Review: Not Great
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 19, 2012
I wanted to like this book, I really did. It had an amazing premise that if executed correctly, would've made the  book excellent. Instead Ms. Monroe took the lazy way out. *Warning spoiler alert*Ms. Monroe didn't take the time to figure out what type of book she wanted this to be. At times it was a great sappy IR, then it was a political suspense, throw in some drama with age and maturity differences, then a bit of racial tension and then it transformed into a fantastical conspiracy. Maybe with a more experienced or focused writer, the book would've been great. Instead it was confusing. First, readers are supposed to believe that after a 1-2 week conference that culminates with Mo and Nikki almost having sex, that Mo loves her? Really? A 40 year old conservative judge falls in love with a young, inexperienced and immature 23 year old journalist within 2 weeks? Just by looking at her? No regard to his career and no hesitancy? And then when they have a professional relationship 2 years later, NO ONE finds the conflict of interest worth mentioning? And the fact that no one else in the press found out that Nikki was writing about a man she was in a relationship with was mind boggling. That's too fantastical for even me to believe and I'm highly gullible.Further, I was more-so mad at the author's inability to include an actual intellectual character with a backbone. Nikki was purported to do so much "research" into the accusations against Mo, in fact she wanted him to be innocent. So why wouldn't she dig deeper to discredit the sources until months later? I like smart characters but Nikki couldn't write her a story of journalistic integrity to save her life. How is a 25 year old journalist even given so much responsibility? Nothing about her educational background was mentioned or the fact that she was so young to be actually be writing stories.The conflict of interest was so great that I had a hard time believing the characters could still be in love after Nikki single-handedly destroys Mo's career. That's not just following your instincts and it wasn't naiveté. Nikki was portrayed as an opinionated bulldog, a go-getter... yet simultaneously an irresponsible airhead that runs off at the mouth before thinking. She was such a go-getter that didn't think to fully check out her sources or follow her gut that something was wrong with Mo's accusers. The book had Mo repeatedly telling Nikki to trust her instincts and write the story, but Nikki's gut told her the story was off and she wrote it anyway - to the detriment of her boyfriend's career and reputation. And they stayed together? And Mo Ryan... no backbone whatsoever. Even the innocent fight back when falsely accused, or at least take it seriously. He didn't even attempt to unravel the conspiracy himself. And giving the explanation of the "political conspiracy" only a chapter or two, sealed the deal that Ms. Monroe just threw a whole bunch of undeveloped ideas together and some sex scenes and created a book. There wasn't much character development except that Nikki lost her virginity (don't get me started on that scene).There have may have only been a few typos but the book itself was a train wreck. I think if Ms. Monroe had written more developed and mature characters with an explained plot line, various points of view and a concise focus, this book could've come alive. Not worth the read folks.