Crista's Reviews > Big Boy

Review posted at: Swept Away By Romance


~5 Amazing stars!~

I can honestly say that I’ve never read anything like Big Boy before today, and there is nothing negative in that statement! I finished Big Boy this morning and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.

Big Boy is part of the “Strangers on a Train” series, but the series is connected only in that the romances all occur on trains. This is a complete stand-alone novella.

Mandy is 34, but she feels so much older. She is a college professor and is also a single mother. Mandy’s sister, brother-in-law, and niece were all tragically killed in an accident and left behind an infant son, Josh. Mandy adopted her nephew and has been raising him as her own child. She is overwhelmed and completely drained from the responsibility and direction her life has taken.

Mandy meets Tyler on an Internet dating site and agrees to a once a month clandestine meeting in which they both agree to take on different personas. Tyler messages Mandy prior to the meeting each month with a theme/year to dress like and they both adopt fake names etc. The rule is that their true names cannot be used and they must stay in character the entire meeting. These meetings soon turn sexual and I never knew train sex could be so hot!

However, if I am to be completely honest, I really struggled with this book up until the last chapter. The relationship between Tyler and Mandy seemed like such a scam. There didn’t seem to be any depth, honestly, or sincerity on Tyler’s part and I found myself detaching emotionally from the entire story. Then, it’s as if Ruthie Knox waved her magic wand because all was made right in almost an instant. In fact, everything was made perfect.

The ending of this novella is one that you will soon not forget, and this book went from a 3 star read to a 5 star read in a matter of paragraphs. I went from feeling frustrated and let down to feelings of such bittersweet understanding and acceptance that it almost took my breath away.

This book at times almost seemed poetic in it’s wording. I found myself re-reading complete paragraphs over and over just to bask in the beauty of this author’s handling of the written word. It is truly beautiful.

If you haven’t read Ruthie Knox, please make it a priority to remedy that quickly! Her novels (and novellas) are some of the best that contemporary romance currently has to offer, and this novella proves this point once again.