Review: Well-written with compelling and daringly different characters!
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 17, 2014
[...]My rating: 3 of 5 ⭐️I am a little on the fence with respect to this book. Although the story has a lot of very interesting components and I enjoyed the fact that both protagonists fall outside of the 'normal' profile for romance heroes, on the whole the entire concept of an arrangement marriage with so little actual "arrangement" and an outrageous lack of careful planning seemed too far outside of reality.We are dealing with a mother of an impressionable child here. A child that, by what I understand, already has been subjected to some unnecessary emotional game-playing. Would she really subject her son to someone she hadn't made very clear arrangments with before hand? I get her desire and drive to restore some semblance of peace in her life by this - let's call it a publicity stunt - but at the cost of the disruption she is causing in the life of her son? I don't know.As for her character, I have no issue with the fact that the female protagonist is so far up her own arse, she has developed tunnel vision. Nor with the fact that she is abbrassive and unpleasant in her behavior. Because that's what that is - behaviour. Not necessarily personality, but shield, protection, a defense mechanism put in place to keep the vultures at bay. Doesn't mean she is a bad person, she simply acts that way. I do take issue with the way she treats Seth, something she should have corrected right away, but didn't.Of course Seth doesn't help. He is hopeless in terms of communication, except when it comes to using his body. And therein lies the problem with him. I don't for a minute, buy that any man, however inept, submissive or forgiving he might be, will put up being treated like a doormat, an annoyance, a burr under the skin. Disrespected and dismissed at will? I don't think so. Not unless there is something very seriously wrong with him. Oh, I understand he sees further under Megan's surface than she would like, but that doesn't mean he would allow her to trample all over him. I would think quite the opposite. I would think he would challenge her, however clumsy and unrefined.And I think that although I enjoyed huge portions of the story, not in the least the reluctant chemistry the two generate when they let their bodies speak, I can't help but feel that something essential was missed in the development of this relationship and I'm surprised it wasn't picked up on. Or it could just be that I am simply missing something when reading this ..... that is always possible.It sounds like I didn't enjoy SEEING RED, and that's not true. I did, I also enjoyed the characters very much, just not in their interaction with each other outside of the bedroom. It simply didn't feel right. I'm still giving 3 stars, because it is a very well written novel that I had no trouble finishing, with compelling and daringly different characters.