Review: Very Impressive First Novel!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 3, 2013
In this very impressive first novel, new author J. L. Monro successfully takes her readers into the dark world of domestic violence employing zany characters, humorous dialogue and steamy romance.  The story is told from the POV of Dana Daniels, a university research manager and PhD candidate who is about to begin working on a study of the psychological effects of cosmetic surgery.  Dr. Deacon Greenwood is a plastic surgeon who has requested to work with Dana due to a paper she wrote called The Perfection of Love about the origin of the concepts of love that women hold onto and what their ideas are of perfect love."I jumped at the chance to come and meet the woman behind the words that not only educated and inspired me, but moved me.  I want to learn more about you and you can bet your mighty fine toosh that I'm going to try and charm you while I'm at it.  You can try and fight it, that will just make it more interesting for me but I am coming for you, Miss Daniels."  ~DeaconHaving thrown down the gauntlet and being cheered on by Dana's three sisters, her grandparents, two close friends and even Jacob, her turncoat son , Deacon begins his persistent, charming and often hilarious pursuit of Dana.  Dana is not totally resistant to Deacon's efforts.  She would like to move on and in her words does "not want to be that woman who had one bad relationship experience and spent the rest of her life afraid of men and intimacy" but she is naturally suspicious and is unwilling to let anyone into her life or her heart or to share her past and the grounds for her fears."I needed to find out exactly what Deacon's intentions were towards me.  Once I had that information then I could make an informed decision on what to do about him because at this rate there was a high probability that my desk was going to see a lot more than writing action very soon."  ~DanaMy heart broke for young Dana as she grows up too fast and her hopes and dreams are dashed one by one.  And Deacon has his own demon and must learn to live with an outcome that shouldn't happen to any doctor.  Some of the back story that explains Dana's fear of intimacy is effectively presented in flashbacks as we move through the book.  I was so proud of  Dana for her resilience in making a new life for herself and her son.  I was totally shocked when a voice from the past sends Dana's world plummeting.  As Dana tries to recover from the blow, the plot builds toward a shocking climax.The Perfection of Love is the first book in The Daniels Sisters Series.  We are introduced briefly to Dana's three sisters in this book and  throughout the book, hints are dropped of stories to come for Mara, Tara, and Lana. The next book in the series is The Avoidance of Love - Dana's oldest sister Mara's story.*Review copy provided by the author in exchange for my opinion*