Being Isobel by Clair Louise Coult
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I am having a hard time writing this review because I cycled through emotions at an alarming rate while reading it. First of all, it was classified as Romance/Chick-Lit, and after reading the blurb, I incorrectly assumed it would be a light read. I was so very wrong.
Maybe I skipped over the term abusive boyfriend in the synopsis, or maybe I just chose to ignore it, but it was right there in black and white. Don’t make the same mistake that I did. This is not a frivolous, silly, Chick-Lit book, the abusive boyfriend and the victimization of the MC are significant features of the plot development in this book.
I may not make any friends with this next statement, but keep this thought in mind before reading it: I have four small children, between ages 8 and 2, so I don’t typically like to read about heavy subject matters like physical or sexual abuse…I just want to escape to a happy place. That being said, I realized very quickly that not only would I still get my escape to a happy place, but I would be better for the journey. The MC in this book is really awe-inspiring, her strength and maturity given the circumstances, completely captivated me.
Another aspect that I loved about Being Isobel is the overall theme of the novel; growth, perseverance, and family. Extra happy place. 🙂
There were, unfortunately, a few problems for me. The first is really nit-picky and I almost hate to put it in here; however, there were many British colloquialisms that I was unfamiliar with that would cause me to stumble through some passages. The funny thing is that I really like Ms. Coult’s informal way of writing in conversational language, I just felt a little left out at times.
To be honest, the language barrier didn’t really carry much weight with my rating. The main problem that I had with Being Isobel was that it felt rushed. I really enjoyed the characters, the writing was very good with minimal errors, and the story was fantastic…but the romance was really rushed and and there seemed to be a secondary plot line with another love interest that was snuffed out abruptly even though romantic interest in his character was built up during the entire book.
In conclusion, I would have felt absolutely at ease giving this book four stars if the journey to the happy place would have lasted just a bit longer! That, unfortunately, is the difference between Liking it and Really liking it. However, I am glad to have read it and if you are in the mood for a very quick read with a nice mix of depth and a healthy dose of HEA, I would recommend you pick up Being Isobel.
**The review of this book was completed in exchange for a non-reciprocal review.**
M.C. Lavocat 