Review: The Happy List by Briar Prescott
SYNOPSIS:
Gray
There are some things I excel at:
– Exercising rigid control over every aspect of my life
– Making sensible decisions at every turn
– Being organized, predictable and responsible to an abnormal degree
In short, I’m boring as hell and in desperate need of a change.
Luckily I have my best friend by my side and a newly written to-do list to guide my way through the murky waters of finding happiness.
It’s all very promising at first, but as weeks pass, I start to realize that the best part of my day has always been Kai.
And when I see him out on a date with some guy?
Let’s just say I’m definitely not happy about it.
Kai
I’m back in Boston after ten years of traveling, and I’ve fulfilled all my goals:
– See the world
– Figure out what to do with my life
– Get over my impossible crush on Gray
Check, check and check.
Life’s good until I accidentally find Gray’s happy list, which contains some very interesting things that friends never ever do with each other.
And as weeks pass, it becomes clear those not-so-innocent parts are the ones Gray is determined to explore with me.
In short, I’m screwed because no matter how hard I try, I can’t resist him, and pretty soon I’m forced to admit that I’m not as done with my crush as I thought I was…
REVIEW:
This book has left me with a lot of mixed feelings. I found this in one of the reader groups I belong to and thought the cover/synopsis were too good. Turns out they were too good to be true because this book was slow and then quickly went from zero to 100.
So the first 60 percent of the novel was painful. I almost DNF-ed it because I was bored. There wasn’t really a whole lot going on in terms of plot development. From the synopsis you get that Kai is pining for Gray and Gray is oblivious to these feelings. Well that is pretty much the first half of the book. We learn about how Gray and Kai have been best friends for most their lives. We find out about both of their families and that is the extent of it. There was really nothing substantial to gain and I found myself skimming pages for dialogue because the narrative was becoming monotonous.
But around 60 some-percent, life is injected into the story. Things actually start to progress with Gray and Kai. The last third of the story flowed and progressed nicely. There was actually a story line to carry the book. Gray and Kai start to explore being more than friends. Kai starts to come into his own in terms of figuring out his life and Gray starts his own journey of self-discovery.
At this point though, it all start to feel like too little too late. The characters were likable and realistic but their wasn’t any a whole lot of substance to the story. I definitely think the book would benefit from more banter and less descriptions. Otherwise, I found myself thinking more than once throughout the story how I was bored.
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