Series Review: Is this series worth your time? Does it get better as the novels progress? Or does it get worse? Find out below:
Synopsis for White Trash Beautiful (from Goodreads):
A word-of-mouth bestseller that’s captivating readers with its honesty, grit, and headstrong heroine, White Trash Beautiful is a story for anyone who has ever felt trapped in life, cheated by love—and longed for something more . . .Cass Daniels isn’t waiting for her knight in shining armor. She knows that girls like her don’t get a happily ever after. Not if you live in a trailer with your mom, work at a greasy spoon diner, and get leered at by old men. Maybe that’s why she puts up with Jackson—her poor excuse for a boyfriend, who treats her like dirt. Cass has learned to accept her lot in life. That is, until he walks into her diner. . . .
His name is Tucker White, and he’s different from any man Cass has ever known. Tall, tattooed, and bad-ass gorgeous, he’s the lead singer of the rock band Damaged. From the moment they meet, Tucker sees something in Cass he just can’t shake. Something beautiful. Something haunted. Something special. And he’s determined to find out what it is—if only he can get her to open up and let him in. . . .
Series: White Trash Trilogy
Author: Teresa Mummert
# of Books: 3 (White Trash Beautiful, White Trash Damaged, White Trash Love Song)
Book Order: Chronological; Connected (Love Song)
Complete?: Yes
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Rockstar, Music
Heat Rating: really warm
Point of View: First Person, Single
Publication Dates: July 2013 – April 2014
Source & Format: Public Library–eBook; Audiobook (Damaged & Song)
Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:
I can’t remember how this series crossed my radar. It might have been because my library added the eBook version but I’m not sure. I read a lot of rockstar NA reads so I’m sure I saw it on a list somewhere.
Anyways, I love rockstar romances and I was really interested to see what would happen with a girl from the wrong side of the tracks.
What I Liked:
–Made me Believe in Soul Mates–
While their romance is a little “insta-love” connection, it was obvious to why these two were drawn to each other. They compliment each other so well even if that isn’t always elaborated on.
–Cass’ Character Development–
I find the romance takes a bit of a back seat here at times to focus on Cass and her growth.
Through her romance with Tucker, she is able to become independent. I hate when girls get caught up in their romantic interest and become dependent upon their man. It happens a lot in rock-star based romances because the girl gets caught up in the celebrity of it all. But here, I loved how Tucker lets Cass grow on her own. He is the catalyst for change but he doesn’t force her to be anything and she doesn’t rely on him to do that. She learns on her own that she is worth something on her own and not to let anyone else define her.
–Wasn’t too Focused on the “Rockstar”–
Like I said, Cass is really the star of this and I liked how the story kept her as the focus. It didn’t feel like every other rockstar romance novel out there.
What I Didn’t Like:
–The Lopsidedness to the Plot–
The exposition here was a little too long. While I appreciated the time taken to explore this relationship and the characters, it did need that touch of drama to give the story some oomph.
And we do get that oomph, just near the end of the story. That’s when all the dramatic twists come about; which makes the story feel rushed and underdeveloped. I would have liked to have seen those issues fleshed out a little more earlier on and watch the characters grow from that.
Will I Finish It?
Honestly, the only reason I didn’t pick up the sequels was because I’m too cheap to spend the money on them. If my library gets the sequels, I’ll pick them up!
–October 19, 2018– Book #2 & #3: White Trash Damaged & White Trash Love Song
I randomly stumbled upon these sequels as audiobooks through one of the additional services my library provides so I was happy to finally give this series a proper closure.
And…maybe I should have just left this series at book one.
I had two chief complaints about both sequels. 1) They spend the vast majority of the first half rehashing the same sentiments again and again. Seriously, it was like it was on repeat. 2) Nothing worthwhile gets expanded upon. I have so many unanswered questions from some of the plot developments that were thrown out there but never mentioned again.
It’s a shame because the last 25% of these books were great. We get some solid character development (even with the various plot holes we simply glaze over) and if that was brought out a littler earlier, my ratings for both novels would be higher.
Series Rating: 2/5
White Trash Beautiful 4/5 | White Trash Damaged 2/5 | White Trash Love Song 2/5
Despite a strong start, this sequels to this series lacked the strengths of the first novel and get caught up in the cliches and petty drama.
Read if You Like: rockstar romances, character development
Avoid if You: dislike contemporary romances
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Life is too short for books that are just kind of… meh.
Lydia Tewkesbury recently posted…The Rules Do Not Apply
Amen to that!