Review: Trust Issues Overwhelm The Story
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 2, 2014
* I read this book while it was made available through Net Galley. It was given to me for an honest review. *Margaret is daydreaming after attending a relative's party-gone-wrong. She is on an elevator, waffling back and forth wondering whether she should spend the night at her brother's apartment or head home. A guy enters and, in error, believes she is following him. Before the evening is over neither is sure what just happened except that she knows they both are attracted to each other.Margaret owns a bookstore and is also a romance writer in her spare time. Graham is a sci-fi author who has been suffering from writer's block. They meet again the next day when Graham wanders into Happily Ever After. It is another misunderstanding; Graham thinks she is still stalking him and after Margaret explains that she is the owner, she kicks him out.Kismet comes into play because before the day is out they see each other when they are guest authors in a college-level Creative Writing class. By then, Graham is aware of who Margaret really is. He means well when he speaks to the students but manages to infuriate Margaret once again. He follows her to her car and kisses her and it is packed with sexual tension.Initially, unknownst to the two of them, they are each using the other as their muse in the stories they are writing. The attraction between the two increases with time. Most problematic for me was the reason that Graham kept fighting his true feelings for Margaret. Because of trust issues, he is determined to avoid ever hurting again. The fact is that I found this angst a bit unnecessary even though I enjoyed the author's writing style.This story, for the most part, is about Graham and Margaret rehashing what they believe is important in their lives and trying to get the other to agree to their terms. They each have a distinct impression of what they need. Overall, I felt there wasn't enough material in LOVE, IN WRITING to sustain a full-length novel. I prefer a little less predictability and manufactured drama in my love stories and, unfortunately, I was left with a somewhat 'meh' feeling by the time I finished.