Review: Cute, but too annoying for 4*
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 26, 2013
There are **SPOILERS** in this review.I will admit that I stayed up late to finish this, although that was still only about 3hrs.  I kept reading because I wanted to find something that really made me like our hero, Brad, but I just couldn't.  The only thing that made me smile about him was his OCD dvd organization.The chapters change perspective kind of regularly, with maybe one chapter from Brad to every 4 of Colleen.  I would have liked it to be more even, but that's just me.  The Brad chapters tended to pick up his POV before the end of the latest Colleen chapter, which was slightly confusing at first.  I don't think I've seen that technique used before.We learn right away that they have been best friends since infancy, with everyone around them hoping they would recognize their feelings and get married, but that it just isn't going to happen, except that it's fairly obvious that he's madly in love with her and she's in denial.  Okay, that's a reasonable plot device.**** Spoiler Warning ****What I really didn't like was that as much as he understands her and knows how insecure she is, rather than being the first to open up and reassure her, Brad manipulates the scene and exacts petty revenges without TALKING.  So many misunderstandings because she tries to talk and he ignores her, he refuses to talk and she gets her feelings hurt...Again, he knows her better than anyone else in the world, and he can't handle the situation better?  I got really irritated when he convinced a friend to make out with him to make Colleen jealous.  To convince the girl who is extremely insecure in just about every way to see that you're devoted to her, you pretend to have an affair with a woman who looks like Barbie so she'll lay claim to you, never considering that she'll internalize it as further proof that you aren't really interested?  Also, get angry with her for acting bitchy & jealous, as was YOUR INTENT??I kept reading and reading, waiting for Brad to get knocked down a peg and for Colleen not to go running after him or run away crying.  For someone who's such a bitch, she's far too easily manipulated into tears.There's also drama from their past that gets dredged up, and yet again, there's no communication and some fairly important misunderstandings.  Then there's all this potential danger from a case that the men in her life (all cops) are working on,  but that never actually shows up.*** End SPOILERS ***So yeah, Brad wasn't much of a hero for me, and Colleen was irritating in her own ways.  Their families were often rude and condescending, but I got the feeling the author intended this to be part of the Southie and Catholic personality stereotypes.  Not being either, I can't say for sure.Summary - There was a lot of potential for a cute, funny story.  It had its moments where it actually was just that - but far too many times it was a let down.