Title: Lost Innocence
Author: Jannine Gallant
Series: Siren Cove #2
Well constructed but I didn’t care for the characters
Thank you to Jannine Gallant for reaching out and asking for a review, and thank you to Lyrical Press/Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
I couldn’t decide if I wanted to give this work three or four stars. Structurally and mechanically, it’s excellent. There were some minor typos which I trust will be corrected for the final copy, small mistakes like “is” instead of “his,” but the pacing was reasonable; the romance was character-driven and progressed naturally; the suspense built gradually and had me fooled; and the writing was professional and skilled. All the boxes were ticked. As a school assignment, I give it an A.
But it lacked that je ne sais quoi. It failed to excite, to intrigue. When I’m enthralled by a story, I tend to ignore real life, but I had no trouble setting this book down to do chores. I fell asleep while reading it on two separate occasions. It held no energy for me; it didn’t grip my heart or my mind. That’s not to say it was passionless, I think Gallant enjoyed writing it, but that passion didn’t get translated well to the page. It wasn’t quite boring, but it didn’t have the kind of chemistry that demands my attention.
The main characters certainly didn’t help. I disliked both Nina and Teague. They lacked depth and had fragile egos, which means their relationship also lacked depth and was fragile. Sex was something of a fixation for them; they seemed to use it to cover up their insecurities but didn’t realize they were doing it. The act seemed to become obligatory, like if they had sex at every opportunity, then they were proving something, such as justifying the fact that they were dating or demonstrating passion between them, but it did neither. Even on the rare occasions when they decided to just sleep, they discussed it like they needed to make excuses for not wanting to have sex, as if not being constantly turned on by one another was a serious infraction. It was disturbing and negated any romantic vibes I might have felt from the book.
Also, their personalities were contradictions in and of themselves. Teague wanted to be a father who was overprotective and laid-back at the same time. He also wanted to be calm under pressure, but panicked and canceled his plans when Keely so much as scraped her knee. Nina wanted to appear self-confident and independent, yet she had an inferiority complex that made her needy and self-centered. They were horribly perfect for each other: Nina was something Teague could give his attention to so he wouldn’t turn into a helicopter parent, and all of his attention made Nina feel valued. That attention was mostly in the form of sex, and when it was stripped away, they really didn’t like each other much. It struck me as unhealthy and I’m not at all convinced that they fell in love.
One specific thing I wanted to remark on—
In reference to finding his daughter after she was kidnapped, Teague delivers the line: “I just hope it’s before she loses her innocence.” I found that an odd and awkward thing to say. Most people would say, “I just hope it’s soon,” or, more dramatically, “I just hope we find her before it’s too late.” It was obviously forced to make the title relevant, and I didn’t appreciate it. Plus, it’s an empty sentiment, because Keely was over it by the next day anyway. No innocence lost. Not even misplaced.
Although, there were other instances of dialogue seeming unnatural, either ridiculously mature to the point of businesslike or unsubtly trying to work in exposition without actually writing exposition, so I suppose I’m not surprised by such a line.
Overall, Gallant’s a good writer, and I’ve enjoyed her work in the past, but this particular story wasn’t for me.
Oh, FYI – this is the second book in a series, and the first definitely factors in but doesn’t matter to the plot. Leah and Ryan’s story sounded interesting, but I’m not compelled to read it immediately. Paige and Quentin’s book is next, due out in November. I can’t decide if I want to read it or not; they’ve obviously been breaking each other’s hearts for a long time without confronting each other, and I don’t want to watch them hurt each other again and again. But the mere potential of their story interested me far more than Nina and Teague’s did at any time, so maybe I’d enjoy it.
