Delaney Cameron
“When something comes easy, you tend to take it for granted. When you have to work for something, you’ll do anything in your power to keep it.”-Kirsten
I have mixed feelings about this book. The writing isn’t terrible, but a bit passive at times. Too many adverbs. Not enough emotion. But for whatever reason, I still liked it.
Have you ever been despised for a crime you never committed? What if the person who discovered you was the guy you were in love with, and the crime was against him?
Kristen is caught in her college professor’s office, red handed. Unwilling to defend herself…because the truth is worse…Kirsten retreats to her hometown to help her sister at their bed-and-breakfast. Surely if enough time passes, she’ll be able to put the shame behind her and move on.
That works well until the self-righteous professor shows up as a guest. For a month! His disdain hasn’t diminished any, and now Kristen has to suffer the consequences of her actions all over again. She does everything she can to avoid Trey, but they keep running into each other. This only seems to increase his dislike for her, and her love for him.
Okay, this is where I got derailed, because I struggled to accept that Kirsten is actually in love with Trey. They’d never been friends, and she only observed him from a distance. In my world, that’s how infatuation works, not love. So, I had to ignore that voice in the back of my head while I read. It was a bit of a stretch sometimes.
It was an even bigger stretch when his girlfriend showed up and she wasn’t fazed. It bothered her occasionally, but not enough to dwell on it. Most women would be five shades of green, but Kirsten kept her emotions in check. Even weirder, it didn’t bother her when Trey wasn’t faithful to that girlfriend. (Trying not to give stuff away here, but wouldn’t that be a red flag?)
You’re probably wondering why I liked this book then. Well, it might have something to do with the fact that it strayed from the typical romance plot. Trey really didn’t like Kirsten. He wasn’t pretending indifference. He wasn’t secretly interested. It was kind of refreshing not to have two characters pining for each other while unaware that they both liked each other.
I also liked that Kirsten didn’t try to pursue Trey, even though she liked him. She accepted that she loved him, and he didn’t love her. End of story.
It is a weirdly good story, if you can overlook some of the unrealistic emotional reactions. Just accept that she loves him enough to want to be with him but not enough to care if he has a girlfriend. If you’re good with that, I think you’ll really enjoy this book.