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A review by bfdbookblog
The Bachelor Auction by Rachel Van Dyken
5.0
If you’re like me and saw the title and author of this book, you think this is going to be a lighthearted, entertaining, sometimes laugh out loud fluffy story. And just like me, you’d be wrong. This is a modern day twist on Cinderella but oh so much more than that. The emotions in this book are heavy and the meat of the story is more serious than I ever expected and that took me by surprise.
Having only read a couple of books by Ms. Van Dyken, I’d her writing is just as good here as it is in the others I’ve read. She, through her characters, is really funny and the banter among characters is priceless. I literally laughed out loud, often. We have the quintessential meddling older grandfather, the over-the-top mean sisters and the abrasive yet hilarious sweet twin younger brothers in the supporting cast. And you’re going to want to hold on to those laugh-out-loud moments to get you through the seriously painful moments.
When we first meet Brock, he seems a bit stuffy and bred for obligation. He is quite the opposite of his younger, wild and carefree twin brothers. We get a quick glimpse of the real Brock when he meets Jane for the first time. As we see more of him in the story, we find the Brock that is buried so far under guilt and pain that he’s pretty much just a big jerk. Jane is going through her own personal issues but sets those aside to try to bring the real Brock back to life. Their banter, when he’s not being a complete jerk, is quite entertaining. He slowly opens up to her and leans on her strength to finally be free. We are taken on a bit of a wild ride to get to the end of the Cinderella story but it was worth every second of it. While there was some angst, it wasn’t heavy – maybe because Brock and Jane’s pain was so palpable we didn’t need any additional angst.
We get some foreshadowing on the twins stories – no idea whose will be next but those stand to be just as powerful as this story because they are further hidden than Brock was.
This is hands down one of my favorite stories of the year and an absolute must read.
Having only read a couple of books by Ms. Van Dyken, I’d her writing is just as good here as it is in the others I’ve read. She, through her characters, is really funny and the banter among characters is priceless. I literally laughed out loud, often. We have the quintessential meddling older grandfather, the over-the-top mean sisters and the abrasive yet hilarious sweet twin younger brothers in the supporting cast. And you’re going to want to hold on to those laugh-out-loud moments to get you through the seriously painful moments.
When we first meet Brock, he seems a bit stuffy and bred for obligation. He is quite the opposite of his younger, wild and carefree twin brothers. We get a quick glimpse of the real Brock when he meets Jane for the first time. As we see more of him in the story, we find the Brock that is buried so far under guilt and pain that he’s pretty much just a big jerk. Jane is going through her own personal issues but sets those aside to try to bring the real Brock back to life. Their banter, when he’s not being a complete jerk, is quite entertaining. He slowly opens up to her and leans on her strength to finally be free. We are taken on a bit of a wild ride to get to the end of the Cinderella story but it was worth every second of it. While there was some angst, it wasn’t heavy – maybe because Brock and Jane’s pain was so palpable we didn’t need any additional angst.
We get some foreshadowing on the twins stories – no idea whose will be next but those stand to be just as powerful as this story because they are further hidden than Brock was.
This is hands down one of my favorite stories of the year and an absolute must read.