Lily of the Valley by Sarah Dalrty
Lily of the Valley (A Flowering Novel)
Synopsis:
Jack's story isn't pretty. He's suicidal, depressed, and he uses meaningless sex and alcohol to survive. However, the story is about finding light in the darkness, but sometimes the road there isn't always easy to walk.
I'm a plague, a cancer. My mom is dead - and my father is in prison for it. I survived high school because college was my way out. I needed to escape, to get away from my family and the people who tortured me, but it hasn't grown any easier.
I don't pretend that I'm a good person. I drink far more than I should, and I use my best friend, Alana, because together, we thrive on destroying each other - as well as the parts of us we hate. I don't believe in love, but sex is fun and it also makes me feel something.
The morning I see Lily, the beautiful princess who smells inexplicably like strawberries every time I see her, I realize I'm in trouble. I should hate her. I want to hate her, because the alternative terrifies me. However, as she continues to crash into my life (often literally), I can't avoid feeling something that is the one thing I swore I would never feel. I can't fall in love, because people like me don't live in a world where love saves anyone.
She just won't go away, though, and I don't know if I can keep running. The voices and the darkness hover over me and they threaten to bring me back to the safety of my hate, but the stupid scent of strawberries lingers on the horizon, as something like hope.
Review:
Lily of the Valley is one of those books that just didn't deliver for me. There is a lot of sex, which can be okay, but the sex was only almost good to read. It was the kind of thing I enjoy and if it would have just been a little better, a little longer, not so rushed I would have written this down as an all sex book and not minded it. Instead it was lacking for me, even though it is the kind of thing I do enjoy reading. As I said it was a little rushed so I felt like it wasn't as good as it could have been.
The other issue with the book? The story that was fit in around the sex. That was also too rushed for me and way too easy. Jack has issues. He is depressed and has had suicidal thoughts, doesn't think he is good enough for anyone, thinks he will end up like his dad, doesn't trust people, etc. He has issues. He uses sex as a way to try and run from them or deal with anything that happens to him. At the beginning he uses his best friend Alana, and she uses him as well. She has her own dark issues as well so they kind of use each other to try and deal with their issues. Alana thinks she is in love with Jack, but knows he doesn't want to be tied down to someone.
Then Jack runs into Lily and from that first moment he can't stop thinking about her. She has a boyfriend though and he thinks nothing will ever happen with her. Then they do get together, then things happen and he thinks she is gone forever as he thinks she chose someone else, and on the day he was going to share his feelings with her, so he shuts downs. Up until this point it has been obvious he has dark demons to face, but he hasn't wanted to. I know Lily could offer a brief respite from that, but this was a set back (though he doesn't get really out of control because he wants to be able to say he didn't if she ever comes back). So I was thinking this is great. Now he can try and work through some of his issues and make himself a better person. Then if she does come back he is in a better place to be with her and care for her like he wants to. Does this happen? No. Things magically work out and then everything is just sunshine and roses. He shares everything with her and what do you know everything is wonderful. It was just a bit...it was too easy. Too easy to just change his darkness and be fine with her. Too easy for him to care so much for her and accept it. It just didn't seem realistic to me. I do love my guys who have dark pasts, but this one was just too simplistic for me or something. It just didn't work for me.
So since the sex was almost good, but not enough for me, and the story wasn't really great this book just fell flat for me. I also didn't see why Jack and Lily loved each other. I didn't understand that at all. It just seemed like they liked having sex and somehow that equaled love. Not the best in my opinion. Plus they knew like nothing about each other. Once they get together for reals it is a bit and then Jack comments on how he just learned what Lily's major was. I thought wait a minute. You both are in college going to classes and you don't know what each other is studying? This has never come up? You don't talk about classes at all? What do you talk about? Maybe they just have sex or sit silently all the time. It was just strange to me as how does that not come up in conversation ever. Like oh I have a bio test today we can meet up after or something. Whatever. Obviously this was not the book for me. Too easy, to simple, and I didn't understand the main characters at all.
Rating: 2/5
Review:
Lily of the Valley is one of those books that just didn't deliver for me. There is a lot of sex, which can be okay, but the sex was only almost good to read. It was the kind of thing I enjoy and if it would have just been a little better, a little longer, not so rushed I would have written this down as an all sex book and not minded it. Instead it was lacking for me, even though it is the kind of thing I do enjoy reading. As I said it was a little rushed so I felt like it wasn't as good as it could have been.
The other issue with the book? The story that was fit in around the sex. That was also too rushed for me and way too easy. Jack has issues. He is depressed and has had suicidal thoughts, doesn't think he is good enough for anyone, thinks he will end up like his dad, doesn't trust people, etc. He has issues. He uses sex as a way to try and run from them or deal with anything that happens to him. At the beginning he uses his best friend Alana, and she uses him as well. She has her own dark issues as well so they kind of use each other to try and deal with their issues. Alana thinks she is in love with Jack, but knows he doesn't want to be tied down to someone.
Then Jack runs into Lily and from that first moment he can't stop thinking about her. She has a boyfriend though and he thinks nothing will ever happen with her. Then they do get together, then things happen and he thinks she is gone forever as he thinks she chose someone else, and on the day he was going to share his feelings with her, so he shuts downs. Up until this point it has been obvious he has dark demons to face, but he hasn't wanted to. I know Lily could offer a brief respite from that, but this was a set back (though he doesn't get really out of control because he wants to be able to say he didn't if she ever comes back). So I was thinking this is great. Now he can try and work through some of his issues and make himself a better person. Then if she does come back he is in a better place to be with her and care for her like he wants to. Does this happen? No. Things magically work out and then everything is just sunshine and roses. He shares everything with her and what do you know everything is wonderful. It was just a bit...it was too easy. Too easy to just change his darkness and be fine with her. Too easy for him to care so much for her and accept it. It just didn't seem realistic to me. I do love my guys who have dark pasts, but this one was just too simplistic for me or something. It just didn't work for me.
So since the sex was almost good, but not enough for me, and the story wasn't really great this book just fell flat for me. I also didn't see why Jack and Lily loved each other. I didn't understand that at all. It just seemed like they liked having sex and somehow that equaled love. Not the best in my opinion. Plus they knew like nothing about each other. Once they get together for reals it is a bit and then Jack comments on how he just learned what Lily's major was. I thought wait a minute. You both are in college going to classes and you don't know what each other is studying? This has never come up? You don't talk about classes at all? What do you talk about? Maybe they just have sex or sit silently all the time. It was just strange to me as how does that not come up in conversation ever. Like oh I have a bio test today we can meet up after or something. Whatever. Obviously this was not the book for me. Too easy, to simple, and I didn't understand the main characters at all.
Rating: 2/5
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