Stevie‘s review of Right Kind of Wrong (Finding Fate, Book 3) by Chelsea Fine
Contemporary New Adult Romance published by Piatkus 02 Sep 14
I loved the first two books in this series, and was sad to learn that there will only be three books in total. Still, that means there’s one more couple with difficulties to overcome, before we have to say goodbye to the characters, their town, and the inn where a number of them work. Based on the blurb, I had high hopes for more of the same mix of angst and humour that we were treated to in the previous books.
However, this story doesn’t quite live up to my expectations. While Jenna’s family is delightfully eccentric and the reason for her road trip – her grandmother’s latest claim to be imminently at death’s door – has great potential for humour, Jack’s situation is far darker. Having extricated his family from his father’s criminal connections, Jack left New Orleans to build a new life for himself somewhere no one would know about his past. However, now his younger brother seems to have got involved with their father’s old cronies, and Jack has been summoned home to track him down before he gets into even worse trouble.
Jack hitches a ride with Jenna, with whom he has something of a turbulent past, but he is determined to keep her in ignorance of his family’s problems, even though he really wants a relationship with her. Jenna, meanwhile, has big ambitions and is convinced that if she gets involved with anyone, then she’ll just end up like her mother and grandmother – putting her career aside in order to raise her daughter alone. Because in Jenna’s world, relationships lead to babies and babies lead to men walking out.
I like the additional comic relief provided by Jenna’s cousins – a group of girls convinced that the world is full of predatory men and no other sort – although I suspect that too much more page-time might have led to them becoming caricatures of themselves. Jack’s mother, too, is a likeable character, although looking back, I’m not sure we’re ever told in any convincing manner how she ended up with Jack’s father or why she stayed with him for as long as she did.
Meanwhile, Jenna comes across as more than a little bratty and her treatment of Jack, at least where their relationship is concerned, seems based on her preconceptions about men in general, rather than on the evidence of his behaviour. It’s a shame that this series didn’t end on a high, with another couple I could really love and root for, but I’d still like to read more young adult contemporaries from this author.
Grade: C
Summary:
Sometimes wrong can feel oh so right…
Jenna Lacombe needs complete control over her life – and her relationships. So when she sets out on a solo road trip to visit her family in New Orleans, she’s beyond annoyed that the infuriatingly sexy Jack Oliver wants to hitch a ride with her. Ever since they shared a wild night together last year, he’s been trying to strip away her defenses one by one. He claims he’s just coming along to keep her safe – but what’s not safe for her is prolonged exposure to the tattooed hottie.
Jack can’t get Jenna out from under his skin. She makes him feel alive again after his old life nearly destroyed him – and losing her is not an option. Now Jack’s troubles are catching up to him, and he’s forced to return to his hometown in Louisiana. But when his secrets put them both in harm’s way, Jenna will have to figure out how far she’s willing to let love in… and how much she already has.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
