Review: Quirky with some dark themes
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 8, 2014
“Serendipity…if it’s meant to be, you’ll see me again. So long for now.”—EmmaA chance meeting and Emma and Jake met. And then another chance meeting happened and another and another until Emma was convinced Jake was somehow bribing Fate. That’s fine, there’s no harm in a little light and casual fling. Well, two years later, Emma calls it off, and Jake can’t believe it. It’s a good thing he has Fate on speed dial, because he’s not letting the girl of his dreams get away—even if it means battling both his and Emma’s inner demons…“Serendipity; can’t fight it.”—JakeI have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I loved how Jake pursued Emma, but I was extremely frustrated about the barriers keeping them from going further. First told through Jake’s perspective, I didn’t like Emma, thinking she was cold and unfeeling. Once we switch over to her point of view (they alternate), I quickly learned that she wasn’t unfeeling—if anything she felt too deeply and I sympathized with her!In the story itself, there’s a mix of extreme darkness and tragedy along with light-hearted moments of quirky humor so I while heavy, I wouldn’t call it a serious/dark novel and while funny in parts, I wouldn’t call it a light/comedy novel. There was a lot of characterization so we can see where our leads are coming from even though I didn’t necessarily agree with them (although I did side with Emma through most of it)! Even though I did grow to like Emma, I didn’t connect with Emma and Jake as much as I would have liked to and I ended up having Jake’s brother Mitch as a favorite instead.The writing style feels like a friend narrating you a story by bringing you in at some points. The connections between all the characters were a bit surprising, and at times I had to reread a bit to clear up or understand better—this also had to do with some of the quirky tangents that Emma has. I really liked the fact that we got to see the start of their relationship as a flashback rather than a retelling. I’m on Emma’s side that Jake must have seriously been bribing Fate for them to meet up so much! We also get to hear what other people think of them and their ex-hidden/secret relationship since everyone is so open. One thing’s for certain: worst. secret keepers. ever! There were a few spots while although I thought it was sweet, I was face-palming and cringing.I really liked the ending and thought it was fun, but what made it even better wasn’t in the story itself! My copy has a small excerpt from Mitch’s book that makes the ending so much funnier! I kinda wish that was included as an epilogue! Overall, the story was quirky with some dark themes and a low-medium heat rating with plenty of innuendo and sexual tension. This is a 3 out of 5 for me!(Originally posted on my blog; I received a review copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)