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A review by lisibee815
Bold Moves by Emma Barry

challenging emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

 
Scarlett and Jaime are ex-high school sweethearts. After a sudden breakup that ended badly, they become estranged until 17 years later when Scarlett (a famous competitive chess player) and Jaime (a filmmaker) reunite to adapt Scarlett's autobiography into a series. Once they're back in each other's orbits they find they clearly still have strong chemistry, but at the end of the day will it be enough for a second-chance romance?  This is definitely not your standard straightforward romance, buckle up for a bumpy and tumultuous ride. 

Look, I firmly support a badass fmc who is fighting misogyny and  bias in a male-dominated field. And throughout the book there is a great message of female empowerment and trying to effect change in a broken system. But Scarlett's "not-like-other-girls" vibe as a character was over-done for me, especially in the beginning of the story. She's also arrogant and very prickly, which made it hard to warm up to her. The author takes a big risk in making Scarlett hard-edged and initially unlikable. I tried to trust that there's some payoff further in the story that would  help me understand why she acts the way she does. And I did grow to understand that, but it didn't excuse her behavior and attitude towards someone (Jaime) she claimed to care deeply about. And unfortunately my initial dislike for Scarlett never eased up and it impacted my enjoyment of the book. Scarlett is written as someone who wasn't nurtured and never learned how to nurture. I get it, she's flip as a coping mechanism because she had a difficult childhood with a flighty mother that left her unable to develop healthy and lasting relationships and feeling that she couldn't and shouldn't depend on others. But much of the time she just comes off as selfish and unkind. There's limited honesty on Scarlett's part for a very long time, and then when she was honest with Jaime, she was defensive and deflective and blamed him for his reaction. What I wanted to see was Scarlett developing more compassion and awareness of why Jaime was upset, and to appreciate her role in it. But what I got was Jaime and Scarlett inevitably giving in to their decades-old chemistry then spending the bulk of the rest of the time pushing and pulling each other emotionally. After awhile it just got tedious, Jaime deeply and repeatedly questioning their compatibility but wanting Scarlett just the same, and Scarlett thinking she's right and Jaime’s an idiot for not seeing that and when is he going to just get over being mad? This relationship is exhausting. And I didn't enjoy Jaime’s portrayal as being the one who needed to accommodate Scarlett's emotional dysfunction, especially since it fed into his over-developed need to emotionally care-take everyone in his life. Not that he doesn't share responsibility for the relationship struggles, there's definitely a lot of trauma and drama and emotional upheaval from both of these damaged people. They are chaotic with each other and frankly, they needed couples therapy. 

I do love a good second-chance romance, especially one with unresolved issues and feelings, but only as long as there's some resolution and movement towards growth and compromise on both sides. It was hard to feel that with this novel, and ultimately I think I wasn't the right audience.  I will say that the book was written well: even though I was aggravated with Scarlett (and Jaime's reactive and capitulating behavior with her), I wanted to see how it ended. There are nice moments of wit, usually in each character's inner thoughts. The supporting characters were distinctive, and the writing was evocative and engaging with dual 3rd-person POVs. Obviously it's very chess-focused, but not so much that it over-shadows the other story elements. If you like second-chance romances that have a lot of emotional twists and turns and unresolved issues, with opposites-attract/will-they-won't-they energy and open-door scenes, then this is the book for you.  Publishes April 22, 2025. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own. 

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