Escape - Jessica Ashe

Title: Escape
Author: Jessica Ashe
Rating: 2.5/5

I had to lose my V-plates at some point; it might as well be with Caiden Ramsden.

Just one night. No dating, no dinner, no small talk. Just sex, and lots of it. Caiden was a cocky, arrogant jerk, who knew his ripped, tattooed muscles drove women crazy. In other words, he was exactly the type of bad boy I should stay well away from.

I’m a high-achieving student on my way to the University of Cambridge; I’m not supposed to “do” anyone, let alone an arsehole like Caiden.

At least I never had to see him again. Or so I thought.

Now Caiden’s sitting in my living room with a big announcement. He’s my new stepbrother, and he’s here to make my summer a living hell.

Our one night together was better than I liked to admit. I knew I’d end up in bed with him again soon. What I didn’t know was that he would turn my world upside down in the process.

This is the first time in quite a while that I've decided to write a review for the sake of it and not because I've been granted an ARC through any network. But I think this book deserves it and so here it goes...

There was a phase when I enjoyed reading about step-brother romances a lot. They used to be one of my favourite kinds of books. These days, I feel like the stories repeat themselves, simply because yeah... There are only so many options you have with this topic. Anyway. Escape started off totally differently from any of the other step-brother romances I've read in the past. The two characters already had their interaction and we only get to read about flashbacks to that one particular night. Back then, they didn't know what their parents had in mind. They didn't even know their parents knew each other. So it all comes down as a shock when Caiden's mom and Victoria's dad announce their engagement.

This story had a lot of potential. Like, really. A LOT! But honestly, the flashbacks were way sexier than when the two characters were drawn to each other again. I liked their fights and Caiden seemed like another swoon-worthy bad boy. Until he didn't. I never understood his change of heart toward the end of the book. It didn't fit his character. No change was described, it just suddenly happened and I didn't feel it. Same with Victoria, a posh English girl. Where did all her shyness go? Clearly, just because you have sex with a bad boy, doesn't mean you're suddenly someone else entierely.

And then there was Victoria's background story. That was a surprise. I kind of liked the twist, but she got over the news so fast. I couldn't believe it. "Oh, what? It's not like I thought. Well, I'll cry for a second and then forget about it." That's what it felt like to me. I hated her then. I really did. And any emotions towards the characters is good emotion, right? It connects you with the book. At that point, I wante dto disconnect, though. I liked 60% of it and then I didn't anymore. And I got sad over that. Caiden didn't even have a background story. I didn't mind that that much, though. He was a good enough bad boy, no need to dig for any history that isn't there.

Reading about cooking is another thing I never enjoy. So, it's not the author's fault, but whenever I got to a scene in which Victoria talked about cooking, was in love with cooking or prepared something, I'd yawn. I mean, it's good the girl got a hobby. Way too few shy girls in romance novels got a real hobby. All they ever do is obsess over their love interest, so Victoria was a nice change to that. But I'd have wanted something else for her.

I pointed out a lot of things that I didn't like, but overall, I would still recommend this book to certain groups of readers, because the writing was very, very good. If you love surprising plot twists, hot alpha males and are interested in reading about an American guy and an English girl (the chapters are written in American and British English, which was fun!), this one should be on your list.