Things have gotten super busy with my new work position, so I haven’t had time to sit down and do a real blog post. I have been able to fit some reading in to my busy schedule though, so here’s a book from NetGalley I had the chance to read and review.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Paige Morrison moves to Mirabelle, Florida to live with her parents after a bad breakup. Heartbroken and bitter, Paige is an outsider who’s dislike of the town is only strengthened by the gossipy and judgmental nature of some of its inhabitants. This starts to change when she meets Brendan King, a local who has a knack for helping Paige out of trouble.
As Paige comes out of her shell, she begins to embrace the small town, despite those who still won’t embrace her. She makes friends, finds an outlet for her art, and…as expected…falls in love with Brendan King.
If you’re a reader who dislikes multiple plots, you may be put off by the style of this narrative. Rather than one streamlined plot, the author gives a series of conflicts that start and resolve within one to three chapters. Because this isn’t my normal or favored style of story telling, there were times when the story dragged a little bit. I wanted more of a targeted conflict rather than a slideshow of the couple’s relationship.
However, that didn’t make this a bad read. The romance is sweet, parts of the story are really fun, and the main characters are likable. Paige and Brendan’s relationship is reminiscent of a traditional hometown boy meets city girl love story. The sex scenes are steamy, though they don’t cross the line into all out erotica. While the overall feel of the story leaves the reader with warm fuzzies, there are some heavy subjects here, and the book takes some sad and scary turns.
There are also some side characters who are horrible. The reader is supposed to hate them, as much of the conflict comes from them. There’s one storyline that runs through the book that involves the blog of one such side character. Though I think the blog is supposed to be amusing, it was one part of the book I didn’t like at all. It only shows up a few times, but it was one of those affects that pulled me too far out of the story and annoyed me, even though it’s an integral part of the plot (I’m never satisfied, apparently).
For a vanilla read, Undone was an enjoyable book. It’s part of the author’s Country Roads series, and the characters to the other books are introduced in this one as well. I definitely plan on reading the rest of these books in the future. If they’re like this one, they’ll be a good choice for when I need to feel warm and fuzzy.
The Romance Factor 