TITLE: What the Librarian Did
AUTHOR: Karina Bliss
STARTED: June 1, 2010
FINISHED: June 3, 2010
PAGES: 249
GENRE: Romance
FIRST SENTENCE: Everyone said only a weirdo would turn down a date with Mary O'Connell's older brother, home from university for the holidays.
SUMMARY: [From Amazon.com
] Is Rachel Robinson the only one on campus who doesn't know who Devin Freedman is? No big deal except that the bad-boy rock star gets a kick out of Rachel's refusal to worship at his feet. And that seems to have provoked his undivided attention. Devin, the guy who gave new meaning to the phrase "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll." Devin, the guy who somehow becomes wedged between her and the past she's kept hidden for years.It's up to this librarian to find out firsthand just how "bad" he really is. Because her secret--and her growing feelings for a man who claims he's bent on redemption--depend on his turning out to be as good as he seems. Which is really, really good.
THOUGHTS: This book was as enjoyable as it was frustrating. Bliss' story relies on many romance tropes, but still manages to come across as inventive and fresh. No stodgy Dukes here. I think, however, this book bugged me because it was so darn short. Why does Harlequin insist on forcing there books into a tiny number of pages? It's aggravating. What the Librarian Did could have been such a better book if the editor hadn't slashed it down to so few pages.
I like where Bliss took this book. (I should note that I am a librarian, with new shiny degree to back me up, so I might be biased.) Rachel is a strong character (for the most part), she doesn't play the role of simpering shusher waiting for a man to walk into her stacks and sweep her off her feet. She has a job she loves, wardrobe she adores, sassy sidekick, and general "I'm Awesome" attitude. But, Devin enters her stacks and, while he is quite-the-nice-to-look-at, she doesn't go weak in the knees and shyly wait for his advances. Devin, on the other hand, is a hard rocker with a soft streak (mama's boy much?). The dynamic between these two works. It works really really well. You can feel the heat and, unlike some other romances, you like that these two get together. I even liked the whole dead-beat-rockstar-brother dropping in.
What I didn't like was the MAJOR subplot. When Rachel was young she had a kid and gave him up for adoption. Now he's on her campus looking for her so that he can insult her. (Way to be kid.) Rachel figures out that the kid is hers before said kid knows he's hanging out with mom, the librarian. Then she turns into a simpering fool trying to make her like him. Said kid also becomes friends and study buddies with Devin. This whole triangle of who-knows-who-birthed-who felt forced to me. There could have been a better plot device to move the story along that did not feel so rushed.
That said, I think the whole subplot could have worked well if the editor(s) had let Bliss fully flesh out the story. It was so clear that the hand of the editor had wielded the cutting pen on this story. Several times I felt like whole chunks of scenes had been extracted and I was left wanting much more. Addtionally, I think Bliss know of the stupid Harlequin page limit and rushed the ending. That last 25 pages cram in post of the plot and problem resolution. I'm all for everyone living happily ever after in my romance novels, but I want the hurdles to be overcome much more slowly - you know, in the way they are in real life.
Good read, just wish it was longer.
RATING: 7/10 [Very Good]
Comments