I have a had hard time writing this review. First it is hard to write very much without giving away spoilers. So, I find myself having to focus on the things about the characters and the plot devices used by the author that I didn't like.
This is my second Samatha Young book (Dublin Street was my first) and I think I see a pattern in her writing that makes me reluctant to read anymore of her stories. I don't like stories where one, or both, of the characters are unwilling to admit their feelings or form attachments for 80% of the story. I don't find it romantic and it makes for a very frustrating and unrealistic read.
When I started the book, I thought I wouldn't be able to finish it. The way they met seemed very contrived and a little unrealistic. I thought Caine's reaction to be a little over the top and then as I read more I also thought it was inconsistent with his character's behavior. Alexa's persistence and desire to confront Caine made absolutely no sense to me. Caine was a bit of jerk. I could his reluctance to get to know Alexa- sins of the father and all of that. But, once they were actually having their affair, it didn't seem to matter as much to him. And while we got some hints along the way that there was something in his past that he didn't want to share, it's revelation seemed very abrupt. It just came out of left field. I felt that there were a lot of random issues between them but they didn't seem to be resolved (her desire to hide her indentity, but Caine's desire to date openly). By the time I was 45% into the story I decided I would finish it because I wanted to see how it ended. It definitely ended on a much higher note than it began, but I didn't really feel the depth of love between Caine and Alexa. When he finally decided to be honest about his feelings for Alexa, I thought Caine must have multiple personalities. It was just so incongruous with the way he talked and behaved for the whole book. The epilogue made me feel the same way. It's just not believable when a man goes from a complete jerk to a sensitive, loving and expressive individual with no real explanation for the transformation.
The reason I gave it 3 stars is because I really did want to see how the story resolved itself and I think being able to make a reader care about the characters takes talent. But, I don't think I would ever consider revisit it. On Dublin Street was a much better book. While it had some of the same issues as this story, the characters were consistent throughout of the novel and Braden Carmichael was a great guy.
