that Seth is twenty-one so it doesn’t feel as inappropriate to crush on him (not that age would stop me anyway) :) Even better, the next two books in the series are told from Seth’s friends’ POVs; and I know Cole and Booker are older than him. The two were well-developed secondary characters in Unlovable so I’m looking forward to reading their stories in Unbelievable and Unbearable.

Unlovable was released in January 2011 by Wordpainting Unlimited Inc.  

Comments About the Cover: I think the cover is very pretty; and I like how the colours, the background and the pose of the girl all help to contribute to a feeling of loneliness, which goes nicely with the title.

This ebook was received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

10 comments:

  1. Realistic romance? Yay! This sounds like something I'd really enjoy! I love the cover too but it makes the book seem really creepy. Definitely putting this on my wishlist now. ;P

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    2. Hey!! Thanks for the great Review Canadian Girl! I have been out of town and just got back. What a lovely welcome home gift!!! Thank you!!
      ps. Had a hard time figuring out how to post a comment so I linked on to this comment!! (I've been on a plane for 8 hours and my brain is MUSH!!!)

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  2. I remember reading a favorable review of this on Nic's blog. There aren't that many older contemporary YA books that are trilogies. I deal with a flawed plot but the characters are the "make it or break it" for me when it comes to a book. This definitely sounds like a book that I'm willing to try.

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  3. "Unlike Maggie, you know that Seth is an undercover cop and so as you’re waiting for things to blow up in his face, you can only hope that Maggie’s trust in Seth and their love is strong enough to withstand the doubts and obstacles."

    Those type of relationships always have me pouring through the pages as quickly as possible to get to the part where everything is revealed. It's so hard for me to know a secret one of the characters doesn't know, I just want to yell it out loud in the hopes they'll hear me:) Glad you enjoyed this one Zahida, I've been hearing a lot of good things lately!

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  4. "My favourite part of Unlovable was the romance."

    Z! You can't go around saying stuff like that to a romance reader who has put herself on a strict book buying ban! Especially if she's weak.. and will crumble! Poor Maggie. Her situation sounds so harsh. In that light, I'm glad she's found someone like Seth. But now I'm all worried if he's secret will cause further trauma for her.

    And believe me, I don't let age stop me from crushing on boys...as long as they are fictional, they can't be jail bait. LOL

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  5. Oh my gosh, you might as well lock me up in a room with nothing but this book to read!! Either way, once I get my hands on it, I know I won't be able to do anything else! x) Realistically beautiful romances are my favourites, and the way you describe this one seriously makes my heart want to melt!

    AMAZING review, Z! Maggie sounds exactly like the kind of sweet yet strong heroine I love, and Seth just sounds DREAM-worthy! <3 I'm definitely gonna try to get my hands on this one! :)

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  6. This book sounds interesting. I think the cover looks amazing- it really intrigues me. I have added this book to my list. You wrote an excellent review- very informative.

    ~Jess
    http://thesecretdmsfilesoffairdaymorrow.blogspot.com/

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  7. Ohhhh I love of the sound of the relationship!! I've seen this one around, but I don't think I ever read much about it. I think I may have to put it on my TBR list now.

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  8. I can deal with an overly perfect plot if the characters are good, which seems to be the case here. 21 is also much easier to crush on :P

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