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May 13, 2019WoodneathKristie rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
There was a lot I could have liked in Sally Thorne's sophomore effort- funny (at times) dialogue, an interesting female protagonist in Darcy, an emphasis on safer sex and consent- but most of that got lost in the confusing thicket that was the middle of this book. First, the romantic interest, Tom, feels like a fangirl's description of Taylor Lautner as Jacob in the "Twilight" movie, even down to the "wolf" eyes and stoic loyalty. There is also a weird Southern Gothic vibe with the Barrett family- eccentric fortunetelling dead grandma, controlling, malign, and vaguely incestuous twin brother, sickly female protagonist- lots of old money and beach houses and general class angst. While all of this could be interesting, it really kind of muddies the romance trajectory. Actually, at some point, I get so repulsed by the Barrett's treatment of Tom, (He is like their pet dog that they use as a "buffer" between the quarrelsome twins. Know who else is referred to as a "buffer"? Tom's ACTUAL DOG.) that all I really want is for him to snap, tell off the Barretts, and go live his life free of their manipulation. Finally, there is the problem of massive amounts of unattributed dialogue and whipcrack mood changes that literally had me worried that I must be inadvertently skipping pages along the way. No, I wasn't skipping pages, this Twilight Tribute/Southern Gothic Drama/Romance Novel mashup is just a frenetic, disjointed mess for several chapters before it finally rights itself and limps on to the Happily Ever After ending- even if it leaves you wondering how happy this confused, twisted lot can ever really be.