DMILY, Book 1
Juvenile Fiction
Sourcebooks Fire
December 1, 2015
416
Love is everything but expected. Eden Monro came to California for a summer of sun, sand and celebrities Â- what better way to forget about the drama back home? Until she meets her new family of strangers: a dad she hasn't seen in three years, a stepmonster and three stepbrothers. Eden gets her own room in her dad's fancy house in Santa Monica. A room right next door to her oldest stepbrother, Tyler Bruce. Whom shecannot stand. He's got angry green eyes and ego bigger than a Beverly Hills mansion. She's never felt such intense dislike for someone. But the two are constantly thrown together as his group of friends pull her into their world of rule-breaking, partying and pier-hanging. And the more she tries to understand what makes Tyler burn hotter than the California sun, the more Eden finds herself falling for the one person she shouldn't... Did I MentionI Love You? is the addictive first book in Wattpad sensation Estelle Maskame's DIMILY trilogy: three unforgettable summers of secrets, heartbreak and forbidden romance.
Review:
“Did I Mention I Love You” is a somewhat twisted love story that is geared toward older young adults and new adults. It wasn’t my favorite book, but it was good enough to make me interested in reading the sequel.
The main characters of Eden and Tyler are well-developed, and they both range from completely unlikable to tolerable. I never felt that I particularly liked either of them, but that didn’t bother me very much since I at least knew where they were coming from. The secondary characters are more like high school clichés. They fit in with the story being told, though, so I can’t complain too much about it. What I do wish that the book had been trimmed down around 100 pages. It was entirely too long.
I have two other problems with the book, and while one would think the “forbidden” romance may be one, it is not. That part was a big selling point to the entire thing for me, to be honest. What I do have is a deep concern that the series is going to lead down the dark path toward romanticizing unhealthy relationships. I hope I’m wrong about that.
My other problem was with the excessive drinking. Either I grew up in a bubble or these teenagers live a very different life on a very different planet. I can’t think of even one of the wildest of my classmates (from the dark ages) who managed to party that hard virtually every single night. Those kids must already have pickled livers from the level of alcohol consumed. It seemed completely unrealistic.
“Did I Mention I Love You” will not be everyone’s cup of tea, and it is most certainly not meant for young readers. However, if you like forbidden romances and have some patience, then I recommend you to give it a try.
This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warning:
Language, Sexual Situations, Violence, Child Abuse, Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Underage Drinking
