Review: Fantastic
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 14, 2013
I don't ask for much -- a good story, great characters, growth and development of said characters, good editing!! and something longer than a pamphlet.  I have been desperately disappointed in many books I have tried this year.I shied away from this because I do not like serialized books.  Nope.  Not me.  Nuh-uh.  I want the entire story, in my hands so I can maintain my own pace in reading.  If the story sucks me in, then I want to be able to sit for a few hours and finish it.So yeah, I was not going to be sucked in despite the great sample I read.  Despite the glowing reviews.  Despite the fact that I was desperate to break my losing streak in good IR this year and this looked like a strong contender.But I couldn't help it so I got it.  And....Sigh....this was so good.  I loved it.  I loved Chloe and her wit and her somewhat irreverent take on things.  I loved her bad roommate montage.  I love the complex relationship with her best friend and how the book does not make a big deal about race but does not shy away from looking at some of it's complexities --not from the perspective of a white person (which feels like the norm) but from the perspective of black people.  And, gratifyingly, not ALL black people have the same relationship with racial issues.  In this small first installment she manages to convey that rather elegantly without allowing it to cannibalize the story.The writing was tight and YES! well edited.  The dialogue was great.  It was funny and I can't wait to see what happens in the next one because this one ends on quite the cliffhanger and the next thing that happens can go one of to ways.Fantastic first installment.  And if the rest of the books in the six part series lives up to the promise of this one, I can easily see this writer vaulting onto my autobuy list.