BOOK REVIEW:
Changing Constantinou's Game
Changing Constantinou’s Game—a title with a name I actually can spell! I was surprised,
although I don’t think I’m pronouncing the hero’s Grecian last name correctly.
Well it can’t always go both ways, right?
So this is the fourth
novel of Jennifer Hayward. (In other words I caught up to her releases! Yay me!
I’ve always wanted to follow an author I like and be able to have read all of
their published titles. Right now Ms. Hayward is that only author. :D)
Okay, now really to
the review.
We have yet another
sexy couple who work…really well together. (Double yay for chemistry!)
Isabel “Izzie” and
Alexios “Alex” are not exactly like fire and ice though. They’re way more alike than most couples I’ve
read. The only big difference is that Alex is supa-rich and Izzie isn’t. Oh and
I guess Alex is a tall, cool drink of Greek on a hot summer Manhattan day and
Izzie…isn’t.
The body issues
touched briefly on in this book are really concentrated all in the beginning…like
that first chapter because unlike most books I’ve read Izzie and Alex are not
drawn together by a sham of a convenient relationship to do a slew of things,
usually the most common character motivation being a quick need for money, protection
of some sort and/or throwing a lifejacket for a floundering reputation.
I repeat: there is NO
contractual obligation binding these two people together. The glue is all
sexual tension.
Do I hear a triple ‘yay!’???
I also liked that not
ever dropped thread from the past was neatly wound up. I already mentioned
Izzie and Alex are WAY more alike, and one of those similarities they share is
an insecurity that stems from a crap relationship with one of their parents which
then prompts the theme of trust-building issues that riddle their relationship.
Neither of these
pasts is fully, neatly tucked in at the end. For instance I don’t imagine Alex’s
father is going to get an invite to a wedding anytime soon.
And that’s realistic.
Or as realistic as it
gets during some points—which brings me to why I’m not going to give this a
full-star rating.
I didn’t really like
how Alex handled Izzie. I get that he went through so much, and there was this
huge plausible reasoning that was entirely rational for his behaviour…yet at
the same time it felt rehashed.
His anger at the
media no longer seemed like a genuine concern. And Izzie kinda just took his
bullshit reactions. Like so many times he yells at her, totally freaks out on
her and she’s not in the wrong. And, okay, Alex acknowledges that…but as he
says in the book and which I totally was hoping Izzie might throw back at hime:
“fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me”.
She kept running back
to him and in any other situation where she didn’t’ have a really cool boss and
a great work environment, she’d probably have been fired.
Essentially when this
couple gets hot—welllllll *ahem* they
get hot. But sometimes it felt rushed.
I should also
probably forewarn about pacing. This book moves like Kat Cantrell’s Marriage with Benefits. The timeline I
think works out over 8 months, and it makes sense because the book really
captures the early relationship of Izzie and Alex and its ups and downs—totally
normal given Alex’s billionaire status and Izzie’s larger-than-life
experiences.
And although they
weren’t my favourite book couple of the year, I would still rank Izzie and
Alexios as part of my top…well, actually I don’t know how many romances I’ve
read but they’re up there. Trust me…actually don’t trust me. Go read the book
for yourself and if you have time to spare a comment, let me know what you
think of Changing Constantinou’s Game.
My verdict:
✮✮✮✮.5
(4.5 stars)
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