PROS: - Easy read.- Raunchy sex.- Great premise.CONS: - Fatphobia.- Repetition, repetition, repetition!- Non-fluid writing.- Odd character development.- Poor plot pacing.- Jack is a jackass (pun intended).- Unoriginal and unbelievable.- Stick to reading the back of the book; it's better than the actual novel.COMMENTS: I haven't read a lot of Cabot's stuff compared to other people but they're usually enjoyable. She is one of the best at the craft in the genre. This book fell short.After reading this, I understand why it's easier for Cabot to write in email/text/diary format. Was it necessary to keep reminding the reader that Jack Townsend was handsome? Or that he was an action-adventure movie megastar? Or that he ad-libbed a line in Lou Calabrese's movie? Or that Lou and Jack's exes ran off together? Or that Lou wrote a screenplay for her ex? Or that they each won an Academy Award? Or that Jack was in this movie and that movie? All of these weren't repeated just two or three times. It had to have been at least fifty times from start to finish. Each. I can flip to almost any page and you can bet there will be one of those. We get it! I resisted the urge to throw the book across the room because it was so repetitive.I also felt like the characters were flat, especially the minor characters. Vicky was supposed to be Lou's best friend but it didn't feel that way. She didn't seem to care about Lou at all. Characters that only showed up once had more personality than 90% of the major and minor characters. They ramble so much. It felt like Cabot was just filling space with repetition and rambling.I mentioned that Jack was a jackass. I hate that Lou used to be a fat girl and is only attractive because she got skinnier. Cabot reminded the reader that fat is unattractive. *ring ring* Hi, Cabot. Hello! Heather Wells is calling. She wants to call you out on your fatphobia. You can read the rest of my thoughts on Jack and Lou here. There were also constant perspective changes. I love perspective changes when they're done right. Usually, there's a pattern of some sort and some indication that there will be perspective changes. There was NO INDICATION in this book. Halfway through, it was as if Cabot had forgotten she had other characters. Cabot also forgot there was an actual mystery plot. She kept dabbling in the characters' romances, even the minor characters. It was as if she'd forgotten someone was trying to kill Jack. When she'd suddenly remember, she'd plug in a random explosion/gunfire to remind the reader it's supposed to be a mystery novel.To conclude, the premise was great and the sex was all right. I wish the sex weren't so censored. It is an adult novel. Oh well! The writing style really needed working on. I also hate how Lou's badassery was reduced to jelly in the end. She became a different person and the chemistry died, especially because the build-up for the end was super cheesy. I wanted to see some witty sarcasm from Lou and there was nothing.I'd only recommend you read it if you're a fan of Cabot's. She Went All the Way had poor execution with an underdeveloped premise. To sum up,
Spoilers - This book was a more than a 4 for me, but not quite a full 5 (given that I've already felt the urge to reread it I'll give it all 5 stars) I did really enjoy reading it. The love hate relationship was definitely central to the story and the relationship was great. The plot was a little far-fetched and Hollywood but once you accepted that initial fact, it flowed well. The characters were engaging and captivating and I fell in love right along with them. The only problem for me, which I find to be a common issue, was the timing. Given the circumstances of the tragedy in the book and that Lou and jack had a prior relationship (the hate in the love-hate) I can go for the falling in love over a 3-4 day span, but "Mr. I never want to settle down" wants to marry her in that same time frame, and the super logical level-headed Lou agrees? I would have been better if he hadn't asked her to marry him and then in the last chapter where we assume a good deal of time has passed, we could discover their happily ever after married life. I love that they ended up married and that they both took risks against their past character and it worked, but the express route always kind of ruins it for me.
I was convinced I would really like this book based on the description; it had all the makings for a great story: 1) You have your love/hate relationship which promises for alot of heated sexual tension, not to mention potential for sarcastic witty banter.2) An appealing plot of overcoming extreme obstacles while being stranded in the wilderness with an extremely hot guy (which brings me to #3)3) An extremely hot (hard bodied, playboy, action movie star)guy!I was so disappointed. First off, the story was told from several different characters' point of view. It jumped around way too much and I found it very confusing at times. Secondly..."stranded" in the wilderness? Laugh Out Loud!!!! They just happened to stumble across everything they needed; making it seem more like a bad camping trip. I don't mean to sound harsh; I liked Lou and Jack (minus having the much anticipated witty banter) and enjoyed certain aspects of the book, but thats the best thing I can say about it. Everything happened way too fast, the romance, the relationship. Even the ending was too rushed. It had potential, but in the end fell short.
—Tough Critic Book Reviews
I have yet to figure out what I truly think of Ms. Cabot's writing. I often, while reading her work, vacillate between amusement, disgust, enthrallment, and irritation. Saying I like her work might be going too far, but to say I flat-out dislike it also seems too extreme. I guess all I can really say is that, most of the time her books are a pleasant distraction and oftentimes laugh-out-loud funny. For me personally, the humor in She Went All the Way is what sets it apart from most other over-the-top formulaic romances. There are, of course, the glaring cliche's one must overlook to enjoy any kind of romance, but at least Ms. Cabot balances those with sarcasm and a little touch of vitriol to make things a little more interesting. My major irritation with nearly all of Cabot's books is that all the women are walking stereotypes of...well, women. Designer clothes, celebrity gossip, a psychotic preoccupation with their weight, self-worth wrapped up in whether or not a guy wants them, etc. It can get to be a little tiring reading their internal monologues. Lou is one of those heroines that was, for me, sort of desperately confusing. She shoots and kills a guy (all right, self defense shooters unite), but has a problem with breaking into a cabin to gain shelter during a blizzard. What? She actually said, "Jack, we can't go inside when no one's home, that's breaking and entering!" This was during a blizzard and after they'd been chased not once, but twice by gun-toting snowmobilers who were taking pot-shots at them. So yeah, sometimes Ms. Cabot's "humor" falls sadly flat. But hey, she makes up for it with some other good stuff. Including some pretty stellar sex scenes. Now I'm wondering if I'm the only person who suspects Jack was loosely based on George Clooney...
—Katrina Passick Lumsden
I felt like this was a four star book, under my own system of evaluation which rates a book within its genre. This means I will never take stars from a romance novel merely for following genre conventions. Was it predictable? Yes. Unrealistic? Yes, but the sort of unrealistic that I wanted to believe. These things are true of all romance novels, and this one had engaging writing and characters. However, I am forced to remove a star because THEY WERE LOST IN THE FREAKIN' WOODS FOR TWO DAYS AND DIDN'T DRINK ANY WATER. They drank some alcohol, though—heads up, DO NOT do this if you are worried about dehydration or hypothermia. The two characters should have been weak, hallucinating, and DEAD. Yet even when they reached a place that may have had water, they were casually sipping wine or very and not guzzling from the nearest tap. Preposterous.
—Jillian Kern
