Thursday, April 6, 2017

Book Review: Clickbait by E.J. Russell

After the disastrous ending of his first serious relationship, Gideon Wallace cultivated a protective—but fabulously shiny—outer shell to shield himself from Heartbreak 2.0. Besides, romance is so not a priority for him right now. All his web design prospects have inexplicably evaporated, and to save his fledgling business, he’s been compelled to take a hands-on hardware project—as in, his hands on screwdrivers, soldering irons, and needle-nosed pliers. God. Failure could actually be an option.

Journeyman electrician Alex Henning is ready to leave Gideon twisting in the wind after their run-ins both on and off the construction site. Except, like a fool, he takes pity on the guy and offers to help. Never mind that between coping with his dad’s dementia and clocking all the overtime he can finagle, he has zero room in his life for more complications.
Apparently, an office build-out can lay the foundation for a new relationship. Who knew? But before Alex can trust Gideon with the truth about his fragile family, he has to believe that Gideon’s capable of caring about more than appearances. And Gideon must learn that when it comes to the heart, it’s content—not presentation—that matters.

This book was a bit all over the place for me. I never really felt a connection between the MCs and didn't really believe in their romance/relationship. First, I have to say that in terms of writing, this book is perfectly fine. I had absolutely no problems with that. Secondly, Alex is a lovely character. He is an upstanding man who does whatever necessary to take care of the people he loves, even if it means sacrificing certain things in his own life. Beyond those two things, the book lost me.

Gideon is a character that is superficial, arrogant, judgemental and generally unlikable. I couldn't quite understand what Alex saw in him and it made kind of sad that he thought Gideon was the best he could do. Alex's sister, Lindsey, wasn't as bad as Gideon, but came off quite selfish and vapid at times. She expected people to read her mind and then got upset when they couldn't. I also felt that the two MCs talked to everyone else under the sun more than they talked to each other. All of these side conversations made me skim through chapters because it occasionally seemed like unnecessary filler.

All in all, this was an okay read for me. It wasn't great in my opinion, but certainly wasn't bad. I just wish I could have liked the characters a little more.



I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, and voluntarily provided my honest review.


~ M

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