What I Love About You
Grade : C

Natalie Cooper’s charmed high school life and marriage to a glamorous banker blew up when her husband was convicted of fraud and caught trying to flee the country with another woman. Natalie was left alone with their newborn baby. Fast-forward five years. Natalie’s rebuilt her life running the town photo store, raising little Charlotte on her own, when she hears that her husband is getting out of jail. Blake Junger is also coming to town. One of the greatest snipers in US military history, he’s paid for that success with rampant alcoholism. He hasn’t been dry that long, and alcohol is a constant temptation for him - but perhaps not as tempting as the divorcee next door. What could have been an interesting, morally complex story was a disappointingly simplistic read.

The portrayal of Blake’s alcoholism did not work for me. For the most part, it just felt like a cheap author trick - “Oh, a recovering alcoholic - that would make him complex.” Blake’s Middle East military service has created his alcoholism, so his recovery logically must involve him confronting his service and reflecting on his killing. He never does. In the last quarter of the book, he goes as a military contractor and kills terrorists left and right, which is supposed to be some kind of breakthrough, I think, but which to me just suggested a massive relapse is around the corner.

Additionally, the author’s depiction of war made me uncomfortable. While I can understand Blake having to compartmentalize and not think about feelings during his mission, I kept waiting for him to reflect on the fact that he had just ended lives. He could think, “If I’d grown up in poverty, desperate to keep my family alive, hostage-taking might have been the only career open to me. But they were willing to kill a hostage…” Natalie might have thought, “Gee, Blake is paid to kill people from hiding, and it doesn’t seem to bother him.” Instead, his sniper career and kills are treated the way you’d describe a pitcher’s baseball career - “He’s the all-time National League record holder in postseason strikeouts!” Even in a war zone, human life should have value beyond gun notches - or it should be depressing that it does not.

Natalie’s ex-husband was intriguing and complicated. His attempts to get back together with Natalie might be a jerk who wants a do-over - or it might be a man who screwed up trying to rebuild the life he regrets blowing up. He genuinely tries to make up for his missed time with Charlotte, which contrasts with Blake, who swears at Charlotte and tries to scare her off his property. Natale’s ex’s jealousy of Blake seems to stem from love for Natalie and a desire not to see her hurt by another man. Frankly, given the choice between an alcoholic, unthinking sniper who swears at her kid and a reformed (or reforming) con-man who’s committing to do better - well, neither’s a slam dunk, but personally, I’m not on Team Blake.

The writing is average, and has that dilute quality that I often associate with authors whose first books I enjoyed, but who now crank out two books a year and seem more concerned with hitting the page count and finishing than with writing dense, rich stories. Scenes last a long time without much plot progress or character development. There were plot gaps. I lost respect for Natalie when she gossiped with her friend in a public place (where Blake overheard her), describing the penis of one local citizen in the explicit photographs he had sent to her company for development. It was both stupid and unprofessional. I also never understood how Blake is filthy rich from his military career when most paychecks barely break the poverty line. It’s telling when authors do this, because it usually means the men aren’t strong enough characters to win over the heroines on their own merits.

This book falls into the “Not terrible, but nowhere near good” category. Kind of like Blake, actually. We readers, and Natalie, can do better.

Buy it at Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes and Noble/Kobo

Grade : C

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : January 2, 2015

Publication Date: 2014/09

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Caroline Russomanno

I'm a history geek and educator, and I've lived in five different countries in North America, Asia, and Europe. In addition to the usual subgenres, I'm partial to YA, Sci-fi/Fantasy, and graphic novels. I love to cook.

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