BN Toler - The Suit

Fed up with the farm life and his one-time love of training horses, John Wilson has traded his tattered

boots and jeans for power suits and cufflinks. Through hard work and determination, John has just graduated from law school and is focused on a fresh start. Refusing to let his bitter past hinder his future, John is intent on moving forward with his new life.
Except there’s one last thing he has to do—settle old debts before he can truly move on.
Unfortunately, settling debts involves him returning to a life he’s worked hard to forget. A mind-numbing summer working on a horse farm awaits him, and he’s dreading every damn minute of it. 
Edie James is mourning the loss of her grandfather when John Wilson shows up in his perfectly tailored suit, reeking sexiness and city elegance—everything she’s not. Their meeting is less than pleasant as they both distastefully size up one another.
She thinks he’s arrogant and a white-collar yuppie.
He thinks she’s a simple, goody two-shoes farm girl.
Edie’s grandfather made a new will before he passed leaving stipulations in order for Edie to inherit the family farm. And as if that wasn’t enough of a challenge, the suit has to work on the farm with her for three months to settle a debt he owed to her grandfather.
And he’s moving in with her.
With a rocky start, the two seemingly polar opposites call a truce and attempt to be friends. As their unexpected friendship blooms, an attraction develops and both realize their first impression of each other is far from the truth. Now this once dreaded summer is set to be the hottest and most unforgettable they've ever had. 

Comment: I got this book after someone on GR recommended another one by the author to me. I went to check the author's work and this one's blurb seemed interesting. I was very curious to see how the author would develop the relationship between the main couple, so I got it as soon as I could, which happened some time ago.

This is the story of Edie James, a young woman who recently lost her grandfather, the person she loved the best. Now her ranch is in danger of losing reputation because she's young and clients might not trust her to train their horses. However, her grandfather's will leaves her with six months to prove herself of lose the ranch. With this there's also another detail she has to accept...

John Wilson only wants the life he dreamed about since his family lost their own ranch. Despite the help from Edie's grandfather, which John welcomed and paid for, the pain is still there of losing everything. He turned his back on horses and ranch life and is close to be a lawyer but months with Edie as her grandfather's stipulation will leave its mark.

But will their summer together change the way they both see each other?

Apparently this story is the first of more and at least a second one is coming.

I thought this story would focus on the slow development of the relationship between Edie and John and how they would end up working together to make the ranch better or the way it was supposed to.

I also thought the story would focus more on what they had to do and why the ranch needed help and how Edie and John's opinions of the other were wrong and working together would change that.

Frankly, I was a bit bored with this story. The ranch was a handy excuse to place those two together and offered a possibility of making them interact. But apart from mentioning the ranch's work, horses and the grandfather's wishes, the talk about the ranch and how it works, and a few more things here and there, I thought the ranch didn't have the importance I imagined. I guess it was more important to make the main couple be together than to place a well constructed reason for everything around them. The ranch was there just to be the vehicle to their relationship and I think that was just an element to fill up space and wasn't as utilized as it could.

Edie and John are young, she more than him. Although I applaud their initiative and ambition in their respective fields and ways of living, I find it a bit too romance convenient their need to have sex all the time. I know, this is meant to be a romance and sex happens in romances. But the way everything happens and Edie's behavior to fulfill her fantasies seems so pointless I don't really think that should be her focus.

To make thing clear: Edie wants to put her fantasies in reality and John is a convenient helper because they seem to be attracted to each other. But the main plot of this story is for Edie to keep her ranch by working and despite the parts where we see her work and talk about it, the truth is, the majority of scenes is actually more centered on them having sex and the parties they do around the place they live, whether with other Edie's friends or not.

I mean, in the end of things this story is actually too superficial and aimless for me.

Their behavior, Edie's in particular didn't seem as responsible and serious as I thought it should, considering it's her life dreams and she keeps saying that ranch is her life.

I seriously think the author didn't plan this very well. Or the subject shouldn't be meant to be serious or the characters shouldn't act so foolishly.

I think the problem was the way the story was told, after all things happen by author's choice.

I liked John  a bit more than Edie. His behavior and attitudes seem more realistic. I didn't think their romance was romantic. It's close to what surely goes in many youths' heads but I didn't think it was romantic or special. But it has the romance prerogative so, I don't now...

I found it hard to empathize with their choices and ways of doing things and mixing what should be a serious matter with sex needs. Maybe I'm a prude, but this didn't feel responsible behavior. Sure they're young, but are young people meant to act recklessly all the time?

The end of the story also didn't win me over. I think it was one final attempt on romantic gestures and I just wanted things to change and I was so annoyed with them I actually would have preferred them to be apart forever. John's actions can be described as romantic but for me he was just reckless and dumb, after all nothing in the whole story convinced me they were serious about each other. It's not sex and smooth conversations that make a healthy long relationship...

I admit that I feel disappointed. I expected more but in this case, it didn't work for me. I know many other readers liked the story but for me it wasn't a winner.

Grade: 5/10