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Jeannie Levig can be counted on to write well-developed
characters. She gives each character thorough backstories, gives the readers a
complete understanding of the emotional and psychological make-up of the MCs
and makes them thoroughly real and identifiable people. She also has a gift for
building the romance to make it a proper relationship through her narration.
Her books make us feel different emotions which is one of the things that we
look for in satisfying reads. The other big plus (very big plus for us) is that
she writes about mature (often 50+) women. This is a demographic which deserves
a lot of focus and we are so happy that Levig deals with them with sensitivity
and love.
The two MCs in this are E.J. and Jinx. E.J. is a rich,
successful career woman in her early fifties. Divorced, she has realised that
she is gay, but is unwilling to be out because she is scared of being rejected
by her homophobic son. So she chooses one-night stands or short flings without
emotional involvement. Jinx has a criminal record, has spent twenty years in
prison, been out of jail for only the past three years and is currently working
as a dog-washer. These are two extremely unmatched people, but the author skilfully
makes them so real and possible that as a reader we just get into their story,
totally feel their attraction and chemistry.
The numerous secondary characters including the friends of
the two MCs and members of their families are also so well written that we
totally get them and understand who they are. We also really like some of them
(E.J.’s daughter, Mandy and Jinx’s niece, Tiffany, in particular are really strong
young women).
We however had one issue. In her obsession with her son,
E.J. makes her daughter completely invisible. She doesn’t mention her at all
throughout her relationship with Jinx; in the big showdown scene, when she is coming
out to her kids, she surprisingly cannot see or hear her daughter’s unflinching
and unwavering support. This kind of ignoring one child is kind of unforgivable
to us and took away a lot of points from E.J.
However, as a romance this is a wonderful read.
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