Book Review : Bad Things (Tristan & Danika Book 1) by R.K. Lilley

Bad Things (volume 1 of the Tristan & Danika series) (Amazon Link)

Author : R.K. Lilley
Series : Tristan & Danika (volume 1 of 3)
Year Published : June 11th, 2013
Genre / Tags : Romance, Contemporary, Longer-Than-Average, Slow Burn
Formats : eBook, Paperback
# of Pages : 366 pages (Paperback)

Review

I really wanted to love this one. This book seems made for me. There is a slow burn romance here where the characters get to know each other in the first half. Things aren’t rushed and feelings between the characters develop naturally. Biracial Asian MC is some frankly unusual rep in romance that I’d like to see more of. The love interest’s name is Tristan and I have some unique affinity for that name too. Everything came together for what would seem like subjective appeal.

First, the writing style. It is noticeably well-polished. I remember being impressed given that the book was free at the time on Amazon and I think it’s still frequently discounted or free. However, the core storyline was boring and uneventful for the most part. And honestly, that is a dealbreaker for me. If I had to choose between two major drawbacks, I would easily take a poorly written trainwreck with an interesting storyline and compelling characters over something technically competent but bland.

There’s nothing extremely wrong with the lead characters- but there’s also limited flavor to their characterization and banter. Their story is pretty unremarkable- except for the last couple of chapters.

In those last few, the leads abruptly become high strung and angsty. Tristan spends at least 70% of the book being an even-tempered and kind of bland guy and the last 30% going on a punching frenzy at every guy who looks at Danika wrong. It was a startling shift. They both react in kind of extreme ways to their relationship moving from friends to lovers, and more conflict ensues. At the end of it all, there was a preview for the next book that hinted at some unappealing future events. Honestly, had I not read that preview, I might have been more interested in maybe checking out the sequel. Sometimes I wonder if previews help or hurt a book. I usually skip them.

This title has quite a high average rating (4.3) and tons of ratings (almost 30k) on Goodreads. It’s worth noting that a lot of people seem to love it so I’m probably in the minority with my opinions. This couple’s slow burn romance is carefully handled enough to be realistic. But the boiling point seemed to slow to reach. Also suspect that the page count vs events of note might have been an obstacle for enjoyment, as the events in this book seem like they could have been accomplished in half the pages.

However, a major upside, the characters aren’t very problematic. In a sea of new adult titles that seem prone toward out-doing each other in shock value, something less feather-ruffling can actually be a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, in the arena of fiction, I’m a person who lives for drama.

Overall Rating – 6/10

Why You Should Try It – If you’re a fan of contemporary romance, slow burn, lengthy narrative, and more realistic approaches to character development- this might strike the right chord. A lot of people seem to feel a strong chemistry between the pairing here.

Why You Might Not Like It – I was often bored with the averageness of every happening and found the characters and atmosphere unremarkable. Very forgettable sub-plots.

Bad Things (volume 1 of the Tristan & Danika series) (Amazon Link)

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Thanks for checking out this review! Have you read this book or is it on your TBR? Read anything else by R.K. Lilley? Even though I felt lukewarm toward this book, I think romantic contemporaries in general might be a bit less appealing for me compared to fantasy settings. I have liked several, but they tend to need punchier or really funny banter or a remarkable and/or distinctive underlying plot to be engaging. Love to hear your thoughts as always and thanks again. ~ Kitty