Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Review: The Importance of Being Alice

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ALICE
Ainsley Brothers #1
Katie MacAlister
Adult Contemporary Romance
352 pages
Signet
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Nothing about Alice Wood’s life is normal right now. Her fiancé, Patrick, called off their wedding and relationship only days before their nonrefundable wedding trip. And though a luxurious European river cruise for one is just what she needs, it’s not what she gets...

Due to a horrible misunderstanding, Alice is now cramped in her “romantic” suite with one of Patrick’s friends. Instead of cruising along the Rhine, Main, and Danube rivers sipping champagne with the love of her life, she’s navigating the waters with a strange—yet mysteriously handsome—British aristocrat.

An author, Elliot is just looking for some alone time to write. But his stodgy, serious self is about to be sidetracked by a woman who seems to have jumped out of the pages of a fairy tale, one who is determined to shake up his life...and include him in her own happily ever after.


MY THOUGHTS
The Importance of Being Alice has an intriguing romantic premise, our lead pair forced together in a way that promises high levels of both tension and antagonism given they have no choice but to share space with a complete stranger. A cute cover and a lighthearted synopsis only pique our curiosity further, and we can't help but dive in with anticipatory glee, ready for something sweet and funny that will leave us with a giddy smile on our faces in the end. While this story is certainly lighthearted and does have the aforementioned happy ending, a number of Alice's personality quirks keep our emotional attachment to her story at bay.

Alice is on the rebound after being unceremoniously dumped by her almost-fiance shortly before their European vacation, earning her our female solidarity from the first chapter. Though we fully support her plan to enjoy her trip despite her ex-boyfriend's seemingly casual dismissal of their two years together, her personality throughout is one that, for lack of a better description, is likely to be more of an acquired taste. She's clearly meant to be endearingly awkward with her tendency to ramble when she's nervous and her habit of talking her way through every sexual moment with Elliott, but her turn of phrase is so juvenile at times as to be downright silly rather than charming or adorable. The aforementioned talking during sex, while again likely meant to keep things light and funny, serves to make us feel all the more like voyeurs given how much is spoken aloud between them, distancing us from the most vulnerable of moments rather than making us feel as though a genuine connection is being built.

Romance readers like myself who love the build-up of a relationship over the course of the book may take issue with the speed at which both a declaration of love as well as a marriage proposal take place, occurring less than a week after they first meet. While the speed with which they fall into bed seems entirely plausible, the hasty marriage and the series of events following their less-than-entirely-legal union is a touch more than we're prepared for, taking this story more into the realm of frustratingly over the top rather than sweetly far-fetched. Overall, The Importance of Being Alice is undoubtedly well-written and has more than a few moments that have us rooting for Alice and Elliott's happiness, but unfortunately a penchant for the oddly youthful turn of phrase on Alice's part keeps us from relating to her as much as we'd like to.

Rating: 3/5


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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

32 comments:

  1. I haven't tried any contempory by the author but I'm loving her PNR series, they're always so fun. Maybe I'll try something else one day but I have many to read and I've only tried 2 and I have one in my TBR pile.

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    1. I need to read her PNR stuff! I think maybe it will work better for me than this one since paranormal is definitely my genre:)

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  2. Not sure I could handle Alice's sex scene narrations and the super quick marriage seems a bit unbelievable, but I'm glad to hear this is well written and had you invested enough to root for a HEA. Lovely review!

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    1. Her talking all the way through sex was definitely a distraction and super awkward for me as a reader, but she had her cute moments too:)

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  3. Well, it'd seem like this is one of romance books that I'm not particularly keen on, and will keep away from this one.
    Thank you for the great review Jenny!

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    1. I had hoped it would be a bit cuter and a little less silly Pili:)

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  4. While this does sound cute I don't think I'd be able to tolerate Alice's gibbering throughout the sex scenes. Also, I'm not sure how I feel about the romance developing so quick. You know how much I enjoy that slow build.
    Lovely review, Jenny!

