Title: Action and Satisfaction
Author: Lainey Bancroft
Publisher: Siren-Bookstrand Inc
Publisher URL: http://www.bookstrand.com/
ISBN: 1-60601-221-5
Genre: Contemporary M/F Romance
Rating: 4 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Rose Nymph
Eva Delucca is sick and tired of the way Seth Edwards breezes in and out of her life. She doesn’t think her heart can take being abandoned while Seth chases his dreams anymore. When he turns up out of the blue yet again, desperate to rekindle their romance, he is surprised by Eva’s cold welcome. Seth doesn’t know what he’s done wrong so brings out all of his best player maneuvers in a bid to win Eva back. Unfortunately, his inability to see what’s going on just makes Eva more determined to say goodbye to him for good. However, Eva’s best friend Bonnie doesn’t believe Eva has it in her to kick Seth out of her life so the two women enter into a bet where the loser pays for the winner’s cruise ticket. Eva has to give Seth a taste of his own medicine without losing her heart to him – something she soon realizes is easier said than done.
As smart and successful both Eva and Seth appear to be, it is apparent from the start that their communication skills leave a lot to be desired. There is a “you brought this on yourselves” quality to the story as the pair have spent some of the most enjoyable, memorable times of their lives together but Seth seems incapable of commitment and leaves Eva regularly, without a word of notice. Eva doesn’t show Seth how much this hurts her either so they are continually playing games with each other, trying to stay cool, calm and collected and hiding their insecurities and pain. I could sympathize with Eva for deciding enough is enough but her decision to teach Seth a lesson with more games was frustrating. Her friend Bonnie did not help matters by suggesting the bet. All three characters do realize that they have made mistakes though and want to put things right, if it isn’t too late.
The story moves at a nice pace and the writing ran smoothly. The plot was fun, with just the right amount of melodrama and decadence counterbalanced with very human characters with flaws that were displayed for all to see. At certain times, both Eva and Seth’s actions seemed a little farfetched to me; no one in their right mind would have thought the bet was a good idea and some of the thoughts in Seth’s mind made me see that these two really were perfect for each other. This made the attraction between the two very believable and palpable. I’m not a fan of emotional games but in Action and Satisfaction, the fallout of two people playing with each other’s hearts and minds constantly is very well portrayed. If you like to witness characters that are good people deep down but let their egos get themselves into a terrible mess, which leaves you questioning how they are ever possibly going to fix things, this is definitely a book for you.
Author: Lainey Bancroft
Publisher: Siren-Bookstrand Inc
Publisher URL: http://www.bookstrand.com/
ISBN: 1-60601-221-5
Genre: Contemporary M/F Romance
Rating: 4 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Rose Nymph
Eva Delucca is sick and tired of the way Seth Edwards breezes in and out of her life. She doesn’t think her heart can take being abandoned while Seth chases his dreams anymore. When he turns up out of the blue yet again, desperate to rekindle their romance, he is surprised by Eva’s cold welcome. Seth doesn’t know what he’s done wrong so brings out all of his best player maneuvers in a bid to win Eva back. Unfortunately, his inability to see what’s going on just makes Eva more determined to say goodbye to him for good. However, Eva’s best friend Bonnie doesn’t believe Eva has it in her to kick Seth out of her life so the two women enter into a bet where the loser pays for the winner’s cruise ticket. Eva has to give Seth a taste of his own medicine without losing her heart to him – something she soon realizes is easier said than done.
As smart and successful both Eva and Seth appear to be, it is apparent from the start that their communication skills leave a lot to be desired. There is a “you brought this on yourselves” quality to the story as the pair have spent some of the most enjoyable, memorable times of their lives together but Seth seems incapable of commitment and leaves Eva regularly, without a word of notice. Eva doesn’t show Seth how much this hurts her either so they are continually playing games with each other, trying to stay cool, calm and collected and hiding their insecurities and pain. I could sympathize with Eva for deciding enough is enough but her decision to teach Seth a lesson with more games was frustrating. Her friend Bonnie did not help matters by suggesting the bet. All three characters do realize that they have made mistakes though and want to put things right, if it isn’t too late.
The story moves at a nice pace and the writing ran smoothly. The plot was fun, with just the right amount of melodrama and decadence counterbalanced with very human characters with flaws that were displayed for all to see. At certain times, both Eva and Seth’s actions seemed a little farfetched to me; no one in their right mind would have thought the bet was a good idea and some of the thoughts in Seth’s mind made me see that these two really were perfect for each other. This made the attraction between the two very believable and palpable. I’m not a fan of emotional games but in Action and Satisfaction, the fallout of two people playing with each other’s hearts and minds constantly is very well portrayed. If you like to witness characters that are good people deep down but let their egos get themselves into a terrible mess, which leaves you questioning how they are ever possibly going to fix things, this is definitely a book for you.
2 comments:
Thanks for a well written and obviously well thought out review, Rose Nymph!
Eva and Seth were based on the sort of people I've avoided (disliked?) all my life and it was sort of a personal challenge to see if I could make 'players' likable and redeem them. I'm glad you found merit in the story despite Seth and Eva's egos and games.
Thanks!
Thank you for the kind words! I admire you for tackling the challenge very much and you found a good balance between the likable and not so likable qualities of the characters. You definitely achieved your goals!
Rose
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