1) I love the pace and fun of the dialogue. The lines remind me of the kind of exchanges you find in classic romantic comedies like The Philadelphia Story. Scenes like these are so funny and do a great job of infusing characterization.
2) There’s an interesting tonal conflict between the narrator and the setting. The narrator begins the novel by focusing on the male protagonist who is in a decidedly un-male place. While Chase is the bigger and stronger of the two, love interest Livy has the upper hand because they are on her home turf.
3) This is a very specific thing: the author mentions “the lead singer of Driveshaft.” If you’ll recall the TV show LOST, one of the characters stranded on The Island was the bassist of a band called Drive Shaft, and his brother was the singer. Now, only a small fraction of readers will remember that bit of TV trivia, but the reference might take some out of the world of the author is trying to create. Long ago, I had a classmate who named a character “Sam Waterston.” You know…the guy from Law & Order and the commercials he does for financial services companies. I like thinking that Chase and Livy’s story takes place in the same universe as LOST.
Visit the author’s web site and read her book!
