Kimani, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-335-45841-4
Contemporary Romance, 2019
In Joy Avery’s Written with Love, we meet romance author Zahra Hart. Her last two romance novels didn’t sell too well. She knows her next book needs to be successful or, yikes, she may get dropped and then she would have to self publish or something, oh the horror.
Unfortunately, she’s being bothered by relationship issues of the people she knows, plus six months ago she left her relationship of three years because the man’s idea of commitment included committing himself into other women. As one can imagine, she’s not in the mood to write breathtaking tales of romance.
Her agent generously allows her the use of the agent’s North Carolina summerhouse because agents are always like that, and Zahra sees this as her opportunity to recharge the muse and rekindle her career.
Meanwhile, her agent’s husband unknowingly allows his client the use of the same summerhouse in the same time period. What are the odds, right?
Gregor Carter’s quarterback career is in danger of spiraling into the pits because he is blamed for his team’s recent oopsie. You see, he is the star, the one everyone banked their hopes on, but he found his girlfriend being quartered and backed by some other guy in the apartment Gregor had bought for them.
In his rage, he raced down the street, got into an accident, and couldn’t play as a result. So yes, now he is being booed by fans and teammates, and a time out at the summerhouse sounds like just the thing he needs.
So yes, Zahra finally finds her muse: in a relationship with a self-absorbed douchebag.
Now, this story is for the most part a pleasant read. The chemistry is there, as is the sexual tension. Sometimes the conversations can feel a little too try-hard in being sassy and quirky, but for the most part, Zahra and Gregor in a house together makes for a fun, if familiar, read.
Things get a little more meandering once those two leave the house, but the bigger problem here is that Gregor is a self-absorbed twit that is all about him, him, him. The author knows this, so I assume Gregor will get some character development and shapes up to be a better hubby material later on.
Unfortunately, the author only has the heroine confront the hero about his douchebag nature in the last few pages, and this is followed by a tepid apology and she taking him back very quickly. So, that’s it?
Because of this, the hero never undergoes a believable character journey as far as I’m concerned. I never get this feeling that he loves anyone, much less Zahra, as much as he loves himself, and I have a hard time buying the happily ever after as a result. I feel that the author should have made the heroine call the hero on his nonsense far earlier, and allow more pages for the hero to demonstrate that he has indeed learned how to be less of a selfish gerbil.
On the bright side, I doubt Zahra will be a doormat for long should Gregor continues being what he is in the future.
Still, it’s the author’s job to sell me her characters’ happy ending, and I am not sure that I buy this one.
