Review: A Modern Love Story by Jolyn Palliata

To sum it up: After the death of her parents, Robbie Byrne is put in foster care where she meets her exact opposite, Luc Cintrone. Abandoned as a small child, Luc is a foul-mouthed rebel who takes it upon himself to be her defender, whether she likes it or not. As they grow up, they fumble through their different roles in each other's lives—family, confidants and then, ultimately, lovers.

Just as the couple is settling into their newfound relationship, they encounter a beautiful lawyer, Payten, who is immediately taken by Luc's rough edges. But he denies her, making him absolutely irresistible in her eyes. Payten is a woman who has grown accustomed in her privileged life in obtaining whatever she wants, no matter the cost or sacrifice. And she is fairly confident Luc will eventually see things her way… one way or another.



Ehhhh.

This book just didn’t do it for me. When I first started it, I really thought that this would end up being a five-star read for me. I was hooked from page one… but after I hit about the 10% mark, everything just went down-hill for one of many reasons:

1.) The story-line. Very cheesy and nothing out of the ordinary. I honestly thought that one of the reasons I would love this book was because of something that was mentioned in the synopsis: "Just as the couple is settling into their newfound relationship, they encounter a beautiful lawyer, Payten, who is immediately taken by Luc's rough edges…” Ummm, hello? Enter beautiful woman who tries to get in the way of the hero/heroine's relationship… and there you have it: DRAMA! The thing I live for in my romance novels.

However, I was seriously disappointed. What I ended up getting instead was a psycho stalker who wanted what she couldn’t have- nothing about the story-line for me was unique or angst-ridden. It all ended up being a very cookie-cutter clean and amateur plot.

2.) The characters. Nothing out of the ordinary. I can’t think of anything that makes these characters unique or stand out. The heroine was likeable, but nothing to rant over. Her best friend was okay, but I can barely remember her name. The psycho villain takes stalker to the extreme, but nothing I haven’t seen before. The hero had about one drool-worthy quality, and that was his fierce protectiveness. But that certainly didn’t make up for his stupidity. And I say this because it took him all of about 8 years to realize that Robbie (the heroine) loved him. Forget the fact that she threw herself at him at every opportunity, told him on numerous occasions the things she wanted to do to him, and the hints she was consistently giving him… none of that made him think he loved her and vice/versa. The deal-breaker for him was the fact this his best friend told him: "Hey man- you’re in love with her, and she’s in love with you too.” And then… *gasp* …all of a sudden he realizes he’s had feelings for her all along, and maybe… just maybe… she feels the same way. …like I said- stupid.

3.) The chemistry. What chemistry? You had about 30% of build up between the hero and heroine… sure we saw the occasional forbidden cuddle and kiss here and there… their relationship had a slow start, which personally, is something that I really enjoy in my romance novels. But if the author is going to do a slow start, then I expect fireworks when the initial explosion happens… which it did in this book… for all of about half a page. Really? That was it? No long and drawn out foreplay? No whispering of sweet nothings in between the sheets? …I felt completely cheated.

The list could go on and on, but I'll do you all a favor and leave it at three main points.

...Usually I love when other girls come into the picture to start drama... like an ex-girlfriend. Or the new girl in town. Or perhaps even a pretty co-worker. But, no. This woman ended up being an obsessive psycho who the hero never even liked in the first place. He was always mean to her since she had been introduced in the book, yet when his girlfriend (AKA: the "love" of his life) leaves for a length of time and they have to do the whole long distance thing, he starts messing with this chick behind the heroine’s back. Not once... not twice... but a full blown affair. Oh, but it's okay and justifiable because "it meant nothing to him." Ummm, no. ...I just can't deal with that... it was honestly a chore to finish the book because the hero was just so unlikeable to me.

And speaking of cheated- if you’re not a fan of cheating heroes, don’t bother with this book. I can tolerate it at times, under certain circumstances. For instance: if the heroine and/or hero are both going for that whole “no strings attached” thing that I’ve never really understood. Or if the hero/heroine have always been known as a “player” and therefore you’re not blind-sided with the shock of it when it happens. But the hero in this novel decides to just cheat on the heroine while she’s away, and with someone who he could barely even tolerate throughout the entire novel- I couldn’t believe it. And do you know how long before he started having an affair with another woman? A week. A FREAKING WEEK! He spends eight years of his life loving no one other than Robbie, but he throws it all away for no reason in particular, other than for the Spawn of Satan whom he thought just looked too good to pass up. Yeah… good reason.*rolls eyes* …His drool-worthy factor definitely went out the window after that. I want absolutely nothing to do with any hero I read about, who thinks that cheating on his girlfriend is justifiable because “it meant nothing to him.”

Something about the speed of this book went a little too fast for my taste as well. Everything just seemed to happen at rapid speed: Luc and Robbie moving to different foster homes. Luc and Robbie moving out of their foster homes. Luc and Robbie’s relationship. The psycho stalker’s psychotic obsession. …Everything just moved at a lightening pace, which took away from not only the plot development, but character development as well. Not to mention, once the hero begun to have an affair, he just became completely unredeemable. Not only that, but the book as a whole was just so non-believable. It was actually humorous to see how quickly the heroine forgave the hero. Or the lengths the villain went through to snag a man who’s nothing but rude to her. I highly doubt that I would go on a murderous rage for a man who would drop his pants for just about anyone who looked good, if he felt like he had a plausible enough reason to do it… I don’t care how drool-worthy and smart he is… which he obviously wasn’t.

Suffice it to say, this book honestly ended up being a chore to read, and nothing I would consider being worth the time or money I spent on it.