Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Review: Getting By by Claudia Y. Burgoa

Getting By ~ A Knight’s Tale I by Claudia Y. Burgoa is a new-adult contemporary romance novel, published February 18, 2014.

Synopsis:

When Emma Anderson arrived at San Francisco International Airport, she regretted accepting the distinction of being the maid of honor to Gaby’s—her childhood friend—wedding. It had been years since the last time she set foot in Menlo Park, where her parents had been killed. The rug where she had been shoving her feelings since that day looked bumpier than a camel’s hump. Who could blame her; if she hadn’t been selfish they’d still be around. Ever since that fateful day, Emma has been perfecting the knack of Getting By.

Cade’s wedding in Menlo Park—a city close to San Francisco—might be the perfect place for Jake Knight to shake the memories of his ex, Emma Anderson for good. Single, available women galore for an entire week was the perfect medication, one he intended to take three times a day for an entire week to return to his player days. It was a plan the former spy thought flawless until he came face to face with the maid of honor. Jake’s perfect retreat turns into a flight, fight or hide week of celebrations.



Excerpt from Getting By:

Nights meant sleep and dreams—my archenemies. The Crowley to my Dean Winchester, the Green Goblin to my Spider-man, the list of superheroes and their opposites was long, and so became the analogies I used on a daily basis. My lack of sleep began with Dad and his conditions for me to continue my art. Then came my parents’ deaths. Those took a toll on me because I mixed dreams with realities and hopes. Not once did I have a nightmare, all of them were sweet and real. Seeing Mom and Dad on those nights filled my gut with nails, and my head pounded with the reminder that they were gone the next morning. Those had been merely fantasies that would never become a reality.

For the past three months I had been evading sleep and working overtime, over the overtime. The dreams of elevators, trips to sophisticated-secluded spots after a week of work and delicious nights with a man who I was required to forget in order to move on, came daily—nightly. They not only hit me with vengeance, but they came tangled with what humans liked to call hope. The urge to crawl inside myself to avoid the need of his touch, kisses and whatever it was that we had not long ago, consumed me. If I had the powers to morph into an animal, it’d be a sea turtle and I’d stay inside my shell for the next hundred years. Past the stage of melancholy and into the real world, I pushed my body outside of the bed and into the shower, where I got ready to face the Clements and the house next door.

About the Author:

Claudia lives in Colorado with her family and three dogs. Two beagles who believe they are human, and a bichon who thinks she’s a beagle. While managing life, she works as a CFO at a small IT Company. She’s a dreamer who enjoys music, laughter and a good story. Claudia is currently working on Standing By, the second book in the Knight series.


Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7202946.Claudia_Y_Burgoa

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClaudiaYBurgoa

Twitter: https://twitter.com/yuribeans
  

My Review:

Getting By was a unique contemporary romance that I thoroughly enjoyed. It had several elements that made it stand out and I know it’s not a book I’ll forget anytime soon. I found the characters likable and I really hoped that Jake and Emma would be able to make their relationship work.

Emma was a good female lead and I felt for her. She was truly a survivor and had experienced so much heartbreak in her life. It was nice to see she didn’t let her past define her and she had carved out a successful career.

I wasn’t sure I’d like Jake at first. But since part of the story is also told from his POV, it was good to see his side of things and realize he had more depth than I first thought. I actually liked him and his brothers a lot, so it was a good way to set things up for future books.

The book moved at a good pace and the dual POV didn’t slow it down at all. It was a lot of will they and won’t they back and forth which had me anxious to see how things would work out. My only complaint would be the writing was a little confusing at times. It didn’t always flow and it made me confused over what the characters were talking about. The characters had quirky senses of humor and I didn’t always get their jokes.

All in all, an enjoyable read with realistic characters and a romance filled with plenty of angst.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

I received a complimentary copy of Getting By for review purposes.

2 comments:

  1. Gotta love the angst :) Very lovely review, Heather. Tells me enough without getting in too deeply. I'm not a huge romance fan, so I'm gonna leave this one on the table. :) WRITE ON!

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