Review: If I Can't Have You by Lauren Hammond

One is lonely. Three is a crowd.

Robin Mason has never been the same since Drake Robertson, a hot lifeguard at her family's yearly vacation spot saves her from drowning. Ever since that day she's never let another guy hold a candle to him. She's idolized him and has been waiting for the day where they can go from Facebook friends to more. Much, much more.

Flash-forward three years and Robin isn't the same tween Drake rescued from the deep blue sea. She's collage bound, curvy, and finally ready to take what she wants most - Drake.

But not i Drake's brother Elliot has anything to say about it.

Robin is torn between what's right and what's wrong, her head and her heart, and two brothers that are simply irresistible. But who will she choose? Safe, sweet Elliot? Or the hot, smoldering Drake?

Two brothers. One girl. One choice. So which will it be?

Review
Genre: YA Romance
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

The sexy cover and the intriguing blurb are what captured my attention, but once I started to read, great writing style, intriguing concept, but sadly, lacking characters.

I was expecting better character development. Robin was too whiny, an attribute that really grates me in female protagonists. For the age that the characters were suppose to be, they seemed too immature. I was left feeling like the surface was scratched, never being led deeper. For me, the proper emotions were missing or in the wrong place.

If I Can't Have You is about an obsession masked as love vs. missing what is right in front of your face. From the beginning the reader will know who Robin will end up with, but I felt like there was a lot of unnecessary things that got in the way of that. Everything that happens with Drake is understandable and expected, but then you add Elliot to the mix and the things that happen between him and Robin are too instantaneous, never going deeper. The love was too easily acquired but then it was also too easily thrown away making the reunion rushed. I just felt that the situations were too far-fetched.

I enjoyed the concept of the story, but I was left frustrated, wanting a deeper connection to the characters. I lacked the emotional pull to make me invested in them. They were too see-through, not meaty enough and the story was too much of a surface story. I will try other works by Lauren Hammond, I have faith in her writing style, I just hope the characters will elicit more from me.

Reader Warning: This book contains a lot of cussing and sexual content. I would only recommend this to older YA readers.

If I Can't Have You is currently available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble