Review: Plus One by Elizabeth Fama

Goodreads Summary:

Divided by day and night and on the run from authorities, star-crossed young lovers unearth a sinister conspiracy in this compelling romantic thriller.

Seventeen-year-old Soleil Le Coeur is a Smudge—a night dweller prohibited by law from going out during the day. When she fakes an injury in order to get access to and kidnap her newborn niece—a day dweller, or Ray—she sets in motion a fast-paced adventure that will bring her into conflict with the powerful lawmakers who order her world, and draw her together with the boy she was destined to fall in love with, but who is also a Ray.

Set in a vivid alternate reality and peopled with complex, deeply human characters on both sides of the day-night divide, Plus One is a brilliantly imagined drama of individual liberty and civil rights, and a fast-paced romantic adventure story.

Publication Date: April 8, 2014

Plus One had an interesting premise, but I’m not sure if I totally bought into the idea behind the dystopian society. However, I did like some of the unique plot elements and interesting secondary characters.

I’m usually easily sold on dystopian setups, but for some reason Plus One’s world building didn’t really work for me. There was a vague explanation of why the country had separated into day and night dwellers (something to do with increased productivity), but it was a little too implausible for me to believe. The government was paying a huge expense to keep the program in place (guards to check IDs, surgeries to correct circadian rhythms, medications to treat vitamin D and melatonin deficiencies), with very little payoff. Also, the plot of Plus One could’ve been stronger. It just didn’t make much sense for a smart girl like Sol to enact this half-baked scheme to steal her niece for a few hours from the maternity ward so her grandfather can finally meet her.

Although Sol’s impulsiveness was maddening at times, I did admire her fierce loyalty to her family. The romance was also sweet and slow building with Sol and D’Arcy not really getting along for two-thirds of the novel. D’Arcy was a great love interest and I liked how kind and good he was, especially when it came to protecting Sol. The secondary characters, such as Jean and Poppu, were also very likable.

There was a lot of action in the novel, so I never grew bored while reading. The author also put in some unexpected twists that I hadn’t anticipated. Because of the gorgeous cover, I thought it would be more of a plot driven by the romance, but that wasn’t the case. It was more about how Sol’s race to save her grandfather while uncovering government conspiracies.

I did enjoy Fama’s writing style and her superb characterizations, which would make me pick up another book by the author despite my issues with the world building.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the novel for review!

Stacking the Shelves #71

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and features books you've added to your shelves, both physical and virtual.

Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays! I picked up a few historical romances this week. Not the normal genre I read, but I go through phases when I can't get enough of them.

For Review:

Captivate by Vanessa Garden

Plus One by Elizabeth Fama

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Precious Thing by Colette McBeth

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

Salt by Danielle Ellison

Wallflower Gone Wild by Maya Rodale

Redemption of the Duke by Gayle Callen

Review: Plus One by Brighton Walsh

Goodreads Summary:

Olivia hates the singles scene, so when her best guy friend, Ian, offers to be her plus one to a series of weddings she has to attend, she agrees. Although she doesn't want to complicate their lifelong friendship, she can't pass up the chance to have a steady date without the dating drama. What she doesn't expect is to now find Ian so incredibly sexy.

When Ian sees his old friend Olivia dolled up for wedding #1, the boyhood crush he once nurtured transforms into smoldering attraction. It doesn't take long for their no-strings arrangement to turn physical. But as Olivia's desire to stay "just friends" becomes clear, Ian's feelings are deepening. In the time they have together, how will Ian convince Olivia that one plus one can make for a lifelong pair?

Publication Date: May 6, 2013

I was in the mood for a cute and light read and Plus One fit the bill. The characters were semi-likable and although this was a novella, I enjoyed the development of the romance and didn’t feel like it was too rushed. The sexy time scenes were steamy and the end tied up the plot nicely.

To be honest, Livvy and Ian had to grow on me a little bit. They were definitely on the superficial side and although I felt the physical attraction between the two, I didn’t totally feel the love part. They would say things annoying from time to time like “She had a great sense of humor, if she did say so herself, and gave one mean blow job—or so she’d been told” and “…there weren’t enough martinis for him to even get a kiss on the cheek.”

That being said, I still liked the younger brother crushing on his older sister’s best friend angle. The wedding trips were fun and steamy and the build up had me anticipating when the two would finally get together. The sex scenes had a good level of heat and Ian was definitely hot (although he was described as having wild blond hair and green eyes, nothing like the cover model).

If you’re looking for a contemporary romance to get lost in for a couple of hours, then I definitely recommend Plus One.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this novel for review!  

Stacking the Shelves and In My Mailbox #36

It was a light book week, but it was actually very much needed in order to make a dent into my TBR pile. I did pick up a few New Adult reads I've been anxious to check out!

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and features books you've added to your shelves, both physical and virtual. In My Mailbox from the Story Siren is another meme that highlights the books that bloggers have bought or received for review.

Purchased:

Damaged by H.M. Ward

Going Under by S. Walden

For Review:

Plus One by Brighton Walsh

The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns #3) by Rae Carson