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galleytrot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
READ: May 2023
FORMAT: Audio
BRIEF SUMMARY:
In this contemporary romance, Fazil and Eli travel to Seattle to work with a company’s employees to transform the company into an attractive and marketable asset. In what seems like a cosmic joke, Fazil’s first love and boyfriend from his teenage years is a key player in the department that he’s meant to work with. Todd is just as shocked to see Fazil come through the doors, having spent many long years trying to reconnect with the man who made himself impossible to find.
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 3.5 / 5⭐
The third book in this series, Due Diligence feels a bit like Takeover Book 1, Take 2: This one has more stakes and consequences and an actual ending. The plots are very samey as far as their main beats go: Fazil and Todd are surprise-coworkers who knew each other beforehand and get into a relationship they have to keep hushed, thanks to workplace policies and homophobia. The antagonists of this book feel a bit like a copy-paste of the one from the first, too. The main difference is in how our main characters met; where Sam and Michael were a vacation one-night-stand, Fazil and Todd have history together stretching back to their foundational, exploratory teenage years.
The interesting thing that this story does (and I don’t know if this is a common trope because I typically avoid romances with previously-established relationships) is that both of our men have a separate version of events from their separation all those years ago, and both hold resentment for how they perceived the other’s behaviour of the time. The reality is that both were awful teenagers, and both continue to carry awful traits into the present. Old habits die hard, and they have one final chance to break the cycle that dooms history into repeating itself.
TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 3.75 / 5⭐
I’m a tiny bit surprised that there’s only two years between book one and this book. On a couple of occasions through my listen, I really did think that this one seemed like Zabo was taking a crack at the first book again. That’s not to say they’re entirely the same, or that if you’ve read one, you’ve read the other; the main characters are still extremely different between the two books, and they all have their own tastes and personalities. But the growth in writing is glaring. Comparing the two books, everything from the first just felt under-developed, from the plot to the characters to the conclusion. This time around, we’ve got all of that.
Don’t get me wrong, this book is by no means a perfect piece of art; it’s exactly what it promises to be, meeting expectations as far as contemporary romances are concerned. If I was disappointed by anything, I’d have to say it’s the side characters, who are all showing up to perform a role instead of enriching the world-building. Beyond Eli, Sam, and Jason (all of whom we know from the previous books), I couldn’t tell you the first detail from any other character beyond, “there were two completely deplorable toolbags who said and did awful things.”
FINAL THOUGHTS - OVERALL: 3.75 / 5⭐
If you were let down by book one and shy about giving the rest of the series a chance (as I was for a while), then I am happy to tell you that things do improve. This book brings back the business politics that book two completely lacked, as well. That can be a pro or a con depending on your personal tastes, but I never felt like it got too dry or lost in the weeds.
This book has representation for gays, lesbians and bisexuals. There are a number of non-white characters portrayed, including one of our main characters who is Turkish-American.
The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Sexual content, and Hate crime
Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Biphobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Infidelity
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