Short complex issues

I gave this 3 stars because of the numerous indications to Cam and Tyler's height differences. At times those small indications of Cams small frame or Tyler's incredible height made it difficult for me to visualize the scene let alone the characters. I did love Cams quirkiness and sense of humor-- that alone is reason to read this book. The barbookstore gave way to numerous literary references from manga to comic books to super heroes to The Hobbit. Overall a cute light read for the summer. I highly recommended this book. ( )

Beyond some matchmaking this has little in common with Jane Austen’s Emma, but while it isn’t the retelling you may have hoped for, it’s still entertaining in its own way.

Cam, a bartender/bookseller, burned in the past by a popular guy struggles to leave those old hurts behind and enjoy the sparks with her roommate and former football player turned sports agent, Tyler.

In addition to self-sabotaging her own love life, Cam takes a keen interest in the love lives of her friends. The matchmaking started out as a fun element of the story, especially since the first couple are matched using books and comics, however, Cam became irate when another pairing didn’t go her way and I struggled to understand her behavior. I wasn’t clear on why Cam was so into matchmaking or so vehement about that particular couple. It felt odd that Cam believed dating out of your league ends in heartbreak yet she wanted to set up a friend in potentially that kind of relationship. It seemed by Cam’s rules, Martin would have been her likelier candidate for Bayleigh. Maybe she was using Bayleigh as a test subject for dating out of your league (or from a different shelf as Cam would say) and that’s why the stakes seemed so weirdly high for Cam? If Bayleigh’s relationship worked did Cam see that as the green light for her own relationship, so when it didn’t work out for Bayleigh, that’s why Cam became so upset? I honestly don’t know, that’s the one area of the story where I felt like I didn’t have a handle on Cam’s reasoning.

I enjoyed most of the characters in this one (Adrienne, for instance, ended up a pleasant surprise), though I kept hoping there might be a bit more complexity to Tyler’s friend, Kyle. He’s the stereotype of a famous athlete, but since it’s mentioned several times that he was there for Tyler through a tough time, I kept waiting for some of that side of Kyle to emerge, for there to be more to him, it’s not that I wanted a miraculous unrealistic turnaround for him, I just wanted him to be a little more emotionally complicated.

Cam was well-written, yes, she’ll probably get on some readers nerves, she is frustrating at times, though that’s necessary for her arc, it seemed like a fairly truthful depiction of someone battling insecurity and unfortunately not always winning that battle. Cam’s self-aware, she knows when she’s spiraling, she knows it’s taking a toll on her relationship and still she struggles to pull back, being in her head in those moments, I felt empathy more than anything else.

Lastly and probably most importantly since this is a romance, Cam and Tyler were cute together without ever being cloying, there’s a genuine like between them that makes it easy to believe in the love between them, and there’s something just right about a book playing a pivotal role in their relationship. ( )

Good, but not mind blowingly good. Cam's insecurities were annoying after awhile. ( )

Cam is all about matchmaking. She studies a person and can immediately tell their drink preference and also, who to set them up with. She believes opposites don’t attract due to a nightmare she experienced in high school. Tyler is her best friend and there’s a girl who seems interested in him so Cam sets out to help but she starts to realize that maybe she wants Tyler for herself. Will she finally believe opposites attract?

Cam was a very interesting character. She is whimsical, nerdy, beautiful inside and out. She wants people to have their happy ending without going through heart ache so she gives them the push they need to go in the right direction of finding that special someone. Something I didn’t like about Cam was that she despised to be wrong. So when Tyler suggests a girl shouldn’t be paired with who Cam set her up, Cam doesn’t believe it for a second and does everything in her power to push the couple she chose together. This ended up in a mess and I was so furious with Cam because of it. Still, she saw the error of her ways and I was able to forgive her. One thing I did love about her is that she’s a reader! She talks about re-reading her favorite book and I was able to relate to her!

Tyler… *fans face* This guy is freakishly hot, okay? I felt like I would melt! He’s a very respectable character, with a good career even after his football injury. He always looked for the positive in every situation. When he realized he should make his feelings for Cam known, he was so determined! I was rooting for him to get down to business 😉 But once again, Cam was a tough pill to swallow. I understand where her insecurities come from, I do because I’ve been there but she takes it to an extreme. She has Tyler showing her he adores her so much that there shouldn’t be room for doubts, yet she manages to second-guess their relationship because she truly believes opposites don’t attract.

The rest of the characters were a fantastic addition. We even have Rose and Patrick from Last Call making an appearance! Despite Cam’s behavior, I was able to enjoy the book because of Tyler and the secondary characters. Plus, I love the friends-to-lovers trope way too much, and even more if they are roommates!

Overall, it was a fun story with all the quirks. If you like the friends-to-lovers stories with a bit of drama thrown in it, then this one is for you.
--
Review can be found on Latte Nights Reviews:
https://lattenightsreviews.com/review-wasted-words/ ( )

2.5 ( )