The Engagement Plot

Lots of conflicting things in this little humorous romance. I think I'm just going to skip the star rating on this one. The opening was great, with her saving the guy's life and then realizing it's her least favorite man in the world.

Ultimately, though, it tried to be too many things at once. Romantic comedy, cautionary tale, lesson in forgiveness, etc, etc. There were so many little plot features that never got used, ones that got dropped in and left lying on the floor, until the plot grew cumbered with all these little unresolved bits of info. We even met fleeting characters who served no purpose except to come and go.

At first I liked Hanna okay, but pretty quickly I found her to be full of so many complex qualities that I never quite got to know her. I didn't understand her dad's meeting the guy who broke her heart publicly with open arms...what a betrayal that would feel like. Her dad doesn't need to cheapen her hurt just to be a decent host. The entire book, it's more and more of the same thing...poor guy. And when he gropes her in the kitchen one point, it's her fault for “asking for it” because she didn't have a bra on under her sweatshirt—even though he understood fully that she was still keeping herself for marriage (in all but kisses). He doesn't respect her enough to respect her boundaries.

Also, there were lots and lots of “sanitized swears”...either “okay” words substituted for taking God's name in vain, or with other words dashed out. I might have been easier on the “hero” because he isn't living a Christian life, but Hanna supposedly grew up in a conservative church.

Also, who still texts using 2 for to? Seriously?

The roller-coaster of great writing vs. slaps in the face of reality kept going back and forth. It was hard not to start skimming when things got particularly improbable. And the end was so abrupt...what happened next?

The heroine definitely got the short end of the stick with this dude and I really would have liked to see her kick him to the curb, unless there had been some huge repentance moment that fundamentally changed his character more than he did change. Yes, there was some improvement, but not enough to bump him into hero status for me. No wonder I'm still single, if these are all the sort of guys that are left on the market.

Anyway, if you can suspend some reality and if you don't expect your heroes to be extra-heroic, it's probably a good light read to try out.

Thanks to the publisher for a free review copy. Favorable review not required.