Review: Wonderfully imaginative writing!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 12, 2013
*A free copy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for my honest review.*This is not the first book I have read by this author and, as I have greatly enjoyed her other books, I had high expectations when beginning her latest offering. The Auspicious Troubles of Chance lived up to my expectations and then some!The cast of characters that are written in this title reached out and captured my heart. The honest emotion expressed by each person, their imperfections, insecurities, hopes, frustrations and dreams, are written in such a way that the words can't help but engage the reader's interest and imagination. It is these pure emotions that fully envelope the reader in Chance's world.This book is written as a narrative from the main character, Chance's, point of view. As I am an educated reader, reading the first few chapters gave me the feeling that I may be in for a bit of a struggle. Because Chance begins his story with a tone of arrogance, displays a tendency towards showmanship, and has an over all devil-may-care attitude forward his audience, I initially felt that this wasn't going to be a story I was going to enjoy.  As I continued reading, began to know and understand Chance, and learned the reasons behind his attitude, my initial impression changed.  So just keep this in mind when you start reading and don't give up on the story!Although this is technically a period book that is set in the early 1900's, the characters themselves could be plucked out of the story and placed in any time period. I liked that the historical setting didn't overtake the storyline or make it feel dated.The M/M romance is tastefully written, emotionally raw, steamy enough to satisfy, yet not over the top.  It flows as a natural complement to the story line and doesn't contain any of the forced emotions that I've sometimes felt when reading in this genera.Well written and with a professionally edited feel, the quality of this title surpasses earlier offerings by Cochet and makes reading this book a delight.This book offers a complete complement of supporting characters as well. The way they build off of each other, the humor that made me laugh out loud, and the poignant moments that nearly brought me to tears, are the deciding factors in my 5 star rating. This story just couldn't get any better... and the ending is one you'll just have to read twice!