Kimani, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-335-00586-1
Contemporary Romance, 2019
Lola Torres believes that she is going to reach a career high when she is signed on to provide the musical score for the next movie from a hot upcoming and award-winning animation studio. There is a catch though: she will be working on this alongside Dylan Ward, the lead singer of Calamity. Wait, why would an edgy band dude want to make music for an animated show again?
It’s a good thing that she is a big fan of Calamity, though, so squee!
Meanwhile, Dylan’s world has changed irrevocably since his brother and the man’s wife were killed in an accident and he became the guardian of their kids. Being a single father opens up his mind to all kinds of things that he’d be interested in trying out, and this is one of those things.
As a plus, Lola meets those kids and they get along well. Yay!
I’m sure by now everyone can see where this story is heading. Those that say they can’t are either trolling or lack the necessary brainpower to be reading this—shoo, go away.
The back cover synopsis of JM Jeffries’s Seductive Melody mentions that these two can’t get along at work, but I’d chalk that down to the person that wrote that thing taking some creative liberties to make this one seem far more dramatic than it actually is. Actually, Lola and Dylan get along so well that it’s like chocolate and milk coming together to make the most perfect milkshake ever, and no, that is not dirty talk.
Reading a story with such a couple can be a soothing and even uplifting experience, and indeed, this is such a read. For a moment, life is great, people are awesome, and there is always an assuring smile and a warm hug waiting just around the corner. It’s a lovely kind of vicarious escape, made more enjoyable by the characters being likable, their conversations and chemistry feeling real and genuine, and the kids being kids without getting too obnoxious or artificial plot device-like.
So what’s the problem?
Well, you know how they say too much of a good thing isn’t always a good thing? That’s the issue with this one. Things are so sweet and perfect, which is nice, but at the same time, the story seems to go on and on. After a while, I lose the drive to keep turning the pages because come on, what are the odds that something suspenseful would threaten the relationship?
I actually put the book down some time in its last third to tend to some real life stuff, only to realize that I don’t feel any urge to quickly resume my reading!
In the end, I do like the main characters, even the kids, and I’m glad that they found one another. The length of the story is far bigger than the scope of the story, however, if I am making sense here, and the lack of engaging internal conflict or external drama soon makes the initially enjoyable one-note awesomeness of the romance become stale and even boring.
Perhaps the story should have been much shorter, then it would be able to sustain its momentum all the way to the finish line.
