Celestine's Reviews > Ten Thousand Words

Three Middle-of-the-Road Stars

There was a lot I liked about this book, and a lot I didn't. It started rough, I enjoyed the middle, and then I disliked the end.

I'm a sample reader. If I don't like the sample, I don't remark on the book at all. I mean, I didn't read it, so why would I critique it? This book by Kelli Jean was the rare book that I bought without reading the sample by a new-to-me author. I must have been intrigued by the blurb ("reclusive author" was likely the bait that hooked me), plus it was probably a buy-early deal. I really don't remember. At 4% into the book I was regretting the impulse. I felt certain it was headed in the direction of a cliche, where the weird girl with a gay best friend and a tragic past falls for the hot guy. I decided to give this book a shot the length of an average sample, somewhere around 10%, and so I read on. By then, I was feeling it.

Kelli Jean is a good writer with great flow and interesting characters. All it took for me to get buried in this book was the first scene of mid-flight dialogue between Xanthe and Oliver. By the time these two are hailing a cab at the airport, they are touching each other's hair follicles - auburn curls and generous beard, respectively. Xanthe and Oliver are captivated by each other, and watching them let go of preconceptions was a lot of fun and the best part of the book. Xanthe, in particular, is a fully-layered character. She was full of surprises for Oliver - and the reader.

We learn that Oliver is far from perfect, even though he might look like the man of Xanthe's dreams, and certainly her very vivid imagination. He is temperamental; he pouts; he's jealous; he spanks without clearing with permission first; and there is other-woman drama that gets detailed attention. As in details about past conquests. Sorry, not what I want to read about in a romance novel.

I pretty much liked Xanthe, except for the fact that she had to keep forgiving Oliver for his petulant behavior, and I was a little sick of hearing about her pits and tits swamping with sweat. Her tragedy and secrets unroll in the second half of the book, where Oliver gets to prove his commitment. I must say, he does get some fabulous, heart-stopping lines. (Mini-swoon for Kelli Jean's talent there).

Then, in the last 20% of this book or so, I felt like I was sitting in the middle of a spin-off episode for what must be intended as book two of this series. The transition, though foreshadowed in weird and inconsistent ways, was just very, very odd. It didn't work. At all. I think I'll pull an Oliver, and stomp off in a tantrum.