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I ended up abandoning this book, which was a shame because it started off really strong. The author made some style and characterization choices that, in the end, became too numerous for me to overlook and care about the story.
First, the style errors. The story is told in the standard third-person with most of the story told from the POV of the lead male character. At no point while reading are we given the hint that the author is also using the 'unreliable narrator' device...because she's not. For example, the lead character is in the morgue trying to identify the body and the reader is experiencing this story alongside him, reading his inner thoughts and feelings about what he's experiencing. He doesn't know the body.
But wait! In the next chapter he's sharing with the female lead that he did notice something while he was examining the body. It's just lazy writing because the decision to not include a hint to the reader that something was up wasn't in line with the rest of the book.
This happens frequently and as a result causes logic problems. Characters move from A to C without any inclination as to what B was.
Secondly, the characterization. The story has a strong romance element to it, which is fine and I think the idea of a judge and a client is rather intriguing. The male lead seems decent....until he isn't. He becomes aggressive, stalkery, and rude and it's all framed as romantic. Wtf.
To further this, he is constantly forcing his emotions onto the lead lady and demanding things from her. He tells her what she's feeling (cause she won't tell him so he tells her what she's feeling) and just makes demands of her time that are repugnant.
And lastly, the female lead is a goddam judge. She didn't get there by being a meek little woman, but you wouldn't know it from this book.
Gag.
I couldn't get over these things to find out the resolution to the overall plot, which was, to the author's credit, actually interesting.
First, the style errors. The story is told in the standard third-person with most of the story told from the POV of the lead male character. At no point while reading are we given the hint that the author is also using the 'unreliable narrator' device...because she's not. For example, the lead character is in the morgue trying to identify the body and the reader is experiencing this story alongside him, reading his inner thoughts and feelings about what he's experiencing. He doesn't know the body.
But wait! In the next chapter he's sharing with the female lead that he did notice something while he was examining the body. It's just lazy writing because the decision to not include a hint to the reader that something was up wasn't in line with the rest of the book.
This happens frequently and as a result causes logic problems. Characters move from A to C without any inclination as to what B was.
Secondly, the characterization. The story has a strong romance element to it, which is fine and I think the idea of a judge and a client is rather intriguing. The male lead seems decent....until he isn't. He becomes aggressive, stalkery, and rude and it's all framed as romantic. Wtf.
To further this, he is constantly forcing his emotions onto the lead lady and demanding things from her. He tells her what she's feeling (cause she won't tell him so he tells her what she's feeling) and just makes demands of her time that are repugnant.
And lastly, the female lead is a goddam judge. She didn't get there by being a meek little woman, but you wouldn't know it from this book.
Gag.
I couldn't get over these things to find out the resolution to the overall plot, which was, to the author's credit, actually interesting.