(Image from Amazon)
Seven years ago, the man of Belle Lind's dreams married her college roommate. So what if Marco Dawson barely knew Belle existed? She knows the two of them are meant to be together. When Belle learns that Marco is now divorced and vacationing with his family at a posh Cancun resort, it seems like fate. The 25-year-old fashion designer isn't afraid to take this chance to finally make Marco hers. And what more romantic setting could there possibly be than sultry Cancun?
Enter Flynn Dawson, Marco's identical twin. Flynn's determined to help Marco glue his marriage back together. And he's not about to let Belle stand in the estranged couple's way. 'Course, Belle has no idea Marco even has a twin brother ... Cue chaos, confusion, and canoodling on a Cancun beach that's getting hotter by the second.
I'm not a big romance reader as you well know, but I don't mind the occasional rom com—as long as it's more cute than silly. Sadly, How I Met Your Brother by Janette Rallison is just plain ole ridiculous. I hate to rag on Rallison, as she is a wonderful, generous person who has written some novels that I've really loved (check out her very fun My Fair Godmother series), but this novel is definitely not up to par. It is a clean, lighthearted, easy read that will not tax your brain (like, at all), so there's that. On the other hand, we have a childish, manipulative, fickle heroine; shallow, one-dimensional minor characters; a plot that gets more absurd as it goes; and dull, tell-y prose. So, yeah. If it hadn't been required reading for the Whitney category I was judging, I wouldn't have made it past the novel's first page. At least it was a quick read.
(Readalikes: The book has been promoted as Sabrina meets While You Were Sleeping, which I guess I can kinda sorta see ...)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for sexual innuendo
To the FTC, with love: I received an e-copy of How I Met Your Brother from the Whitney Awards Committee for judging purposes. Thank you!
I hate to hear this! I love Rallison's books. Sad that this one just doesn't work. I'll take your word for it. I need more substance to a book and this one sounds a little too light.
ReplyDeleteHer books are very hit and miss for me. There are several that I love, but there have been a few that just really didn't do it for me. This one included, natch.
DeleteSee, we have pretty different tastes, I'm learning as I read your reviews of books I've read. I loved Serpent King, for instance. And I have to speak up and say I thought How I Met Your Brother was a spot-on romantic comedy. I had been binge reading romances and this one felt like a breath of fresh air to me--it was a farce, yes, and therefore implausible, but that's inherent in the genre. I thought it had some depth as she met his family and came to terms with the truth about her college self. I totally voted for it to win that Whitney category--for me it was far and away the strongest. Jenny, I say go for it! Still appreciate your reviews, just wanted to respectfully disagree :-).
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome to disagree any time! Different strokes for different folks and all that :)
DeleteI'm a very picky reader, so not everything resounds with me. I have a low tolerance for romance in the first place and this one just got beyond ridiculous for me. I'm glad you liked it, though. It is funny that we have such different opinions on it -- it was my last place pick for its category :(
Thanks for your thoughtful comment. Feel free to leave more :) I love discussing what I've read with other people, ESPECIALLY when we have differing opinions!