Review: Wonderful debut and 2014 RITA finalist!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 30, 2014
I bought this book because Samanthe Beck was recently nominated for a Romance Writers Association (RWA) RITA award in the category "Best First Book". The RITA award is similar to the Oscars for romance writers - these nominees represent the best of romance."Private Practice" is truly a wonderful debut novel. I think Beck's strength lies in her characters. She created a complex hero and heroine that are relatable and incredibly sympathetic. Supporting characters are well developed (e.g., Ginny - the town gossip, Melody - the ex-fiancé, Roger - the love interest, and  Frank- Ellie's dad) and are interwoven to create a realistic story.I have read some of the other reviews here and I was overjoyed to see so many women identify with Ellie, an intelligent, type A bookworm. Her antics made me laugh numerous times. Tyler was described as the high school bad boy, but his actions were always gentlemanly and respectful. Ellie and Tyler had more in common than differences and it was a joy to read how their romance bloomed across the pages.My only concern for this book was the descriptions of the sexual tension or just sex (in general). Maybe I read hotter fare than "Private Practice", but there seemed to be a lot of euphemisms about what was going on. For example, the chapters in Ellie's book, "The Wild Woman's Guide to Sex", were never specified. Readers can guess, but if this book was published as a Blazen, shouldn't the writing be more explicit? Chapter 13? Uh...you can say it. If the character can't say it out loud and discuss it with their partner, then they shouldn't be doing it. And when the characters were constantly being interrupted during their `lessons' also a plot weakness.  At times, I almost felt like Beck should have written an inspirational romance, because the sex scenes came across as awkward and forced into the story.Overall, I inhaled this story and could not put it down. Beck has crafted a quick, well-paced book with her fresh voice and writing. I can't wait to read more and all the best of luck at RWA 2014.