Soundtrack for today’s review:
Katie: Patty and her messages about books make me justifiably wary. I mean, that’s how we started down the Kristen Ashley road or the book where they played escape and evade as foreplay. (I now think of it as the raisin sex book because of Patty’s metaphor.) So when she sent me a message that she was sending me a book that was amusing and refreshing, you can imagine my terror.
Patty: SUCH a drama queen.
Katie: Honestly, this book has a little bit of every romance trope known to man except for any involvement with the military. There’s a runaway bride with a gay ex-fiancé, a failed rock star, a dive bar, parents gone too soon in a car accident, a surprise baby, meddling family and friends, etc. Patty, did I leave anything out?
Patty: Nicholas Cage? I mean, he’s in EVERYTHING.
There was no amnesia nor were there any virgins. OK, so tropes abound but you have to admit, they are out of order with regards to who they befall and none of them get a typical resolution.
Katie: True. And what that doesn’t convey is how damn funny the book is, or that it kind of makes me want to move to Idaho. Except for, you know, 8 months of winter.
The Pros
Katie: These people say whatever enters their mind. For example, from the female lead, Lydia: “A trap? You think I’m trying to trap you?” I wrinkled up my forehead. “Vaughan, I’m genuinely beginning to get concerned about your breast fixation. Seriously. How can you function when any hint of tit sends your brain into a coma?”
I think Vaughan may have had Lydia as Phoebe Cates on constant replay…
The dude is distracted by Lydia raising her arms and shifting her boobs. Seriously.
Lydia is just as bad. She’s constantly obsessing over her slightly damaged, tattooed ginger rock star. From the description, I was envisioning a heavily inked Jamie Fraser in Levi 501s.
Patty: You are always envisioning Jamie Fraser, but yes, we are freed from the dreaded Romance Novel Misunderstanding since none of these fools know what a verbal filter is. There is zero bullshit to wade through since they all pretty much blurt out anyt and every thought occupying their frontal lobes.
I liked that there is no significant financial windfall to be had. No one owned an upscale gallery, no one drove an Aston Martin and no one was a successful… anything, really. Both H & h were realistically flat-ass broke and had to – gasp! – actually work to earn money for things like food and mortgage payments.
Also, Idaho? That’s where romance heroines runs away from, not to in order to find their HEAs.
The Cons
Patty: Um. I don’t know. I mean, it’s never going to be on some high school lit reading list, but it was amusing. I wouldn’t object to reading/reviewing book 2 in the series when it comes out.
Katie: I’m not sure they count as cons, but there were a few places where the author was obviously setting up the next books in the series. I did feel like those were telegraphed pretty broadly.
Conclusion
Katie: If you want a gently amusing, decently written but not earth shatteringly good romance for about $2 on kindle, this is your book.
Patty: If you want a gently amusing, passably written but not earth shatteringly interesting review for free, you are welcome.
It’s true, your review style really does work for books you like. This was gently fun, and I will add this to my maybe list.
If I’d imagined Vaughan as a heavily tatooed Jamie Fraser, I would probably have given this book half a star more than I did when I read it (3.5 stars, as it turned out). I think Kylie Scott is very hit and miss. She’s written one book I really loved, a couple I sort of liked, and a couple that were really just meh.
I thought Lydia could have done a lot better than Vaughan. She was clearly a smart cookie, he was a bit of a flake.
I just really love you guys.