Book Review: The Album by Sian Ceinwen

                    "That's easy for you to say, isn't it? You knew what you wanted from your life, and you got it. Why would you bother with door number three?"

After the first two chapters of this book, I had decided to stop reading this and put it as a DNF. But, my instinct told me to keep on reading. So I did. I ended up finishing this book, and liking it. I really liked the idea of this book, and the plot. But, the characters on the other hand, I was not a fan. Let's take a closer look. 😊

Summary:  

                                    "What happens when you fall in love with a rock star? Ariana isn't a fan of celebrities, but she is a fan of Cruise Control. The night she attends a charity event with her aunt and meets rock star, Gabriel Knight, sets in motion a roller-coaster ride that is out of her command. Risking it all on the man who plucks at her heartstrings, and hiding her struggling self-esteem behind a wall of privacy. Ariana joins the group on tour as the lead singer's new sweetheart. But when she's suddenly thrust into the wild world of a rock star, the sour taste of the limelight could cut desire's set list short. Will life in the fast lane ruin Ariana's chance at true love?"

Characters: 

    Ariana: Oh Ariana! I have a huge problem with her. I did not like her whatsoever, until the last 20-30% of the book. She had no self-esteem and so many insecurities, that it made me not like the book at first. Every time she was in public, whether it be with Gabriel or not, she constantly didn't believe in herself. She automatically agreed with other people's opinion of her. It bothered me as a reader to see a character have so little faith in herself. She didn't even stand-up for herself when people were talking bad about her. 

    The last 20-30% changed my mind about her a little. She seemed to look back and understand why and how things went wrong. She still had little self-esteem, but it wasn't on her mind 24/7 like it was previously. 

    Gabriel: The entire book, I just felt bad for Gabriel. He constantly had to deal with things I felt he didn't need too. Although, he did deal with them rather well. I liked Gabriel. He was a fine H, but he wasn't my favorite. He didn't seem to really have a personality to me. (You know?) Gabriel was just there. I didn't really understand him, and I felt his one purpose was for the love of Ariana. 

Chemistry:

     To me, the chemistry felt a little forced. There were some cute moments that I really liked, and then there were the moments where I asked myself Why?. The whole relationship was very insta-love in my opinion, which I didn't really like because I feel it's not really realistic. I like reading about how the characters fall in love with a ton of tension and build up. Instead, these characters met, and then BAM, they couldn't be without each other at all. It also seemed to me that Ariana didn't even want the relationship at times. Gabriel was just trying to show his love for her, and she didn't really appreciate it. 

Plot: 

    I actually really liked the plot, and there was a lot of opportunity for the author to take it and change it up, which she did. I like the idea of the rockstar falling in love with a "normal" women. But, I felt like this book was a lot about Ariana's insecurities, rather than the actual budding relationship or even the band. The last 20-30% was SO GOOD. It totally changed my mind about this book. There were moments where I hated both main characters, and then there were others where I was just WAITING for it:THE moment.

Rating:

    I thought about this a lot and kept going back and forth between a 2.5, 3, or even 3.5. I ultimately decided on 3 stars. This book had great potential, if it weren't for the main characters. I did not like her at all. I didn't mind Gabriel, but I felt like he just went after Ariana like a lost puppy. The book was very insta-love, which I did not really like. It was like the first moment they met, they instantly loved each other. To me, that just isn't realistic. The last 20-30% of this book, made me change my mind between a 2 and 3. I really liked seeing the character development in Ariana, and Gabriel. They seemed to take a step back in their relationship and just look at it in a different light. I would have liked to see a lot more character development, as well as the development of their relationship, but overall it was a good read.