Melissa Luznicky Garrett

You know how there are those times when your life is just a tad stressful and you can't handle too much heavy lifting in the reading department, and you really just need something light and easy and romantic to kind of take you away from all the crap you're dealing with?

Precipice is that kind of book.

The week that my grandmother died, I was in such a reading funk. It was 10 days before Christmas, work was crazy, I hadn't bought a damn present, and here we were looking at an unexpected (but, as it turned out, completely worth it) 6 hour trip back home just mere days before we were intending to go home for the holidays. I needed some literary Calgon to take me away, and when I scrolled down the offerings in my Kindle to find something to distract me during the somber ride and I realized I hadn't read my friend's debut novel yet, I knew from the first few pages (or whatever the first few page equivalents are in Kindle) that I had found my escape for several hours.

Julia and Jim have only been married for several years, but right from the beginning of the novel, the reader understands that theirs isn't a happy union. He's a bit emotionally abusive, in my opinion. Secrets and things left unsaid cause distance between the couple. Clearly, these two are not a good match and they're basically just going through the motions of a couple in a dead-end relationship.

Through her best friend Kris, Julia is introduced to Wes, a new teacher at the school where she and Kris work. With Wes, she begins to see that there might be a chance for happiness after all ... if she decides to take that risk, which could mean that Julia will lose everything and everyone she loves (including Kris, because as it turns out, Kris also has a bit of a thing for Wes.)

This was a much lighter, romantic read than my usual fare - but given my mood at the time, that's what I was looking for. It kept my attention (partially due to several steamy scenes, which I wasn't expecting but which were well done!) and it was, indeed, a good distraction from the funeral and the trip back home. A few other readers have commented in their reviews that the ending is a bit too tidy (and yeah, that is somewhat of a valid point but I think it's the only ending that fits with this story) but there is a twist that I didn't see coming and that definitely adds to the suspense as to what direction Julia will go.
… (lisätietoja)