Review: Such a realistic portrayal on how everyday life intrudes on romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 15, 2013
Beth Fred is a fellow New Adult author and when she asked me to read her debut novel, I couldn't say no. What she created is a strong framework for what has become an enjoyable series. This first installment introduces us to Tiffany and at the beginning I wanted to slap some sense in her. Why? Because she basically became a doormat for her younger sister, Kammy. She paid for Kammy's bachelorette party in Cancun despite the fact that Kammy is marrying Emmett, Tiffany's ex-boyfriend after Tiffany caught them making out on her couch. Pretty bad, right?But Kammy doesn't even behave herself in Mexico. Instead, she trashes a hotel room with her friends and a bunch of male strippers. The cops are called and she ends up in jail looking for her big sis to bail her out and pay for the damage to the suite. And Tiffany totally would have...if not for Luke.Tiffany's self esteem is at an all-time low when she meets this Latino heartthrob at the hotel bar. She can't believe he'd be into her. As they start to talk with each other, Tiffany lowers her defenses but she continues to believe that Luke is just playing with her and that nothing serious will come of their flirtation. She automatically assumes he's a jerk because he's so good looking. These lines capture her frame of mind perfectly, "He could still turn out to be a total loser - and guys that went for me usually were. Since I already knew this could only end in disappointment, I couldn't be hurt too badly." She shoots herself down before even giving Luke a chance.But Luke isn't like most guys. He helps her navigate the Mexican prison system. He gives her a place to stay when the hotel kicks her out. He cooks for her and introduces her to his family. Yet what he really does is loosen her up. Tiffany is an uptight accountant who loses herself in her work in order to escape from her relationship problems. She's trapped in a cycle of negative thinking and Luke helps break her out of it. He teaches her how to relax and enjoy herself in his company.When work threatens to get in the way of what's developing between them, Tiffany starts to revert back to her old behavior even though, "whatever this feeling in the bottom of my stomach was, I'd never felt it before, and something told me it wasn't the kind of thing that happened twice." Watching her interior battle play out as she confronted her trust issues was such a realistic portrayal on how everyday life intrudes on romance. But the twist of fate at the end makes it all worthwhile.