Naomi wasn’t just running away from her wedding. She was riding to the rescue of her estranged twin to Knockemout, Virginia, a rough-around-the-edges town where disputes are settled the old-fashioned way…with fists and beer. Usually in that order.
Too bad for Naomi her evil twin hasn’t changed at all. After helping herself to Naomi’s car and cash, Tina leaves her with something unexpected. The niece Naomi didn’t know she had. Now she’s stuck in town with no car, no job, no plan, and no home with an 11-year-old going on thirty to take care of.
There’s a reason Knox doesn’t do complications or high-maintenance women, especially not the romantic ones. But since Naomi’s life imploded right in front of him, the least he can do is help her out of her jam. And just as soon as she stops getting into new trouble he can leave her alone and get back to his peaceful, solitary life.
At least, that’s the plan until the trouble turns to real danger.
Comment: This is the first book in the Knockemouth trilogy by Lucy Score. Several of my friends have read and enjoyed these books and since I have liked two other titles by the author myself, I decided to give this a try as well.
Naomi has just arrived on Knockemouth, a small town on Virginia, when she realizes her meeting with twin sister Tina will not happen. Worse, everyone she talks with believes she is Tina and is rude to her. To make matters even worse, Tina steals her car and her money and leaves her with her 12 year old daughter, Waylay. Luckily, or not, Knox Morgan is there to give her a reluctant hand, for he too doesn't like Tina. However, Naomi certainly isn't Tina and as time goes by, the more she establishes herself, mostly to pay bills and to start giving her niece some stability, the more people warm up to her. Knox, as well, starts feeling something, but he is a happy bachelor, will he accept that Naomi means more to him than he wants to admit?
This being my third attempt at a story by this author, the formula and style are pretty much obvious and that means that while this is extremely enjoyable and easy to read, it also has one or two elements I wish the author could do different. I also think the book could have a few less pages.
Naomi has left her groom at the altar and helping Tina is a very good excuse to make that decision, something we understand better closer to the end of the novel. At first, Naomi seems to be a bit aloof, but as the story develops, we get to see she is shy and takes some time to feel comfortable with others. She is a genuinely nice person, somehow always trying to compensate for her twin sister's failings.I liked Naomi and her personality but I wish the negative feelings she had could have been explored differently.
Knox is one of those alpha type heroes, although we learn about his softer side here and there. I liked the fact he wanted to keep his privacy, considering what he has done for the town and how, but I also liked how in tune he feels with his place in the community. His feelings for Naomi were easy to read for the most part but, again, due to the writing style, his actions and behavior wasn't always easy to appreciate, even though he is, at heart, a good man.
The romance is very sweet, despite them claiming to not like one another for a while, and the antagonism in certain situations. I would not say this is exactly slow burn, but the way the plot moves along makes it seem so. Of course, they are way more compatible than thy wished, and their love story has all the usual ingredients, including a ridiculous conflict close to the end of the story, which I suppose the author did for drama and to highlight how committed they actually were, but which to me felt unnecessary.
I'd say my issues with this novel, now that I'm used to the writing, is how some cliches are used and the tone of the story. This is a romance, more on the lighter side, even if includes some serious issues and their discussion, and I did like it, but I confess it annoyed me a little how often the characters are sarcastic or meant to be funny or that they drink so much all the time, or that have so may conversations about their sex lives and many other pointless issues when there is a lot more to develop instead. I think this happens because the story is meant to be hilarious and light, but these characters didn't need this to happen so often.
In fact, this would distract me from the story sometimes, how comedy-like some scenes were when there was other serious issues to deal with, and then for that to happen, more pages are added. I get it, it's the author's style, but here, somehow, I could do without. It can also be said that all this combined with the fact the protagonist are 36 (Naomi) and 40-something (Knox) makes them look very immature sometimes.
No comments:
Post a Comment