I woke up this morning and wasn't sure what to read. Despite having a million books on shelves, both literal and virtual (my kindle and iPad NetGalley app are bursting at the seems) today was the first time in a while where I didn't have an urgent deadline. My library books are not due for a few days, I don't have any read alongs or book club books that I need to start, and there are no pressing review deadlines for books I have ARC copies of. So I decided to choose something at random.
I quickly blitzed Single Dad in Studio 7D by MaryAnn Clarke in a couple of hours this morning. It was a pretty quick and easy romance read, though I'll also admit, I definitely skimmed some pages. I believe Clarke is a Canadian author, and the book is set in Canada in an apartment building where entrepreneurs can live and work in the same studio apartments. The female main character is Lucy, a researcher at a local university who is taking a short sabbatical to teach yoga and research the research her grandfather completed prior to his death in hopes of proving some of his theories led to recent discoveries in his field. Across the hall, Jean Phillipe (JP) is a single dad to two toddlers, Christian (4) and Fifi (2) after his wife Fiona died of ovarian cancer, he also runs a small web design business out of his apartment when he finds time between his stay-at-home dad duties. The two meet one day when JP inquires about a noise coming from her apartment and helps her solve a small problem she is having. A friendship develops despite the fact that they both feel they have no time for a relationship and JP is still grieving his wife. Their mutual attraction quickly gets the better of them though and they soon begin a sexual relationship whenever the kids are at daycare or with their grandparents.
This book is definitely your stereotypical romance book. There is a convenient meeting between two people who are instantly sexually attracted to each other. They find ways to get to know each other for more than the attraction, but also fall into an intensely physical relationship. Their relationship is conflicted because of other priorities, feelings are hurt, separation is created and then something happens to tie it all together at the end. It was extremely predictable, the sex scenes were descriptive but not overly graphic, and the emotional depth was pretty limited.
The force that drives them apart is JP's difficulty balancing his roles of parent and boyfriend while focusing on his priority which is his children. Lucy says she understands this but is then hurt when he says things like "she's just my friend" or bristles when his children ask if she will be their new mommy. He told you he didn't want them to know you were dating and then you're confused when he tells them you're not? I mean, it's obvious enough that a 4 year old figured out he cares about you, put two and two together Lucy! Anyway, unlike in many romance novels or movies when the couple is torn apart in a situation that seems irreparable (cheating, lies, anger etc), the problem in this book seemed like literally the easiest fix ever; accept that he just wants sex for now and will let you in eventually, you don't have time for any more than that right now anyway! So there was no real stress on my part, worried that this made-to-be relationship might not work out, and thus it was not that exciting.
I love that this book it written by a Canadian author and includes some French-Canadian content, but being from a francophone community in Manitoba, I couldn't stand the stereotypical french phrases Clarke included. Apparently JP does not speak french on a daily basis and doesn't have an accent, yet he randomly throws in the phrase "Sacre bleu" when he wakes up late. Then his mom comes to visit and he calls her Mama and Maman interchangeably, his son Christian speaks fluent french to his grandmother at 4 despite living across the country from her and not speaking french in the home, and his mother uses random phrases that also aren't very francophone. I know there is a big difference between Quebec french and Manitoba french but it still felt forced and overly stereotypical.
I also didn't love the weird relationship Lucy had with her grandfather. Yes, he died and you felt guilty that you didn't spend enough time with him before he lost his battle with Alzheimers and I get that he set a really good example for you about how men should behave but do you need to compare your boyfriend to him constantly? It's a little creepy.
Anyway, if you're a true romance fan, here is a quick, easy read that gives you a bit of what you need from each romance novel without the intense stress of being wrapped up in a fragile relationship doomed to die from day one. If you're not a romance fan I'd suggest steering clear - there's minimal substance, it is predictable and has weird stereotypical cliches. 3 stars from me!
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