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A review by adeselnaferreira
By Proxy by Katy Regnery
3.0
This is Regnery’s debut novel, a fairly nice and enjoyable book for Winter, mostly. One that you will read on your tablet/e-reader while drinking a nice hot cup of cocoa. The story itself had some morals and symbolism attached to it, however the author still lacks some balance and, we hope to see how Regnery will face the reviews and what she will change in the future.
The constant repetitions of what the characters are thinking turns the Reading a little dull and the idea that the country is nice and the city is bad and corrupts you is kind of old fashion. We get it that living in the country is nice (hey I am from the country), however the city has some nice points too. Why focus all that is shallow and horrible in one space?
The insta-romance between the main characters was also another thing that needed improvement. Although the starting point is nice, I would have changed, as an editor, the time they had to wait to get married by proxy. One weekend is not enough to create a solid attraction between two characters. But Regnery tries and we have to give her kudos for that. We may not believe 100% that they fell in love in just two days, but she compensates that with the rest of the book, making their longing and relationship solid.
The writer’s style is nice: solid, simple and effective. There are some humor parts, which turn the story a little lighter and Jenny’s brothers have some similarities with Julia Quinn’s ones from her books.
The characters also present the traditional dichotomy between country and city and, to a certain degree, stereotypical: Jenny is a strong woman, although she obsesses with everything and the author tries to make her too much “natural” (on the other hand, girls from the city are typically shallow). Sam likes to party and belongs to the big city, but something in Livingston attracts him.
In the end, the bigger picture remains: how important compromising is in a relationship and that one must swallow our pride for a greater good.
It is not an extraordinary book, but it entertains and it leaves a sweet taste when it is over. I am definitely waiting for the second one, starring one of Jenny’s brother.
The constant repetitions of what the characters are thinking turns the Reading a little dull and the idea that the country is nice and the city is bad and corrupts you is kind of old fashion. We get it that living in the country is nice (hey I am from the country), however the city has some nice points too. Why focus all that is shallow and horrible in one space?
The insta-romance between the main characters was also another thing that needed improvement. Although the starting point is nice, I would have changed, as an editor, the time they had to wait to get married by proxy. One weekend is not enough to create a solid attraction between two characters. But Regnery tries and we have to give her kudos for that. We may not believe 100% that they fell in love in just two days, but she compensates that with the rest of the book, making their longing and relationship solid.
The writer’s style is nice: solid, simple and effective. There are some humor parts, which turn the story a little lighter and Jenny’s brothers have some similarities with Julia Quinn’s ones from her books.
The characters also present the traditional dichotomy between country and city and, to a certain degree, stereotypical: Jenny is a strong woman, although she obsesses with everything and the author tries to make her too much “natural” (on the other hand, girls from the city are typically shallow). Sam likes to party and belongs to the big city, but something in Livingston attracts him.
In the end, the bigger picture remains: how important compromising is in a relationship and that one must swallow our pride for a greater good.
It is not an extraordinary book, but it entertains and it leaves a sweet taste when it is over. I am definitely waiting for the second one, starring one of Jenny’s brother.