Review: Thought-provoking, enjoyable Fiction, but Not a Romance
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 23, 2013
Without a doubt this book is Vera Robert's best work yet. The backstory was beautifully written. The characters were well defined.  This story isn't a typical romance where girl meets boy they fall in love and all is well. The author makes it clear in the book description that the story is about what happens AFTER girl meets boy, they get married, and life happens.Stylistically it read more like a Chick lit with a strong emphasis on the male POV. This was especially evident in the beginning of the book because it starts off with a lengthy (but well written) backstory for the hero. Now for my criticisms:The last 25 percent of the book felt rushed. This was evident in the progression of Eli and Faith's POV including a few specific events that felt brushed over.POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERTS:The splinters in his marriage and his attraction to Simone weren't given equal weight so when Eli left his wife his walking out looked like it was strictly his fault when I think the writer really wanted to show they were both at fault (which was later clarified but should have been evident at the time he initially left home. Showing the actual build-up to the train wreck is so much better than explaining what caused the wreck after the fact.)Eli's POV was confusing at times. His reasons for transitioning from being happy then unhappy in his marriage, to leaving his wife for another woman, to returning home to his family weren't clear to me. If there were any defining moments they were buried so deep in all his confusion that when he got back with his wife I didn't completely jump for joy like I should in a romance story. His evolution wasn't clearly defined. And, frankly, I'm not sure if I bought his mea culpa. Yes, he ultimately realized that he had a good life with Faith and wanted it back, but I'm not totally convinced he won't leave again when the going gets tough. His thought process was that murky. His constant confusion about what he really wanted made him seem weak in the end. Also, a random example of an event that was "brushed over" was when Faith saw Darren in her hotel room. An uninvited man in your hotel room talking to your child deserved more anger and discussion than that.Having said all of that, I really did enjoy the book. It made me think. I look forward to the sequel.ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS  *** REVISED REVIEW  ***Some time has passed since I wrote the above review and I've finally realized what has been bothering me and some of the other reviewers about the book. Eli wasn't PROPERLY REDEEMED by the end, which would be fine if the book wasn't a romance BUT IT IS. The author spent so much time defining Eli and his fall from grace then quickly wrote his change of heart which wasn't really a change of heart because he said time and time again that he loved his wife. He just, "Needed a break." He only went back to his wife after he got tired of Simone nagging him and he saw another man moving in on Faith. Break over, time to go back home. That's not redeeming a character. There's no evolution there. And having him sleep with Simone AFTER he decided to return to his wife??? That only reinforced my feelings that he hadn't really changed. He was just going back home (for now). This book should be labeled general fiction because it's not a romance.Let me be clear: I have no problem with characters in a romance novel having an affair but for this book to be a proper romance in the end the hero has to look like he is a hero. And there should be no doubts about his character or integrity. And to me? The way it was written, Eli looked like a man who was finished playing and decided to go back home.  A few pages of Eli saying I'm sorry, some marriage counseling, and an epilogue stating 4 years and 2 kids later they're still together doesn't remove my doubts about Eli's character.  Again, the book was a good book. Hey, I'm still talking about it, right? It's just not a romance.