Review ~ Chasing Red ~ Isabelle Ronin #2017NewRelease

Chasing Red by Isabelle Ronin
Red #1
Release Date: September 5, 2017
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Source: I received this book from Sourcebooks via Netgalley. This did not affect my rating and my review is voluntarily provided. 
Rating: 2.5 Bookworms
Challenges: #2017NewRelease
Goodreads

Synopsis
They said she was going to be my ruin...
Then let her ruin me.

Caleb Lockhart has everything - wealth, adoration, a brilliant future. Until a chance encounter with a siren in a red dress changes everything. Until he meets the woman he dubs Red.

Veronica Strafford's past makes it hard for her to trust anyone. Now, kicked out of her apartment, she reluctantly accepts Caleb's offer for a place to stay.

Caleb feels intensely drawn to Veronica. And, for the first time in his life, he really wants something - someone. Too bad Veronica's heart might just be the one thing Caleb can't win.

I want to preface my review by saying this is my opinion. There are many readers who have enjoyed Chasing Red so if you're interested don't let my opinion dissuade you from checking it out. The story just didn't work for me. Here's my opinion of what sort of worked and what could have worked better:

• Premise
  The premise was intriguing. I mean, it drew my attention and made me want to read the book. However, the execution was lacking. The story was uneven and I was often bored. 
• Characters
  The characters were underdeveloped but did have their moments. Seeing Veronica with her girlfriends, Beth and Kara - who were both a hoot -  and Caleb with his friend Cameron and even with his longtime girl friend - whose name escapes me. Hmm... These interactions enabled me to learn a little bit about who Veronica and Caleb were, something that didn't happen when they were together. Despite sort of liking the characters, I felt they were mostly one-dimensional. There wasn't any real character development so I never felt a connection to them, which makes it difficult to engage with their story.
• Tension & Climax
  The last quarter or so of the story might have been the most exciting. The "villain" was rather evil-minded and I liked the tension she created. But it was silly and melodramatic reasons behind that tension.

Maybe it was just my mood but Chasing Red was an uneven read for me. I didn't enjoy it as much as I was hoping I would. I'm not sure I'll read the next installment since I'm not really invested in the characters enough to care what comes next.

If you've read Chasing Red or if you end up reading it, I'd love to discuss your thoughts. :)