C. J. Mark

I received a copy through Goodreads.
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I would give it 1 star.

Where do I start.... I was bored out of my mind! Based upon what was written on the back cover, I was expecting the usual, girl meets guy, develop a relationship, betrayal and chaos at the climax and the perfect happily ever after. Take out the betrayal and chaos and the very non-existent climax, there is your book. So tame that it somehow stretches itself out to over 400 pages
This whole relationship between Carol and G is so god damn perfect, it's like a Cinderella fairytale, minus the evil step families and rise from rags. Seriously, the story is all about what they do every single weekend. There was way too much information provided and every weekend is so damn repetitive. Like... 3:30pm - G shows up on Carol's doorstep. 4pm - feed the cats. 5pm - eat dinner. 7pm - watch movie/game. 8pm - make love and fall asleep. 11pm - G doesn't stay the night, goes home. Like really?! That is basically what goes on for like the entire book, within minor variances. Since every weekend is so boring and repetitive, I easily got distracted by the lack of editing done on this book... way too much spelling and grammar errors that jump out immediately, totally taking away from whatever potential this book has.

Also I noticed a few times that the writing is not very consistent. In this one paragraph where Carol is narrating, it goes from calling Tony (G's dad) "Dad" to "his Dad" to "Tony". Like be consistent!! Never has Carol called Tony "Dad" so what the hell is with that whole inconsistency?! Also, maybe it's just the author's writing style but I hate all the details and how every single thought is written down...way too much information and mind you it's boring information. Like: G asked, I nodded, G agreed, I hesitated, G noticed hesitation, I fretted and fed the cats, etc. I really don't need every single detail or thought written down, there's enough information for us to make our own assumptions. Another thing was the wording, like in the first chapter when G and Carol first have sex, the use of "scalding" when having sex was like WTF, such a weird word to use for such a moment. Very poor choice in words sometimes.

There is so much potential for this book! Which was completely wasted and lost. It's not a story, it's basically a diary of someone who wants a perfect life. OK, G and Carol have their own sorts of insecurities and issues, make the best use of it, play on their insecurities to the maximum extent (I don't care how clich̩ it is, just add some drama!). G has been like the perfect gentleman and boyfriend for like the entire time they are together and it's like really? that's all the character development you can do with G? And Carol, is so not an independent dependent person (as G keeps mentioning), she is so boring and annoying. OK, we know you have cats and a bunch of health issues, but we don't need to be constantly reminded in every chapter that you have to feed your cats, you can't do heavy lifting, you can only eat small meal portions, etc. ENOUGH! I am fine with it being repeated a few times, but when it's mentioned like in almost every chapter, I want to tear the book apart. Oh and are we never going to take advantage of the fact that Carol gave Tony a blow job? Like really?

What's with the random short chapter about Leo and Sheila? Really? This book is about G and Carol, just make a brief mention about Leo and Sheila, you don't need to throw a random chapter in, which doesn't make sense in this story. Make brief mentions but move on.

The family, oh for the love of god. They are so PERFECT! They love Carol, big whop. No drama in that department. The whole possible jealousy thing with Lisa and possible affair conducted by Lisa, like hello that could have been taken to a whole different level and created some MUCH NEEDED DRAMA! The family (oh G and Carol's side) are so one dimensional and forgettable, it felt like here's "A and their family, B and their family, etc." meet them and don't get to know them.

Overall, save yourself the trouble. Don't read this book. It's 400 pages too much with too little drama to keep you captivated or remotely interested.… (more)