The Book Gourmet

Well, I was wondering why they were giving away such a long book for free, and I promptly got my answer. They obviously had to.This story just didn't work for me, simple as that. The major problem was the first-person narrative that more often doesn't work in stories (at least from my point of view). I just didn't care for Rose's narrative voice and POV.The second problem was the huge suspension of disbelief needed at the very beginning of the "romance" between Rose and Richard. They just fell in love, like that, wham-bam, one moment they didn't know the other existed and the next they were suddenly in love. I'm all for such love-at-first-sight twists, but this one was a little too unbelievable for my liking.Third problem was, as is becoming more and more of a pattern in my reading, the heroine. If you ask me, Rose was a bit too "meh" to be a heroine, especially in this day and age of kick-ass, stubborn, determined heroines. Even the sometimes too stubborn, downright annoying heroines are better than "meh", don't you think? At least her behavior keeps your blood pumping, gives you a headache. A "meh" heroine inspires only a "meh" reaction. I don't like "meh" heroines.So the fourth problem is becoming evident. This story was just too darn long.The only thing marginally working for this book was the suspense/mystery part, but even that one fizzled quickly.A very "meh" book.