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    1. It was awkward for sure Nick! I'm all for some dirty talk, but she was more conversational rather than actively trying to turn Elliott on, and that was off-putting for me. O.o

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  5. I had a brief moment of o.O because I didn't realize Katie MacAlister wrote contemporary. I've read a few of her PNR books, but I think some of the issues you mentioned here were also ones I had, and I never continued with her series. Bummer that this one didn't quite hit the mark, too.

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    1. I was a bit disappointed Amanda, I had hoped this would be just a really fun sweet romance, but it was tedious at times.

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  6. Thanks for being honest in your review Jenny and thanks for sharing.

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    1. You're welcome Savy! What bothered me about this one may not be an issue for any number of readers:)

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  7. Awww bummer! I so sad that her quirks kept you from really connecting with her. I hate it when that happens!
    Sorry this wasn't just a bit more for you Jenny, lovely honest review though! I love that you can write these reviews and they are always so beautiful whether you loved the book or not. ;)

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    1. Thanks so much Ali! I'm sure a lot of people will thoroughly enjoy this, I just couldn't get past Alice saying things like "ouchie" and "hurty", it was much too juvenile for me.

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  8. I don't think this is for me. I struggle with contemp romances and the insta love and weird talk during sex don't appeal to me. I think I will pass. Thanks for the helpful review, Jenny.

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    1. It was a bit of a miss for me overall Heidi, but it was well written and my issues were pretty specific in nature and likely won't be problematic for others, so I couldn't give it below a 3.

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  9. This sounds like potentially a great novel and for some reason it reminded me of Bride Wars the film or chick lit films such as that. I do love myself a good chick lit, but its a shame that the character development and connection wasn't really there for you, Jenny. Great, honest review! :)

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    1. It was a bit of a bummer Emma! It had a lot of potential for cuteness, but just never quite got there for me.

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  10. I agree this cover to this book is so adorable! I'm sorry that you weren't able to enjoy it more though, I think I would also get sort of frustrated with the quick build up of the relationship and I can see why Alice could be a hit for some readers and not for others. But I'm glad that you were able to enjoy this overall. Thank you for the honest review! :)

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    1. I was fine with them falling into bed quickly, it made sense to me given their chemistry and the fact that they shared a room, but the declaration of love and hasty marriage were a bit much.

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  11. I don't think this one is for me, Jenny. I can already picture myself wanting to strangle the heroine. Lol, definitely not a good sign.

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    1. Heh. I had a few of those moments for sure Rummanah. I thoroughly enjoyed Elliott and his crazy family though.

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  12. The concept of this sounds good but I have read some of Katie's other books and I know how over the top her characters can be. It sounds like this is the same in that sense. That's too bad. :(

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    1. This was my first by her so I wasn't expect the overly cutesy terminology Alice employed:(

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  13. Like you, I'm a fan of the slow build-up to love stories so I doubt I'd enjoy this one. Still, I'm glad you found aspects to enjoy within it. Wonderful review, Jenny--I wouldn't have heard of this one if it weren't for you!(:

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    1. I love that slow build Keertana! And it seemed like they were going that way for a while, and then BAM declaration of love. It was a bit sudden for me.

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  14. This sounds cute, but since I'm not the biggest contemp fan, I usually need to love my heroine and hero and I can see myself feeling the same about the strange *pillow talk* and too fast love reveal. I will say that I've read some of her PNR and liked them with their humor. Thanks for the lovely and honest review, Jenny:)

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  15. I felt exactly the same way about this story, Jenny! As you said I'm sure Alice was meant to be awkwardly endearing but I just had a hard time connecting to her, and I didn't care for her constant rambling during sex! Also, the events that happen after they get married, all the drama from Elliot's non-communication with her and his family wasn't my cup of tea. :/ I rated it the same, but I think I was being generous. It's not a good sign when you keep wondering when the book will end! Spot on review! :)

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