Xing

Rating: 2.5 stars

Tommy O'Shea's life is pretty much crap. Dead mother, drunk father & stepmother who are better left missing, and a whole horde of siblings to take care of - Tommy has learned to accept his life for what it is. And then there's that copper, Bobby, who just can't seem to stay away.

When I first read the blurb, I was reminded of the US television show Shameless. Just replace Fiona with Tommy, and you've got pretty much a similar setup. Which wasn't a bad thing, since I'm a fan of the show. However, many aspects of The Last Thing He Needs was just lackluster for me.

The biggest issue I had with the book was the sheer predictability of everything. Everything that happened were things I expected after thirty minutes reading into the book. Perhaps it was this lack of surprise that smothered the emotional punch that was supposedly waiting around each corner.

The relationship between Tommy and Bobby lacked a type of spark. Their relationship was more of a warm furnace instead of the explosive crackle of an open fire that I expected. It was pretty down key, which isn't always a bad thing - just not something that keeps my attention.

And while Tommy's stubbornness was understandable, it was kind of tiresome to read. Especially since it seemed to be the cause of 90% of any problems between him and Bobby, who himself was a little too much of a knight in shining armor for my taste.

In the end, I felt like the book read a bit too much like a modern day fairytale for my liking. Sure, it was well written and the children in the family were kind of fun to read about. But overall, the book failed to keep my attention and left me skimming towards the ending.