Review: A quick, light read but a little frustrating and inconsistent
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 10, 2013
REVIEWED BY KATIECassidy is a mountain climber (cool!). She has climbed three of the highest mountains in the world including Everest! Unfortunately, an injury has ended her career - at those heights anyway. We meet Cassidy as she has just moved back into town. All she has is the backpack that she has been traveling with. We learn right away that she has no money, job, or place to stay. At this point I'm wondering why she decided to come back here. And the more I read, the more I wondered. The people in this tiny town HATE her. They really think the worst things of her, mostly because of a poorly written article that came out after one of her climbs where she said some not-so-wonderful things about the town and her experience growing up there. It's been THREE YEARS people! Get over it!Cassidy does have a stepfather in town that she loves, and I'm sure that's the main reason she chooses to come back to this gossipy town. In my opinion though, she could've moved a few towns over or a half hour away - I'm sure her stepfather, Allan, would come visit! Speaking of Allan, he is central to the subplot of this book. For a father figure who has always shown nothing but love to her, he acts very weird around Cassidy when she returns. He avoids her, dodges her, and won't allow her to stay in her childhood home with him. Personally, I was able to figure out the subplot pretty easily, so there wasn't much mystery or suspense in that for me.Cassidy was a frustrating character for me to wrap my head around. Obviously, I was confused about why she remains in the town that has cast her away and given her the nickname "The Chosen One." I also couldn't understand why she didn't stand up for herself! She's a strong female character in many ways, but the fact that she didn't want to run screaming through the town square clearing her name was beyond me. We all like to think that what other people think or say doesn't matter to us and, okay, maybe if it was just a passing visit, I might understand her silently dealing with the stares and horrible words muttered under everyone's breath behind her back and to her face. But she chooses to LIVE there! Stand up for yourself, woman!Thank goodness Mitch gives her a chance. I loved Mitch! He runs the nursery in town and had a crush on Cassidy in high school. They were supposed to go out back then, but thanks to some mixed messages, it never happened. Mitch doesn't waste a second trying to make that delayed date happen. He is hilarious and confident. What woman wouldn't want that combination? Here is my favorite Mitch moment:-------------------------"When I do go--" he pointed in the direction of the glassed-in office at the far end of the room, "--you're going to be temped to watch my ass." . . . With her mouth hanging open and her mind muddled, she watched him walk away. No, make that saunter. It was the sure stalk of a hunter, all grace with no wasted steps. And damn if she didn't take a peek at his ass.-------------------------Mitch was always supportive of Cassidy and didn't buy into the rumors that the town had created about her. He let her speak for herself and tell her own story. He also never doubted his feelings for her. He had some convincing to do on Cassidy, but from the beginning, he knew he wanted to date her and explore that more. That said, there were a few inconsistencies in Mitch that I didn't quite understand. He didn't believe any of the rumors...until he did believe one of them. He never had any doubts about wanting Cassidy...then all of a sudden had serious doubts. Mitch did have some of his own issues to work out, but the suddenness of the change in character seemed a little hard to believe.Overall, LEAN ON ME is well written but a very short book. It seemed to have a full plotline but not really delve fully into any aspect of it. It also seemed to have an abrupt ending. I would have loved more throughout the whole book, especially at the end! I think people who are more inclined toward straight up contemporary romance might have a very different opinion of this book than I did. The sexy time scenes were great and it was a really sweet story. Kudos to HelenKay Dimon on creating a great stand-alone novel. I didn't even know it was part of a series until I was done reading it!BOTTOM LINEI have no doubts that hardcore romance readers will love this one. It just wasn't for me. It touched on things without fully developing the story or ideas, and I wanted more. But LEAN ON ME was still cute and fun and a quick, light read. If you want a rainy day read or are going on vacation and don't want to think too hard about anything, grab this one and give it a try.RATING: C+Note: I received a review copy of this title courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.