Official Review: Love Harder by Vivian Franks
Posted: 21 Jun 2017, 09:30
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Love Harder" by Vivian Franks.]
2 out of 4 stars
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Love Harder by Vivian Franks is a contemporary adult romance novel published by Stone Steps Publishing. The book follows the life of 40-year old Mika Jones from Scottsdale, Arizona. The woman always does the right thing, from taking care of her dad after her mother’s death to marrying the father of her child. However, Mika can no longer distract herself from her discontent with life, especially now that her son, Ryan, was almost ready to leave for college. When she finds herself attracted to another man, she cannot decide what the right thing is; to stay true to her marriage vows or to relieve two people from a lifetime of misery.
I enjoyed the sample of this book provided on Amazon.com, which is why I chose to pick it up. Mika Jones has sarcasm down to an art form. Her sassy and dry sense of humor really appealed to me. She comes across as a smart woman who doesn’t easily shake under pressure. I also admired the way the author characterized her husband. Todd certainly has many undesirable qualities. For example, he can at times, be tactless regarding Mika’s insecurities about her body. Nonetheless, he is not a villain. In his own way, he does care for his wife. Todd is a testament to the fact that people are seldom either good or bad. They often oscillate between the two extremes.
Ryan is just as complicated, as Mika and Todd. His character wasn’t dumbed down to fit the stereotype of a typical teenager. He is in many ways the most matured person in this family. Nevertheless, he isn’t perfect. He has avoided his best friend ever since he got into a relationship with Emily. Mika worries that he'd devote all his time to his girlfriend and not have many friends left when his relationship ends.
All that said, less than twenty percent into the book, the story started to lose my attention. Since the book is in the first-person narrative, readers get to read most of Mika’s thoughts and feelings. Therefore it feels like nothing really happens in the story except for Mika lamenting over her life. Also, there were large chunks of information dumped on the reader disguised as Mika’s thoughts, which made the reading process more difficult. I found myself skimming pages instead of being hooked to each word. Additionally, the climax felt disjointed and very unsatisfactory.
On the whole, I’d rate ‘Love Harder’ with a 2 out of 4 stars. Hardcore fans of the romance genre will like this book. While the characters are certainly intriguing, I merely wish it had fewer of Mika’s monologs and a better climax.
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Love Harder
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Love Harder by Vivian Franks is a contemporary adult romance novel published by Stone Steps Publishing. The book follows the life of 40-year old Mika Jones from Scottsdale, Arizona. The woman always does the right thing, from taking care of her dad after her mother’s death to marrying the father of her child. However, Mika can no longer distract herself from her discontent with life, especially now that her son, Ryan, was almost ready to leave for college. When she finds herself attracted to another man, she cannot decide what the right thing is; to stay true to her marriage vows or to relieve two people from a lifetime of misery.
I enjoyed the sample of this book provided on Amazon.com, which is why I chose to pick it up. Mika Jones has sarcasm down to an art form. Her sassy and dry sense of humor really appealed to me. She comes across as a smart woman who doesn’t easily shake under pressure. I also admired the way the author characterized her husband. Todd certainly has many undesirable qualities. For example, he can at times, be tactless regarding Mika’s insecurities about her body. Nonetheless, he is not a villain. In his own way, he does care for his wife. Todd is a testament to the fact that people are seldom either good or bad. They often oscillate between the two extremes.
Ryan is just as complicated, as Mika and Todd. His character wasn’t dumbed down to fit the stereotype of a typical teenager. He is in many ways the most matured person in this family. Nevertheless, he isn’t perfect. He has avoided his best friend ever since he got into a relationship with Emily. Mika worries that he'd devote all his time to his girlfriend and not have many friends left when his relationship ends.
All that said, less than twenty percent into the book, the story started to lose my attention. Since the book is in the first-person narrative, readers get to read most of Mika’s thoughts and feelings. Therefore it feels like nothing really happens in the story except for Mika lamenting over her life. Also, there were large chunks of information dumped on the reader disguised as Mika’s thoughts, which made the reading process more difficult. I found myself skimming pages instead of being hooked to each word. Additionally, the climax felt disjointed and very unsatisfactory.
On the whole, I’d rate ‘Love Harder’ with a 2 out of 4 stars. Hardcore fans of the romance genre will like this book. While the characters are certainly intriguing, I merely wish it had fewer of Mika’s monologs and a better climax.
******
Love Harder
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Insomniac07's review? Post a comment saying so!
