The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

The Basics:
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Harper Collins
Mainstream, Romance
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

I bought this one on sale.

Blurb:

A first-date dud, socially awkward and overly fond of quick-dry clothes, genetics professor Don Tillman has given up on love, until a chance encounter gives him an idea.

He will design a questionnaire—a sixteen-page, scientifically researched questionnaire—to uncover the perfect partner. She will most definitely not be a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker or a late-arriver. Rosie is all these things. She is also fiery and intelligent, strangely beguiling, and looking for her biological father a search that a DNA expert might just be able to help her with.

The Rosie Project is a romantic comedy like no other. It is arrestingly endearing and entirely unconventional, and it will make you want to drink cocktails.

Why I picked up this book:

It seems to be everywhere, I read the inside cover and thought it sounded quirky and entertaining.

My thoughts:

Wow. Wow.  Normally I don't go in for heavily hyped books. I get excited and then am let down and why bother with that?

I'm so glad that ignored my normal policy.

The Rosie Project is a story about a quirky academic, Don, who lives by his routines and schedules and logic. He's very aware of how different he is from most people when it comes to participating in social conventions and developing relationships with other people. When he decides he'd like to find a wife, Don embarks on a journey that has repercussions well beyond those that he's planned on.    

Don is one of the most endearing characters in any book I've read in the last several years. He's so earnest, and so genuinely puzzled when his efforts aren't received as intended. I think if he only bumbled around, he might be less likeable. His desire for understanding, if not always improvement, makes him entirely loveable. His perspective and narration is so completely on point, so different from anything else I've read - thoroughly enjoyable! 

The plot line in this book is light, though it doesn't avoid heavy subjects. With some digging, you could easily discuss issues like love, fidelity, friendship, old age, memory, first impressions and stereotypes, ethics, morality and more. It's an easy book club choice and topical for anyone looking for a contemporary book for an essay (high school students, I'm looking at you). It's a quick read that will stay with you.

I want to gush about this book!

Bottom line:

Definitely recommended. I didn't intend to review this one, but it was so good, I had to toss a review up to share it with anyone who hasn't caved and picked it up yet!


5 stars
For fans of contemporary romance, quirky characters, issues with a candy coating

Our First Love by Anthony Lamarr

The Basics:
Our First Love by Anthony Lamarr
Strebor Books
Romance
Published Dec 17, 2013

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb:

Can brothers who share one life share one love? 

Since the tragic accident that changed their lives forever, brothers Nigel and Caleb have been inseparable—until one woman captures both of their hearts. Thirteen years ago, Nigel and Caleb lost their parents in a terrible accident. Today, Nigel is a thirty-five-year-old college professor, while Caleb, a reclusive twenty-nine-year-old, doesn't know a life beyond the walls of the house they share. Caleb developed an extreme case of agoraphobia—the abnormal fear of public places— and psychogenic amnesia after the accident that killed their parents.

But things are about to change. Unexpectedly, and for the first time, Nigel finds himself falling in love. He tries to keep Karen, his new love interest, a secret, but it doesn't take Caleb long to discover what’s going on. So what does Caleb do when he finds out about Karen? He falls for her, too.

As the brothers’ tight-knit relationship faces increasing pressure and the love triangle intensifies, mysteries surrounding the tragic accident also begin to unravel, bringing the story to a shocking climax. With equal doses of suspense and romance, Our First Love is a bittersweet drama about the pain of loss and the thrill of new love.

Why I picked up this book:

In a very shallow way, I was interested in reading a romance novel written by a man as I normally read romance written by women. I found the setup of the two brothers in this tight-knit relationship, falling for the same woman to be both tragic and entertaining.

My thoughts:

Oh man, I struggled with this one. It was entirely because once I finally sat down to read it, I was afraid it was going to be this horrible, emotional blowout. I fretted over whether or not the book would end in a happy place, and if I'd feel cheated or not.

In the end, I sucked it up and read. And I am so, so glad that I did.

First, I love the way the book is written. Chapters are either from Nigel or Caleb's perspective, and they're dosed with memories and thoughts. The most complex parts involve narration with Caleb inserted into Nigel's day outside of the house. Caleb relies on Nigel's recitation of his daily activities in order to exist beyond the walls of 207 Circle Drive - he pretends to have been there throughout the day, imagining it unfold during their nightly exchange.

Between the secrets of the past, Nigel keeping secrets about the present, Caleb remembering things from his childhood (whether real memories or invented ones for his blog), and then the re-imagining of Nigel's day with Caleb in tow, this book provides fantastic fodder for thinking about the flexibility of memory and the range of narration. It would make an excellent book club selection and I wish I had an active group to sit and discuss it with!

Caleb and Nigel are sympathetic characters, and I found myself rooting for them both even as I wanted to chastise them! Their relationship is easily the most fascinating component of the book, but the way they interact with the world around them, and their own inner lives also entertained and intrigued me. The book revolves around these two characters so heavily that it might have felt (appropriately) claustrophobic or limited if it hadn't been for how skillfully all the different types of narration are interwoven.

Now, this isn't an easy read. It's not a lighthearted contemporary romance, by any stretch, but I think it's definitely rewarding. There's such richness in the narrative layers that Our First Love is well worth reading.

Bottom line:

Pick this up if you enjoy books that stick with you for days after you've finished reading them. Our First Love would make a great book club selection as there's plenty to debate and unpack.

5 stars
For fans of 'meaty' books, contemporary tales, complex narrative styles, good books.