Review: flawed
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 09 15, 2013
This M/M romance does not work for me.It is not the random grammar mishap nor the occasional clumsy turn of phrase. Neither is it the sole/soul word-play that is ingenious but constantly fails to move me.The German setting feels unnecessary not just because most of the chararacters' first names sound English but also because it is meaningless for the plot which could actually take place anywhere else with little need for changes.The real problem for me is that the characters fail to come alive.Ms Sunday works very hard to give them background, depth and feelings the reader can relate to but in the end they still feel distant and somewhat cold.The split timelines -one chapter is set in the present, one in the past- only works until the two narrations are separated by several years. When the past timeline comes to be set in 2008 or later (the present one is in 2013) things get confused and confusing and this does nothing to improve things.Technically flawed are also the flashbacks toward the end of the book that suddenly see Caro and Ben as POV bearers. They are unprecedented and therefore stylistically out of place as they add little or nothing to the book.