Wednesday, November 25, 2009

[Review]: "Love Is a Battlefield"



Title: Love Is a Battlefield
Author: Annalisa Daughety
Pub. Date: October 2009Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Incorporated
Genre: Christian Fiction, Romance
Series: A Walk in the Park Ser.
Summary (B&N):

When park ranger Kristy O'Neal returns to her job at Shiloh National Military Park after being left at the altar, she can hardly stand the thought of facing her colleagues as a jilted woman. Still, Kristy realizes her heart will mend fastest where her real love lies: the natural surroundings of a famed national park. Just when Kristy summons up her strength to re-enter her workplace, she discovers that a new ranger—a handsome and eligible man—has replaced her. Ace Kennedy immediately feels the heat, but definitely not the type of heat he hopes for after meeting Kristy. As the two attempt to work amicably with one another, outside pressures in the form of vandalism, interfering matchmakers, old wounds and fresh emotions draw Kristy and Ace closer while also setting them against each other.







Places to Order Love Is a Battlefield at:











Review:

My first impression of this novel upon beginning it was "average". From the characters to the story line, nothing really stood out to me--- it sounded like something we've heard countless times, both in books and real life.

Kristy, our heroine for Love Is a Battlefield, has your average life. She's been in her dream job for most of her life, and loves it. She falls for the 'perfect' man, only to later find out he's the wrong guy for her-- after being left at the alter and broken up with through a note, of all things. Now her life isn't so perfect, she's been replaced at work by the good-looking new guy, and her mother's trying to play match maker already.

Haven't we seen this before? And if not, doesn't it seem like the sort of thing you'd see in your own town? Personally, when I pick up a book, I want to escape from the real world, not jump into the slightly fictionalized version of the same thing! Then again, I've always had trouble getting into contemporary fiction/romance, especially Christian Fiction such as this. But no matter my own genre preferences, I simply felt like this book needed something more, something new.

All the characters seemed a bit common, not particularly strong in development. Despite being the main character, Kristy almost seemed to take a back seat to Ace at times, and even he wasn't as forward of a character as I would have liked. Plus, for more than 3/4 of the book, we knew next to nothing about him-- he just kept eluding to some "to be announced" reason why he came to take this new job, and I was hoping it would be something good that added to the plot, but in the end, when you find out, it's a big let down. I won't ruin it, but let's just say it adds about as much excitement to the book as watching grass grow.

From the conversations between the characters to the flow of the story line, everything just seemed a bit too predictable and bland to me. Honestly, I could practically tell you what the characters were going to say even before it came up-- it should not be that easy to predict! It wasn't a horribly written novel, but it didn't have any real "pop!" to it either.

And then there was the fact that, despite this being a Christian Fiction, I couldn't see, nor appreciate, the romance that was suppose to be in it. I know, it's suppose to be chaste-- but must it be invisible and fake too? That's my one problem with CF novels--- it's not that there may be the occasional undertone of religion in the novel (though, at times, that too can get annoying), but the fact that most authors in this genre seem to think that the romance must be as clean as the new snow! Come on, even the most strict of religious couples are not that boring in their relationships! Is there anything wrong with a bit of lust, a kiss or two? Unresolved sexual tension, when written well, can be just as sexy as the most erotic romance scenes!

3 STARS! Despite the mediocre story behind this novel, I can't say I hated the book-- not by any means. However, it was lacking in excitement, and romance, which are my only real criticisms. Otherwise, the book was a quick, and at times charming, read-- not too heavy, but a very light fiction novel. If you don't mind the brief mention of religious beliefs in your fiction (aka, Christian Fiction), then by all means, pick this one up when you get some spare time, but don't move it to the top of your wish list.





~~~
Thanks to LibraryThing's EarlyReviewer Program, where I won this book last month!
~~~


Hmm... I really need to start working on my preparation for tomorrow's big dinner, but I'm far too lazy right now. *Pause* Okay, so I'm also a bit *preoccupied* by Facebook too, but that's besides the point! :D

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday tomorrow, and enjoy the rest of your week!



Enjoy!






Until Next Time,

2 comments :

Erotic Horizon said...

I have this book to read next week... and I am glad to hear your thoughts on it...

I agree with your remarks about CF and it' approach to romance and lusty emotion...

Thanks for your thoughts on this - it does give me somethings to think about when reading this book..

E.H>

The_Book_Queen said...

EH--
I'll be looking forward to your thoughts when you are done-- I want to know if I perhaps judged it far too critically?

I'm glad that someone knows what I mean-- really, I do understand CF not having outright sex scenes in it, fine, but must it seem so, well, pure all the time?

Hope you like the book!

Happy Thanksgiving,
TBQ