Renee Dahlia, $2.99, ISBN 979-8201417598
Historical Romance, 2022
It’s 1812. Humphrey Dexington is very earnestly infatuated with his friend and long-time business partner David, who tries very hard to be sarcastic and cynical to the point that he may as well cut out a photo of Oscar Wilde and paste it over his face.
Of course, David can only wish that he has the wit of Mr Wilde, because it takes an actual professional to be genuinely edgy and witty in an amusing manner.
Back to the romance, Humphrey is being blue in the friend zone not that David is straight or, with the time being what it is, Humphrey’s desire is likely illegal as well as just not kosher. Yes, this is one of those stories where it’s not just okay to be gay, but every hot man is gay and we all cheer them all to the Gayville—well, except for those evil Christians, that is, because those people disapprove of butt touching pee-pee so yeah, evil.
Sometimes I wonder why not just set the whole thing in a fantasy setting modeled after London in the Regency era, but I suppose it takes more effort to think up funny spellings for the names in that fantasy setting.
Anyway, David is in the friend zone because he is just there, waiting, just like I am waiting, as the story takes its own sweet time to drag out this story to be twice as long as it should be.
Now, in a romance, chemistry, or the perception of its existence, between the two main characters is essential in making the romance believable and even exciting to follow, and in Renee Dahlia’s Love Wasn’t Built in a Day, I don’t sense any of it between Humphrey and David.
I think one main reason could be because there is no notable conflict at all. Humphrey is so deferential and eager to please when it comes to David, so much so that their relationship is like that of a wagging puppy and its somewhat hot and cold owner. This creates a rather lopsided power dynamic between these two, and it doesn’t make for an interesting romance because there is nothing here to rock the status quo.
Instead, I have to sit down and read through pages after pages of these two and various secondary characters embarking on mundane antics and talking about this and that, all of which don’t add to or even subtract from the romance in any significant manner. As a result of this, I feel like I’m reading rather boring day by day journal entries of not particularly interesting people, and I can only wonder why I am doing this.
Perhaps the author could have focused more on developing the main characters and their relationship instead of just letting them babble and wander around aimlessly in search of a plot.
As it is, this one plods on and on in a flat and bland manner, and I’ve put this one down to do something else a few times, and proceeded to forget about picking it up again until much later.
Sure, love isn’t built in a day, but I don’t think the building ever gets started even by the last page.
