Friday, January 24, 2014

Cooler By the Water

Posted by A Drop of Romeo at 6:00 PM
Cooler by the Water by PoppySeeds
Journalist Mara Gibson likes to get at the heart of a story. When local farm hand Elliot is less than accommodating, she becomes determined to figure him out. Until their tentative friendship,and undeniable attraction, begins to mean more than his past.
Banner Credit: Ali
Brittany Thinks: I think it says in my judges bio that I wanted to
be involved with ADoR to find those stories that would keep me up until 3 in the morning, gasping with anticipation, and anxious to get to the end. Considering it is 3 am as I type this, Cooler by the Water by PoppySeeds fits that bill to a T. I am so in love with this story. The characters are brilliant, the plot is thrilling and exciting, the conclusion is exactly what I wanted it to be from the moment I started reading. PoppySeeds writing is passionate and beautiful, giving the reader no choice but to get entirely lost in the world she's created. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, cursing the internet for not working instantaneously.

Mara, the heroine of the story, is an eager journalist who once dreamed of a high stakes career in New York, but discovered a passion for writing local interest stories for her small town newspaper. She's assigned a series of articles about local farms which brings in an adorable couple - Jack and Evie - and their sullen, stone-faced farm hand Elliot. Jack and Evie are great supporting characters and everything you'd imagine a pleasant farm couple to be. PoppySeeds introduces Mara into their lives and she shakes things up with her kindness, curiosity, and genuine interest in the people she encounters. Through seemingly innocent interactions, Mara unravels the story of Elliot and his mysterious past. Elliot's characterization was my favorite. His arc is flawless, his actions so well developed and planned to the smallest detail. I was as eager to discover him as Mara was. Another strong point of the story for me was the information about private farm life. I grew up in the suburbs of a major city and, while I driven past dozens of farms in my life, I'm naive to the realities of that existence. I found the information PoppySeeds provided interesting without being overwhelming.

This is another M rated story that warrants it's M rating, but the chemistry is so palpable. I'm warning you because, ethically, I have to, but this story is really too good to pass up. Believe me on that. I honestly have no major criticisms. The ending felt a bit rushed and I wish the story had been longer (because I selfishly hated having to stop reading it), but the conclusion is definitely satisfying. This is an intense, hot, beautiful love story worth the time spent reading it (and the inevitable exhaustion if, like me, you stay up all night to finish it).

Happy reading!

1 comment:

  1. Ive been trying to leave a comment on this all night. I'm the author of this story, and your write up made my night. Week, even! Honestly, your writing is better than any summary I could have done. Thank you! I was wondering why I suddenly had all these new faves coming in, so I shamelessly googled myself. :)

    ReplyDelete

 

A Drop of Romeo Template by Ipietoon Blogger Template | Gift Idea