Review: HLB Reviews Plain Jayne
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 30, 2014
As an avid book reader its always cool to me when an author makes the main character have something to do in the book world, be it editor, author, or bookstore owner. It’s like starting out you already know you have something in common with the character, and that makes it that much easier to like the character straight off the bat. Which is always a good thing.I’ve actually read quite a few books lately where the two main characters grew up as childhood friends, and it’s a theme that has been working for me. I really liked that the author addressed the whole can men and women really just be friends, because no one in that town thought it was possible, even though the two of them had been friends for so long and nothing had happened between them.Jayne comes back to town after a really long time away, like years away, because her grandmother had passed away and left her the bookstore she owned. Turns out she hadn’t seen her best friend Nick in four years either. See Nick used to be married, and when his wife passed away and Jayne showed up at the funeral, the wife’s family threw a fit and Nick kicked her out. To say that would be painful would be an understatement. So Jayne is back and Nick wants to pick up their friendship right where it left off. The bookstore is a disaster and on the verge of being condemned so Nick and Jayne get to work getting it back together and she ends up in Nick’s spare room. Jayne is a real sweetheart, all she wants to do is be there for Nick. And she doesn’t want anyone, especially Nick’s girlfriend to get the wrong idea about their friendship. The sad part for Jayne is that she really has never experienced affection, her grandmother hated her, and she really has no concept of how to accept affection or give it.Nick is a good guy, he has good work ethic, and tries his best to be there for everyone he knows. He has good friends and good family and a good business. He’s really someone every girl would be happy to settle down with. I think the thing I liked most about Nick was that even though you kind of knew he was going to go after Jayne in the end, he had a girlfriend, and never did anything to compromise that, and was loyal to her, and treated her decently. That and he kept Jayne’s secrets and was there for her however and whenever she needed him, even when she wouldn’t admit that she needed him.So the downside to this novel was that it was long. There was lot of just two people going about their daily business and not a lot happening plot wise. About half way through the book I actually stopped to see how much further there was in the book and I was shocked I was only at 50%. I wish the pacing had either been a little bit faster or the book had been a little bit shorted. Also I wish the payoff at the end had been expanded on more, I felt like it was a bit on the rushed side.Overall though it was a good book, an enjoyable read, something I would take on vacation or read over a long weekend. If you like contemporary romances then you would probably like this book, unless you are looking for something with a lot of heat, then I would say this might not be the book for you. Either way I enjoyed it, and will probably look for other books by the author to read in the future.