Review: A Little Too Much by Lisa Desrochers

A Little Too Much by Lisa Desrochers

Steph's Rating: 3.5 Stars

Format: e-book

Publisher: William Morrow (Harper Collins)

Publication Date: November 12th, 2013

Pages: 416

Goodreads Synopsis:

In the follow-up to Lisa Desrochers’ explosive New Adult novel A Little too Far, Alessandro Moretti must face the life he escaped and the girl he loved and left behind.

Twenty-two year old Hilary McIntyre would like nothing more than to forget her past. As a teenager abandoned to the system, she faced some pretty dark times. But now that’s all behind her. Hilary has her life on track, and there’s no way she’ll head back down that road again.

Until Alessandro Moretti—the one person who can make her remember—shows up on her doorstep. He’s even more devastatingly gorgeous than before, and he’s much too close for comfort. Worse, he sees right through the walls she’s built over these last eight years, right into her heart and the secrets she’s guarding.

As Hilary finds herself falling back into love with the man who, as a boy both saved and destroyed her, she must decide. Past or future? Truth or lies?

Steph's Review:

*minor spoilers ahead*

Yep, I read this book as soon as I could after A Little Too Far, otherwise known as the book that made me fall madly in love with Alessandro Moretti. I was beyond enthusiastic to read the story Lisa Des had in store for him. This book wasn't exactly a disappointment since I did like the story, but unfortunately I didn't enjoy it as much as A Little Too Far.

Hilary McIntyre is finally getting her life together after the psychological shambles she was in as a teenager. She's aiming for Broadway musicals and has the connections to get her into the world of acting--her dream career. She's got a steady bartending job to get her through auditions, and everything is stabilizing at last. At least until Alessandro Moretti shows up at her New York apartment door, nearly unrecognizable at first glance, but carrying with him everything Hilary has tried to forget from her teenage life. She's trying to outrun her past, but it seems to be catching up with her no matter where she turns.

Overall, A Little Too Much is a darker tale than its predecessor. If you wondering why Alessandro seemed so tormented in the first book, well this is where you find out exactly what happened in his past to make it so. Lexie had her relationship problems, but both Alessandro and Hilary's ghosts go beyond just basic regret. It's not nearly as lighthearted as A Little Too Far, but I was pretty happy with the outcome. 

The biggest reason why I gave this book a 3 was because of character development. It's NOT Alessandro's problem. He's as gentlemanly (and scorching hot) as always, and he's back in the States to confront his past. All he wants to do is have a burden lifted from his shoulder's, and end the guilt-fest he's been putting on himself for all the past years. He's still my perfect Alessandro, and his flaws make him even better. The problem to me is Hilary. I actually really liked Hilary at the beginning of the book. She comes across as a spunky, independent girl who knows how to handle herself and her life. She seems to know what she wants and is very goal-driven, which I admired. 

However, as soon as Alessandro enters the picture, I felt like her character kind of started to deteriorate. I know she's more than troubled by the boy she loved in group-home, but I though her narration started getting a little monotone. Since things are narrated in Hilary's POV, her not-so-brilliant characterization negatively impacts the story a little. Hilary's character development wasn't very smooth. A good 3/4 of the book, she just absolutely doesn't want Alessandro back in her life. I found it rather annoying that she was running from her own feelings, and she was just constantly denying anything she felt to herself and to outsiders. When she finally decides to let Alessandro in a little more though, it all just happened in one big "whoosh" basically. Where did gradual character development go? One chapter, Hilary was all "no, no, no" and then just suddenly in the next chapter she's all for Alessandro. I mean, how could you resist the guy, but seriously? Things just changed too abruptly in their relationship, in my opinion.

If you loved A Little Too Far, there is no reason to not read A Little Too Much. You get more of the hot Alessandro goods, his past, present, and future with this book. In the end everything worked out to me, and I'm just glad Lisa wrapped up his story--a well deserved HEA for him. Will be reading A Little Too Hot, Samantha's story, soon as well since I won an ebook copy of it from Lisa herself!

And on that note, Happy Valentine's Day!

Steph