Review: Gimmicky plot is illogical, and the characters unbelievable and unsympathetic
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 05 28, 2014
Maliciously Obedient (Obedient Series #1) by Julia Kent is probably one of the worst books I've ever tried to read. In the first fifty-six pages, there were numerous times I questioned whether the first draft of this book had been published. The story is riddled with inconsistencies, has a plot that is hard to believe, and features characters who feel as phony as they are. The author crams as many pop culture favorites as she can into this book, seeming to bet on gimmicks to keep the readers' interest instead of substance.Among the gimmicks employed in the first fifty-six pages:- The hero is a CEO taking part in an undercover reality show.- The author name drops several popular real-life romance authors in the story (Sylvia Day, Shayla Black, and E.L. James).- The author lists several high profile real-world romance blogs.- The heroine is obsessed with one of pop culture's most talked about romance novels in the last few years - '50 Shades of Grey.'- The author attempts to capitalize on society's addiction to social media by having the two main characters vie for the same position as a director of social media without mentioning what business the company is in and how the heroine's ideas or the hero's stint on the reality show might improve the company's bottom line.- Feminism - The heroine rails constantly about the injustice of the male dominated business world and why she is passed over for the job she believes she deserves because she is a woman. It never occurs to her that her own completely unprofessional behavior makes her unfit for a position in the mail room, much less a promotion to director.In the first section of this book, the heroine (Lydia) is caught by the hero (Matt/Mike) reading "50 Shades of Grey" in her car while parked at work at 7:32 AM. Just a page or two later, Lydia arrives in her office thinking that no one ever arrives at work as early as she does, which is 7:00 AM. Of course, if she spends the time after she arrives reading in the parking lot before entering the building, being there `early' doesn't really count, does it? Either the author has tripped up the timeline here or this character is seriously deluded. In my opinion, one of those conclusions is as likely as the other. Soon, Matt/Mike arrives in the department to find Lydia again reading "50 Shades of Grey", this time with her stockinged feet propped up on the desk. Yet shortly after this (just after 7:59 AM according to the author), she realizes that she left that very same book in her car and goes to retrieve it. This is just the first of many inconsistencies I found in the first fifty-six pages of this book. The more I encountered, the more irritated I became with the story and the characters.Adding to that irritation was the fact that Lydia fusses and moans throughout the story about how she had waited for the position of `Director of Social Media' to be created for two years while she suffered as the administrative assistant to that very same nonexistent position. Really? Why in the world would any company hire an administrative assistant for a job that doesn't exist? When she finds that `Matt' has been hired to fill this new position without it ever being posted so she could apply, she loses it. She goes on and on about how she deserves that job, while proving beyond a shadow of a doubt why she is certainly not fit for any kind of professional job, much less a supervisory position. Reading a novel with her stockinged feet on her desk? Hiding in the supply closet to cry over a position she thinks she deserves? Then she goes on and on to her new boss about how she was reading that particular book because it could revolutionize their company's marketing and sales. I never saw a mention of what business this corporation is actually in, but unless they are a publishing company or make sexual aids, I find it hard to believe that "50 Shades of Grey" is going to improve their social presence or improve their sales.Then there is Matt/Mike. Mike is his real name, but he is undercover for a reality show and no one is supposed to know he is really the CEO of his company. That's why he goes by Matt. But the only other employee Matt seems to have contact with is Lydia, aside from a brief meeting with the supervisor over their department. Mike is appalled when he learns they don't have premium coffee or half and half. Again, really? I've never worked for a corporation that kept half and half in stock for the employee break room. When he brings this up, Lydia really gives him an earful on how cheap she thinks the CEO is, not realizing he IS the CEO. In addition to showing how unprofessional she is, she repeatedly talks about how cheap this man is, citing examples like the lack of half and half, being gifted a corporate mug at Christmas, and more. Although he is supposedly a CEO, Mike seems to lack any real motivation or purpose outside of picturing Lydia naked.There is a scene where Mike picks up the phone and calls his chauffeur for no apparent reason. Another scene has him wondering where all the food in his house came from.After fifty-six pages, I had to stop reading for a bit. I was irritated at the story's inconsistencies, the unbelievable plot, how much an idiot Mike was, and how Lydia came across as such an unprofessional lunatic I had a hard time believing Mike would be interested in her. I thought I was taking a little break from the story until I discovered this book ends on a cliffhanger. I hate not finishing a book, but it would have been difficult to make it to the end of this one, much less read the two sequels.It is rare I don't have something good to say about a book, but I honestly cannot think of anything good here. The story is so scattered and implausible that I have a hard time believing this author has published other novels, much less that they have ever been bestsellers. A good book should make me believe everything that happens in it really COULD happen in that world. It should make me believe that the characters in the story would do just the things they do in the book. A good book should sweep the reader away and let them lose themselves in the author's world for a short while. This book didn't come close to accomplishing any of those goals. I would not recommend this book at all.