Review: Grounding Quinn - Steph Campbell

Grounding Quinn by Steph Campbell, published by Simon and Schuster on 9th May 2013

Goodreads synopsis:
Eighteen-year-old Quinn MacPherson's biggest fear has always been turning out like her mentally unstable mother or cold-hearted father. That is, until she meets Benjamin Shaw.

Quinn thinks hooking up with Ben over summer vacation will be nothing more than a quick fling, and with his hot body and heart-breaking smile that's all she really wants from him. But she quickly realises that, Ben is not just some guy. He gets her - the real her, flaws and all - and that scares the hell out of her. So when Ben does the unthinkable and tells Quinn he's in love with her, she does what comes naturally: she pushes him away, breaking his heart, before he can break hers.

Ben isn't prepared to let go that easily, he knows that Quinn is something special, and he'll do whatever it takes to make sure they're together. But will he be able to persuade Quinn to open herself up and allow Ben in to her life… and her heart?

Review:
This is the first book I've read by Steph Campbell and overall I really enjoyed it.  It's a quick read, I finished it in one evening and features a sweet romance with a gritty undercurrent. 

The main character Quinn has been messed up by her family's problems.  Her father is having an affair, her mother is hooked on pills and Quinn's afraid more than anything of ending up like her.  She has plenty of friends and boyfriends but she doesn't really let anyone properly into her world, until she meets Ben.  He's a positive influence on her life and things between them move pretty fast until Quinn makes a big mistake which could ruin things between them once and for all.    

I enjoyed the fact that each chapter alternated the points of view of both Ben and Quinn.  I always think that getting to see the male/female perspective on events really gives the reader a great insight into how each character thinks and feels.  Steph Campbell writes both equally well and I appreciated the contrasting views that they provided.

Quinn grew on me throughout the course of the book.  I liked the fact that she is very real and doesn't pretend to be something she's not.  She does mess up and she does make the wrong choices sometimes but there's no attempt to gloss over all of that.  I didn't always like her but I appreciated the fact that she is a realistic character who does learn and grow by the mistakes she makes.  She has definitely evolved by the end of the story into someone much more mature and grounded.

If you're a romance fan then you should definitely give this book a go.  There are some very sweet moments between the two leads and Ben is the kind of guy you could lose your heart to.  I'm looking forward to reading more in the future by this author.