Review: Zany beginning, heartwarming ending
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 18, 2014
Call me pleasantly surprised. When I first read the blurb for I Survived Seattle I initially thought – closet gay, anxiety disorder, boat captain; sounds vaguely meh and probably filled with cliques. Boy was I surprised when I actually enjoyed the story.Charming and lovable. That’s my description for Justice. Filled with panic attacks and anxiety, he’s stumbling cuteness was charming and lovable. Still very much in the closet after a disastrous attempt to come out years before, this basket case is flying across country for his best friend’s wedding. A chance encounter lands Justice in Nic’s path. Nic finds Justine quirkiness cute and instantly falls for Justine. What ensues between them in the two weeks Justine is in Seattle is sweet, hot and fun. I found the dialogue between the characters quick and witty. Justine’s lack of filter caused me to laugh so many times. There were a few times I was confused particularly regarding Nic’s father. I know Nic was flying back after his father’s death, but there were other times where it felt more like he had been dead a while longer. So were some of the situations a bit predictable? Yes, but it didn’t make the story any less enjoyable.**Consider this a spoiler warning here**For the most part, I liked all the secondary characters except for one although it’s not for reasons one would think. I think the one thing that I got irritated the most about was Rich. Okay, they story had to have a jerk antagonist. Obviously, since Justine was in the closet there was going to be a point in the book where someone was going to push him out. From the first introduction of Rich, you knew it would be him. However, to me Rich was portrayed too predictably. If his character had been a bit less stereo-typical in a bully I would have enjoyed it more. Okay…rant over.Other than the before mentioned rant, I thoroughly enjoyed I Survived Seattle from its zany beginning, to its heartwarming ending. As this is my first book by J.K. Hogan, I look forward to reading more. This is definitely a book I will be recommending.I received this book from JeepDiva for the express purposes of an honest review. The opinions and rating of this review are solely mine and in no way was I compensated.Stars– 4, Flames – 3