This book was cute but the writing style is not my favorite. It is rather jumpy explaining who characters are and history with Anabel that is not well developed. I found myself going back pages to figure out what was originally being talked about before the author went on a tangent explaining something for 5 pages. Other than that annoying trait, the story is cute, not entirely predictable and keeps you on your toes. I wanted--really wanted--to give this book another star, but I couldn't. From a reader's perspective, I think the story has a lot of promise. The characters are very interesting, and I found myself rooting especially for the MC, Anabel. I also was very attracted to the mysterious and sensual Luke--especially with his surprises for Anabel. However, there was WAY too much backstory and side trails. I have read nearly 70 books this year, and I have yet to come across a book with this much backstory and flashbacks. A little here and there works well--yes. But when there are pages upon pages of it, thus splitting up the dialogue for more than a few seconds, it takes away from the action of the story. Also, with so much on the side and in the back (so to speak), it confused me as to what the story was really about. Is it about Anabel's love life? Is it about the danger she comes into contact with over her odd weekend? Is it about the bookstore she owns? Etc. But I liked the suspense and I liked the characters. I felt some could have been left out, but each character and interaction was interesting. From an editor's perspective, I would say that more of a developmental edit could have happened here in order to make the book tight and well-paced. Also, too many misplaced semicolons were somewhat annoying. The biggest crime, however, was the switch between past and present verb tense. That can work for flashbacks, etc., but you have to be very cautious with the switches. In this particular book, tenses switched back and forth without rhyme or reason, it seemed. I especially got lost in sentences that had both tenses--used incorrectly. That made it a bit hard for me to follow at times.Overall, as much as I'm intrigued by these characters, if the next book is the same with all the extra fluff and verb tense switches, I can't bring myself to continue reading the series, no matter how much I'm rooting for Anabel and Luke.
What do You think about A Date With Fate (2012)?
Love the way this author combines comedy with seriousness. Her characters truly come to life!
—ria
A fun and entertaining read, you never know what Junior or Anabel is going to get into next!
—reetu
funny/witty, twists, great characters--that you'd want to read more!
—nick
