Review: Solid debut from a promising author!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 14, 2013
I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I honestly didn't expect such solid storytelling, as it has sadly become the case, that IR novels don't offer much of that these days. The characters were strong, the plot was solid and grammatical errors were few. It's it clearly evident that Lauren has a gift for weaving a captivating tell that keeps you reading until the last chapter (or in my case into her next book in this series). I purchased the book on the strength of the reviews left prior to my own. These reviewers did an excellent job of assessing the content. My review is written solely to express my delight in this book.Characters:Axel (not the best name ever) and Kerrigan were well written characters. I thought both were consistent throughout the book. I was a little perplexed by Kerrigan however. Not so much because of what reviewer Books Rock said but mainly because I just didn't find any reason for her neurosis. Her insecurities almost weighed down the story. I get that Axel was successful, rich and handsome but evidently so was she. There's no drama in her background and no real scars from her dating history. It just seemed a bit too manufactured. Simply adding a dramatic wild card to her story might have helped me understand her feelings of inadequacy better. I sort of dug the "innocence" angle, as it helps to add strength to her insecurity so I think it was kind of needed.Not much to say about Axel he's the quintessential IR hero. There's nothing new in him, but he's well written and much less distracting than Kerrigan. The supporting characters played into the story well. Ashley was well-developed and the more secondary roles were written well. Glad to see Ash is getting her own novel. Hoping that Lauren doesn't go the brother Ryker angle. Too obvious, too easy and too overdone!Plot:Nothing new here. Rich white CEO falls in love with black gorgeous employee (who somehow just doesn't know how heart-stoppingly beautiful she is) who after one meeting, will do whatever he has to, to get her. Not to sound negative or sarcastic. I really don't think this overused plot detracts from the story at all. It's actually sort of comfortable... like the well worn t-shirt you like to lounge in around the house. Lauren's talent proves she doesn't have to reinvent the shell to put together a good story.The drawn out wooing narrative was such a welcomed sight! I have grown exhaustingly overwhelmed by stories that have characters in bed after the second page. It took the whole book and honestly I don't feel cheated. More books should rely on the pursuit like Lauren brilliantly does. The building of tension is much better than the immediate gratification (without much work or payoff) that many other IR books shoot for. I won't speak on the end game of this relationship because Lauen's second book tackles that.Summary:Great book from a pretty talented author. I finished this one and read the second one right after. I'll probably return for Ashley's story as well. It's a bummer that its not out until 2014. I'm not ready to put Lauren up there with the top IR writers but she could easily compete with and out-write most of the new ones! This book is totally worth the purchase (but maybe not the $5.99 I paid for it, seems like too much for a kindle book). Yet if you decide to purchase, it will be worth it!If you purchase it, make sure to review it. These authors work really hard to give us great books to read, the least we can do is review once we are done.Happy reading!!!