Second Draft by C.M. Seabrook

​CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Publication date: 02/11/2017
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No

This one kind of pains me, because I really like the author. Her book Wild Irish was even on one of our weekly “best of” lists.  But this one just wasn’t my cuppa. Here’s why: 

• Instalove. The hero (Carter) and heroine (Layla) have this instant attraction, but they never get the chance to get to know each other. Circumstances seperate them, and by the time they’re together again, Layla is already pregnant with Carter’s brother’s baby. But Carter immediately steps in and takes care of Layla, falling for her REALLY quickly, even though they’re still basically strangers. It was a little too unrealistic for my liking.

• The circumstances of how Layla got pregnant are distasteful. Dubious (very, very dubious) consent was involved, and that was never addressed. The brother was never held accountable for his actions, and Layla never admitted (even to herself) that he did anything wrong. Not the most empowering message, you know?
• The only real impediment to a relationship between Carter and Layla is Layla herself. She’s had a sad, tragic upbringing, but who hasn’t in romance land? There’s no good reason for her to keep pushing Carter away, but she does it, time and time again, even though he proves himself to be a great guy, time and time again.
• There’s a kind of “small town people are judge-y and awful” feel to a bunch of the scenes that discuss Layla’s upbringing that is pretty insulting to anyone who might’ve grown up in a small town. And her father was portrayed as pure evil—no nuance to his character whatsoever. He ALSO never really gets what’s coming to him in the end, which I HATE.        

So basically, this one earns it’s 3 stars as follows:

1. One star for good writing, which is pretty standard for the author
2. Two stars for Carter. He’s just an all-around, stand-up, good guy, and I really liked him a lot. There should be more guys like Carter in romance land.    

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
The instalove puts it dangerously close to contributing, but I think it’s well-written enough to avoid it.  

Other reading suggestions
Check out Wild Irish. It’s definitely worth a read.

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