Gwen’s review of Five O’Clock Shadow by Genie Davis
Contemporary romance published 1 Feb 2007 by Zebra
I admit that I bought the book because my favorite cover model was on the front – he’s a hunka-hunka-burnin’ love. *sigh* I didn’t buy it because I necessarily liked the title – I don’t – or because I knew of the author – still don’t. It was because of the gorgeous man on the cover. Pluse you can see he has an outtie on this cover (I just wanted to lick it). I’m so easy. Can you tell I’m ashamed? Didn’t think so.
Here’s the jacket blurb:
When Jessie Adams, indie-rock DJ, part-time musician and full time fool for self absorbed long haired rockers decides to do a favor for a friend, she never imagines how her life will change. With her friend’s beach side music club The Sea Shack threatened by the gentrification of their neighborhood, Jessie figures throwing her hat in the City Council race might be a way to save the place. What she doesn’t count on is somebody who wants the candidates out of the way or literally running into Chuck Jackson, one tall, cool, and infuriating detective. After all, Jessie just met the guy and he’s already staking his claim by vowing to protect her at all costs, not that she minds him guarding her body. It fact she just might like that part of having him around a little too much. But when danger strikes, Jessie will have to figure out fast whether her undercover lover is playing around or playing for keeps.
Genie Davis is, “…an award winning, produced screen and TV writer.” My recommendation is that she stick to screenplays. Her writing style is what I call “stream of consciousness” writing. Think LONG run-on sentences that morph from one topic to the next. It was like listening to a senile Great Aunt who has diarrhea of the mouth, only a little more hip.
This book had its moments. A memorable one was:
[scene – a man who, upon being freed from being tied to his bed for several days, says to his liberators]
“I don’t want to file charges or anything against her, and what would I file exactly, that this woman terrorized me with a rolling pin? Forced me to take drugs and eat pie?”
Now get your minds out of the gutter – the “pie” being referred to here is pastry, not what you’re thinking. But it made me laugh out loud when I read it.
Still, even with a few humorous moments, I skimmed thru so much of the logorrhea that it took me only a day and a half of half-hearted reading to finish 318 pages. Much of the text bored me stiff. There were even clumsy attempts at tying the book title into a threat to the main character – very contrived and quite painful to read. In addition, the resolution to the main drama was a serious let-down – very anticlimactic.
For all the confusing (and boring) writing, I had fun with the main characters’ relationship. I realize the meeting-and-moving-in-together interval was an unbelievable two (that’s 2) days, but it wasn’t completely unbelievable for these characters. For that matter, I wouldn’t mind finding a guy like Chuck myself one day – a man who knows what he wants and goes for it. Worse things could happen, like maybe reading this book again.
Grade: D
