Laura Heffernan, $2.99, ISBN 978-1005520076
Contemporary Romance, 2019
Welcome aboard to the Oceanic Aphrodite, a cruise ship on which everyone will find love. Sounds like a breeding ground for monkeypox, but hey, I’m sure it’s all worth it in the end.
Well, Laura Heffernan’s Time of My Life refers to the fun days ahead for our heroine, Janey. She’s a pole dance teacher that will also be shaking her hips at the finale of the dancing show later in the cruise.
The last part is very important because, come on, we have all been around the block, yes, and we know someone meant to be on stage with the heroine will drop out due to some reason and our hero, the doctor Francis Hanson, will have to fill in for that epic romantic finish. Still, let’s not have our familiarity with tropes cause me to get ahead of myself.
So yes, Janey is a staff so she’s not supposed to be making eyes at Frank, the suave, charming, and most importantly, wealthy passenger. Because this is a romantic comedy, we can’t have them meeting like normal people—via a hookup app—so no, the author sneakily pushes a baggage cart right into our heroine and causes her to fall. Our gallant Frank is there, of course, to help her back on her feet and she blurts out that he is gorgeous.
Everyone, stand up and applaud this stroke of original comedy. Come on, be nice. Comedians can sensitive and we don’t want the author to feel unwelcome on this website, do we?
Janey is all pins and needles because hot Frank seems to have hooked up with the captain’s hot daughter, but when her fellow dancer ends up pregnant and there is one dancer short on stage… hmm, I’m not sure why they need Frank to replace that lady, but I suppose the author wants this story to be a take on Dirty Dancing, so Frank is in and is in need of pole dancing lessons. Guess who will be the one teaching him how to twist around and hump a pole…
Oh, don’t worry, unlike in the movie, Frank here isn’t really in a relationship when he hooks up with Janey. There is no messy cheating drama or side chick cat fights here, thank goodness.
This one is not bad at all. It’s easy to read, well-paced, and the conversations actually flow well without coming off as staged and try hard. I don’t have any big issues with this story at all. It’s alright.
Okay, that may be one issue I have with this one: it’s alright, which means it’s exists sort of just there.
The characterization is adequate for the main characters to come off as likable sort-of realistic people, but not deep or significant enough to make them memorable.
The chemistry is there, but it’s not sizzling or larger than life to make me catch my breath.
The humor is there, but not to a degree that makes me chuckle or laugh—although with humor being subjective, other people may disagree with me, and that’s perfectly valid.
See what I mean? The story is fine, perfectly fine. I’m just not too worked up over or enthused about it. The main characters also don’t face any significant issue between them and a happily ever after, which is a pity as the presence of a credible conflict may make the romance more compelling. I almost wish Frank and Mellie are in a real relationship when he is attracted to Janey, because of this.
I’ve had a good time reading this, so I won’t say “No! Wave the crucifix and garlic bulbs at it!” if someone would ask me whether I think they should read this thing. I can’t say I’ve had the Time of My Life, but that’s okay. Maybe some other time, perhaps.
