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Title: Hit and Stay
Author: Ninette Swann
Published: 2012 by Resplendence Publishing
Genre: Romance, Fiction
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Andrea Wadsworth is engaged to John Waters (who is running for senator). She gets a phone call saying her grandfather is ill and it’s an emergency, but she doesn’t have a car so she decides to ride her bike to see him. On the ride there, she gets hit by a car.
Jake Harrison, once a police officer, happens to be at the scene. He immediately takes charge of the situation before the other police get there. He also feels a need to do his own investigation, and visits Andrea at the hospital to see how she is. Andrea and Jake end up on the run, trying to figure out who ran her over and why, with a little romance on the side.
So this was my first novella, and I didn’t really like it. I was looking forward to it too because it had good ratings. Here’s why I didn’t like it. I felt like the relationship between Andrea and Jake moved way too fast. They hardly knew each other and started developing serious feelings really fast. Also, Jake told Andrea his past, which was a little sketchy, and she didn’t really care that much. I just thought it was odd.
Another trivial thing that bothered me, were the names John and Jake are pretty similar for two main characters. A few times as I was reading, I had to backtrack and think about which character was which, especially in the beginning.
I’m not sure if this is the way that novellas are, with the relationships moving so fast because it is a short story so there isn’t much time for them to develop? The story itself was well told and suspenseful, and I enjoyed the secondary character, Burt, who was Jake’s friend and a reporter. But overall, the lack of character development, and how it just didn’t feel real, is the reason that I thought this book was just okay and gave it two out of five stars.
My Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
~Pam
*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****
It’s an interesting premise… I tend to love novellas when they’re done properly (Ruthie Knox and Courtney Milan can usually be counted on to deliver top-notch novellas), but it’s so easy for things to go awry… I get so frustrated when I’m reading a story and the characters are DEEP in love in ten pages… As a reader, I want to have a chance to fall in love with the characters before they fall for each other, you know?
Yes, very well said! My thoughts exactly. I mean, I know it’s fiction, but I just need it to be a bit more realistic.