Book Review: The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

Pages: 260

Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Pub. Date: October 12, 2011

Source: Personal Copy

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Goodreads says, "Ashton is getting tired of being good, of impressing her parents and playing ideal girlfriend to Sawyer Vincent. Sawyer is perfect, a regular Prince Charming, but when he leaves town for the summer, it’s his cousin Beau who catches Ashton’s eye. Beau is the sexiest guy she’s ever seen, and even though he’s dangerous, Ashton is drawn to him. Beau loves his cousin like a brother, so the last thing he wants to do is make a move on Sawyer’s girl. Ashton is off-limits, absolutely. That’s why he does his best to keep his distance, even though he’s been in love with her forever. When Ashton wants to rekindle their childhood friendship in Sawyer’s absence, Beau knows he should say no. Ashton and Beau don’t want to hurt Sawyer. But the more they try to stay away from each other, the more intense their urges become. It’s getting way too hard to resist."

Ashton, Sawyer, and Beau were inseparable childhood friends.  Ashton and Beau were known for getting themselves into trouble and Sawyer, the quintessential good guy, would always bail them out.  Many years have past and they are now in high school.  Beau, Sawyer's cousin, runs with a tougher crowd and is still known to cause trouble, but Ashton is no longer his sidekick. She has grown up; after all, she is the preacher's daughter.  Ashton and Sawyer started dating a few years ago and haven't looked back and while Sawyer is still very close with Beau, Ashton hasn't really talked to him in years even though she sees him at school and the occasional party.  While Sawyer is away for the summer and Ashton is at a party, she sees Beau trying to drive home drunk with his girlfriend.  Ashton offers to drive him home and they sort of reconnect after all of these years.  This excites Ashton, because 1) she's bored at home without Sawyer, 2) her best friend is off at college, 3) she secretly likes and cares for Beau even though he's a "bad boy" and she supposed to be a "good girl." As they spend more time together, you can guess what happens, but there are so many obstacles ahead of them.  For starters, her parents do not approve of Beau. At all.  Plus, everyone in their southern town loves Sawyer and if she breaks his heart, she's in for it. More importantly, Beau is Sawyer's cousin and he needs Sawyer because his home life is less than stellar. How could he ever hurt him? They are like brothers.  The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines is a predictable teen romance, but I will admit I was sucked in and loved being lost in their world.

Guys, sometimes you just want a fluffy summertime read that is pure mind-candy and The Vincent Boys filled that need for me.  Ashton is actually a character that I wasn't a big fan of initially.  She was trying to be someone she's not, mostly because that is who she thinks her boyfriend wants. Plus, it irritated me that she has no life when Sawyer is not around.  Her world was Sawyer and you never want to see that happen to a girl in high school. When she reconnects with Beau, things change for the better and I liked seeing her live a little more, but I will admit she quite often suffered from Bella Swan syndrome. What I mean by that is she often needed either Sawyer or Beau to "save" her.  I wanted her to save herself and be the hero of her own story, but that never really happens.

What kept me reading The Vincent Boys was Beau.  Sawyer is the usual perfect southern gentleman who was overprotective and and the town's golden boy.  But Beau, boy, did I love his character. He was tough, from the wrong side of the tracks, and the kind of guy you'd want in your corner.  I loved his chemistry with Ashton, even if it felt a bit cliche (love triangle!) at times. With that said, it should be noted that this book is not for younger readers. There are some racy scenes and a lot of male characters whom are very sexist.  I wasn't a big fan of the latter. 

In additon to the sexist scenes, I also had issues with Ashton's absent parents. Ashton's father is a preacher, but is sort of a horrible guy for the first half of the book and isn't really around much. He refers to people as "white trash" which doesn't seem very Christianly and he encourages his daughter to hangout with Sawyer more often instead of being an independent woman. Ummm. Ok. Thankfully, this does change as the story progresses and yes, Ashton does have a fantastic role model in her grandmother, but still.  When the parents were around they were abysmal in The Vincent Boys.

The Vincent Boys reminds me of a favorite soap opera, like Dallas meets Dawson's Creek with Beau obviously being Pacey.  *swoon*  It's the perfect kind of summer read where you can get lost in the drama and it's downright fun.