Title: Social Skills
Author: Sara Alva
Genre: m/m romance
Print length: 357 pages
Publication date: January 21, 2013
Rating: Two Stars
Blurb: Music is the only form of communication Connor Owens controls. No matter how badly he wishes to fit in, friendly banter and casual conversations have never been his thing. College is yet another social universe he has no clue how to navigate—until he meets Jared, a football player with chestnut eyes and a cocky grin that holds the power to shatter his self-imposed prison.
Jared's attention opens Connor up to a new realm of emotional and physical intimacy. But as Connor's self-confidence grows, so does his fear that everything will fall apart. Because in this socially stratified world, how long can a relationship between an introverted violinist and a closeted football player really last?
Review:
You know, what really kind of struck me as odd was the other reviews. People seemed to have the same complaints I did, except that they rated the book much higher than I did. I suppose we all have a different way of rating products, but if you didn't particularly like something, yet you give it 4 stars, that seems a bit misleading.
Anyway, I have no problem admitting that this book had a decent sentence and dialogue structure and that someone had obviously edited it with care. The idea is sellable too; the shy artistic type falls for the popular kid and all that jazz. I did like the beginning of the book. Obviously, I liked it enough to buy it. But, I did have a hard time finishing it.
Let me state for the record that I'm familiar with the sort of crippling shyness and anxiety Connor seems to be suffering from. In the beginning of the book, these handicaps of his were real and well portrayed. Then it all kind of spins out of control. He's feeling braver, then he's not; he's feeling more confident, then he's not; he's adjusting, then he's not. The result is an emotional upheaval that's, quite frankly, unrealistic. And unnecessary.There was enough drama in this book to start with; there was no need to sacrifice the already shaky stability of the main character for a fresh influx of drama.
There was a decent effort put in to sketching Jared. The idea, I think, was to portray a young man who was having issues accepting himself and his place in the world as a gay man. Doubts and insecurities are normal. But underneath it, there was this undertone of selfishness that I didn't care for. It just kept coming through in his interactions with Connor and it made him a very unlikeable character.
I'm sorry, I just didn't really like any of it. The female characters seemed two dimensional and thrown in as an afterthought. The sex was somewhat crude. And the book seemed too long without having any valid basis for being so.
Two and a half stars for effort. I'm not being mean here. Just honest.
Anyway, I have no problem admitting that this book had a decent sentence and dialogue structure and that someone had obviously edited it with care. The idea is sellable too; the shy artistic type falls for the popular kid and all that jazz. I did like the beginning of the book. Obviously, I liked it enough to buy it. But, I did have a hard time finishing it.
Let me state for the record that I'm familiar with the sort of crippling shyness and anxiety Connor seems to be suffering from. In the beginning of the book, these handicaps of his were real and well portrayed. Then it all kind of spins out of control. He's feeling braver, then he's not; he's feeling more confident, then he's not; he's adjusting, then he's not. The result is an emotional upheaval that's, quite frankly, unrealistic. And unnecessary.There was enough drama in this book to start with; there was no need to sacrifice the already shaky stability of the main character for a fresh influx of drama.
There was a decent effort put in to sketching Jared. The idea, I think, was to portray a young man who was having issues accepting himself and his place in the world as a gay man. Doubts and insecurities are normal. But underneath it, there was this undertone of selfishness that I didn't care for. It just kept coming through in his interactions with Connor and it made him a very unlikeable character.
I'm sorry, I just didn't really like any of it. The female characters seemed two dimensional and thrown in as an afterthought. The sex was somewhat crude. And the book seemed too long without having any valid basis for being so.
Two and a half stars for effort. I'm not being mean here. Just honest.
Buy it from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Social-Skills-ebook/dp/B00B45MZOE/ref=cm_cr-mr-img
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