Review: Practically Perfect First Novel
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 20, 2013
OMG!!!  This book is AMAAAAAAAZING!!  The question I want answered is, "who is K M Shropshire?"  I googled the name and found nothing.  Furthermore, it seems this is Ms. Shropshire's (or is it Mr.'s?) first book.  But, how is it possible that a brand new author could produce a 400 page book and maintain a level of excellence throughout the entire story?  I actually downloaded the book a few days ago.  At the time I was reading another book and had a second one all lined up to read next.  However, the blurb for this book kept calling to me.  So, when I was done with the book I was reading I started to read this one.  Even then I still wanted to read the other book I had picked out (it was a medieval romance.)  But, for some reason I felt pulled to read this one.OMG!  From the very beginning the story pulled me in and kept me engaged to the very last page!  This is not a book that you read, so much as you experience!  Ms. Shropshire has an amazing talent to weave a tale.  There is no intrigue, no mystery, no stupid misunderstandings between the characters, or petty grievances involved in the plot.  Nor is there tons and tons of pages of sex (there is post-marital sex, but it's clean....no details.)This book is about one thing and one thing only.....LOVE!  Yes, Ms. Shropshire managed to write a 400 page book about love without any of the other elements I listed, and yet, keep the reader thoroughly engaged from start to finish.  That is quite a feat!  The book is well written and the characters are all fully developed and wonderful....(well the one's you love to hate, such as Jane's sister, Sophie, and her father, Lord Leicheshire, are not wonderful, but are fully developed).Graham, the hero, has been in love with Jane since the first time he saw her.  At that time we are told he was a young man (I'm not sure how young he was, but it was sometime during the transition between boyhood and manhood.)  Even though at the time Graham knew that he would never have a chance of being with Jane (her being a member of the nobility and he being a tradesman's son), he still dreamed of her.From that point on Graham threw himself into his work, helping his father improve the family business.  Jane was the driving force behind his obsession to succeed because he knew that no ordinary tradesman could ever approach her.  His need to succeed was fueled by his need to prove himself worthy of her, and even then he never thought to have the opportunity to even meet, much less marry, her.  Jane was the standard by which every other woman was held....and all came up short.  Graham never had any hope of being with Jane, but he still could not bring himself to settle for anyone else as his wife.Then fate steps in and Graham is given the opportunity to meet Jane.  For the first time they are actually introduced, and all the feelings for Jane that Graham had suppressed over the years came rushing forth.  After all the years of wanting from afar, Graham could not give up the opportunity to have Jane as his wife.  Her father, Lord Leicheshire, is a scoundrel of the first order.  A more unfeeling, selfish, despicable parent you could not hope to meet.  Despite disdaining Graham's background as a tradesman, Leicheshire happily "sells" Jane in marriage to him.After the two become engaged, Graham begins the process of courting Jane.  His greatest desire is for Jane to return his love!  One of the things I really loved about the story is the way Graham signs his notes whenever he gives Jane a present "Forever and only yours, Graham."  Forever and only yours would have been another great title for this book, I think.Anyhow, the plot moves at a nice, quick pace.  Other characters featured in the story are Graham's parents, who are wonderful.  Then there is Jane's sister, Sophie, who is beautiful, malicious, mean spirited, and self absorbed.  She lived to make Jane's life miserable.  I really felt sorry for her fiancé, Lord Gorden, who is also a friend of Graham's, and the one who instigated the initial meeting between Graham and Jane.  Finally, there are Lucian (love that name, that's my son's name) and Jemima, who are both childhood friends of Graham's (hints in the book seem to indicate they will be the h and H in a next book.)What I found to be really unusual about this book is how much it focused on the hero.  Typically, in my experience, romance books focus more on the heroine, even when the reader is given insight into the hero.  In this story, however, Graham is very much the dominant character (I, by no means, mean to suggest that Jane is overshadowed because she's not.)  The book opens with Graham and, before the reader ever meets Jane, you learn much about Graham.  In fact, the reader does not meet Jane until Graham gets his introduction to her.  From that point on, the reader is given equal insight into both characters.Now, I have to say that this book is in no way perfect....as the first reviewer indicated there are some editing issues.  For instance the words "all ready" were constantly used instead of "already."  Furthermore, several times I noted words were either missing or printed out of order.  But, the one issue I noted the most was the use of incorrect verb tense in the narrated portion of the story.  For example, here is a quote from the book where Jane is warning herself to keep her heart safe from Graham, because despite his proclamations of love she is still suspicious of his true motives for wanting to marry her:"She isn't special to him in a romantic sense.  She is the lady he is purchasing, and she must keep that in mind."Shouldn't that be She WASN'T special to him in a romantic sense.  She WAS the lady he WAS purchasing, and she HAD TO keep that in mind?  Now, I'm no expert, but I read a ton, and have written a lot in my profession (no, I am not an author), so I can usually spot grammatical issues with ease.  As a matter of fact, issues such as those typically take away from my enjoyment of a book.  In this instance, I noted the errors, but was able to ignore them.  After a while I realized that these errors were consistent, and so I was able to easily compensate for them.Another minor issue I had with the book is a lack of detail. (I am a stickler for details...it's a professional hangup.)  We are told that Graham is 28, but are never given Jane's age.  Furthermore, I was uncertain as to the exact time period in which the story was set.  If I had to hazard a guess, I would say it is sometime in the 1800's, but later than the regency period.I also would have liked to know exactly how old Graham and Jane were when they had their first encounter.  I do see that Ms. (Mr.?) Shropshire self published this book, so it is unlikely that she had it professionally edited.  This is one of those books which, IMHO, with a bit of polish, could be on a best seller list (and that polish could be easily achieved with a little editing).  It is that good!Despite the issues I enumerated, this book is a 5 star read!  I read tons of books (several a week).  A few receive 5 star reviews.  Each book is evaluated on its own merit, but if I had to compare, "Precious Possession" would be in a class by itself.  It is now firmly on my top ten list of personal favorites.  My hats off to you Ms. (Mr.?) Shropshire.  Your career is off to an auspicious start.  Needless to say, I highly recommend this book.  Right now Amazon is offering it for free, but I see the regular digital price tag is for .99 cents....really?  You better snag a copy before they get smart and raise the price, because at .99 cents this is a steal! LOL