Review: A cute story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 4, 2014
There’s really only one word to describe this book: cute. The story centers around Kate, Robert, and Derrick, and follows an almost normal romantic route. You’ll likely predict many of the turns the plot takes. Yet it does throw a few curveballs in the latter half that add elements and adult situations of a serious nature, fraught with peril and danger that I won’t spoil here.I will say that while the curveballs are foreshadowed, I think a few more hints could be dropped. There are parts that blindsided me and are over quickly. I didn’t hate them so much as I found it jarring and thought it could use some more development. What I don’t think worked was that the narrative felt off. At times, it would flow smoothly, but at others, it would suffer bumps that I’d have to re-read to understand. And despite that this takes place in the United States, there are some foreign word uses, like “hostel” and “lift” where you would expect “dorm” and “elevator.” There’s not too many instances of this, but it could confuse readers who aren’t familiar with those terms.Yet, there’s something about this story that keeps me from giving it anything less than three and a half or four stars. I’ve already said it’s cute, but what really drew me in was the presentation. It’s eager, sweet, and innocent with its eyes on the romance throughout, as much of it focuses on how the two leads open up to each other while dancing around and protecting the secrets they hide. None of the problems I had with the narrative or certain plot points detract from this and most of those problems can easily be remedied by additional editing. The romance is just pure. Maybe I was in the right kind of mood for this. Every once in a while, I want something familiar that gives me what I expect and leaves me with a warm, happy feeling when it’s over. And this delivers, as the story manages to be both familiar and different enough that I enjoyed it.