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I wanted to read this book immediately after reading the synopsis, and I was honoured when the author, Justine Faeth, approached me and sent me an ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

The book synopsis is a very promising one. Lucia is having trouble finding a man. After a few disastrous dates, she chooses to follow her friend’s advice and tries Chat Love, an online dating service. As promising as the synopsis sounds, this book didn’t quite deliver. With Chat Love, I found the whole setting of the book unrealistic. There is a nice background story and a great idea, but it hasn’t been properly executed.

Lucia is an Italian lady. She is a city girl and a business woman. She is searching for love. See, Lucia is under pressure by her Italian family to get married. And I can completely understand that pressure, being born in a country where I have met people with similar beliefs. Lucia’s family thinks that a woman is made to be a mother, and not have a career. They think that if you are thirty and you haven’t got a boyfriend yet, you are useless and unworthy.

And I completely agree with Lucia when she tries to stand up to them and tell them how it’s important for her to find a man she will really love, not just marry in order to please her family. In some scenes though, it appears as if she hates her family, and has very bad attitude towards them. I understand completely where her frustration comes from.

But then, on the other hand, we have a Lucia that is being a hypocrite.

And while this whole book seems like she is searching for her true love, when someone appears and cares about her, she is acting as if she’s not interested. Woman, WHAT DO YOU WANT? She wants true love, and she doesn’t want to be used as a one-night stand, which is completely acceptable. But going on a date with a man for the first time, and telling him you want to get serious is creepy. Even if that is your long-term goal, you DO NOT say it on the first date. It scares people away. It makes people think you are a creep.

Also, given the fact that the synopsis promises an online app, this left me disappointed. During this book, we don’t get to really see a single chat happen through this app. Apart from a few letters from Jake. Honestly, I expected a back and forth conversations with men before a date happens. In the book, we get to see Lucia dating a lot of men. I didn’t stop to count them, but there must’ve been around twenty dates. And all these men had something wrong with them. But she never screwed up.

I will be honest with you now, and you people need to be honest with yourselves. In your life, you will meet people, and some people will make you giggle. Others might make you gag. But sometimes, the reason for a bad date is you. I am only trying to be honest here. I have screwed up a few dates myself, and you must have done the same thing too. That’s life though. We have to move on and try not to blame others for our mistakes. I wish this been represented in this book.

I really wish I loved this book.

I have mixed feelings, because despite all, this book did make me think and bring up discussions with people around the various topics, from family beliefs, to being creepy on first dates, to finding out what you really like. In a summary, as much as I didn’t enjoy it, I also am grateful for this book, for bringing out a lot of things to think about.

If you love chick-lit and short romance funny novels, you might enjoy it. If you think any of this discussion points is intriguing, you might enjoy it. I would love to have a chat and see what you think of this book.

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OK. Here's the deal-io. Someone reccomended this book to me. After seeing it on my TBR shelf, Faeth kindly sent me an ecopy. I very much appreciate all ARC's & DRC's that I receive. Always welcome. The downside of this is reviewing a book unfavorably, especially when an author has personally sent the book in question. I'm not a fan of writing negative reviews. I prefer to be fair and because I'm fair, I thought it best to stop reading this book. Here's why. I feel that in order to give a fair review one must be the correct target audience. I'm all wrong for this book. In my opinion, Chat Love should be read by a younger crowd, say early twenties to early thirties. It might be enjoyed by the single crowd, those experiencing the horrors of modern dating. I'm 46 and happily married to my best friend. Although I understand the plight of the characters, I can't relate so I think it best if I bow out now and leave the fun to the hip youngsters. It IS fun and does kinda have the Sex in the City vibe going for it. If that's your thing, you'll like Chat Love.

 

*DNF and therefore will not rate.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

This is my first book from this author. I did not read the previous book in the series so it just goes to show that this book can be read as a standalone.

Benoît is a pianist for club, Le Chat Rouge, which has just lost it's singer, Sera. Trying to find a replacement for her is a tideous process and it seems that Benoit is on the cusp of unemployeement. Then the club brings in Daniel, who seems to be a great replacement for Sera. The attraction between Daniel and Benoît is instanteous but both of a bit wary of starting anything. Daniel has his secrets and they have the power to make or break his relationship with Benoît if he allows it to.

I was intrigued for a portion of the story since Daniel came off as a very mysterious character. Readers were getting bits and pieces of his background slowly. I found myself committed to finding out what type of favor he owed to Royale(the club owner/gangster).

When I did find out I was a tad agitated at the idea of Daniel being grateful to Royale for pulling him out of his predicament. Royale blackmailing ("incentive to force him to do his dirty work") was truly disgusting and it made me want to smack Daniel for ever being grateful to Royale for helping him out of his hometown.

There was a part of me that was just a tiny bit disappointed that Daniel believed he couldn't kick his addiction for himself or even Benoît, whom he claims he loves. There wasn't even a feeling that he wanted to try after getting hooked again. I have to give the author props for depicting the hunger, pain, helplessness and desperation of an drug addict.

The ending was fine but I just wished that there had been an epilogue showing readers how the two were a few months after Daniel's stint with rehab. Overall, the story was a pleasant read and I will probably keep an eye on this authors future stories.

Chat Love was fun and funny. The book has a tale about online dating that is perfect for today. I must admit, Justine had me in one of the first scenes... imagine being in Lucia's shoes, on a blind date with what actually seems like a great guy, she lets herself get swept up and spends some lip-lock time. Now, fast forward to her trip home from the restaurant in a taxi; Lucia is on the phone with the friend who set her up on the blind date tonight and she turns to see her date Richard in the car next to her as they are both stopped at a red light. Imagine her disgust when he not only picks a winner, he eats it!! After all, she just had kissy-face with him. Never fear, Lucia meets her match, but the journey is the tale. Oh and it is a lovely tale to tell. You will enjoy meeting all her friends, family and co-workers. Dare we hope for more stories from this crowd?
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So... I had this two books now for some weeks on my "wishlist" before I finally gave in and bought them today. 

 

When I first noticed the books, or rather the covers, really, I knew, I had to get them. And I did. 

 

But fuck do I hope the praise for those two books isn´t out of tune.

 

Gritty and romantic, Moonlight and Love Songs will steal your heart, sell it for drugs, and leave you with a song. - Miranda Baker

 

Classic jazz tunes and French chansons provide the soundtrack to a story that hits you in the gut and in the heart. - Cathy Pegau

 

Never been to Paris myself, and only occasionally a jazz listener but I do love to read about Paris and Jazz, especially together, so this totally is my cuppa. Sure, no idea if I really, really, REALLY like those two books, but that does not matter in the strict sense. Just happy that I found those since the combination in itself is just marvelous, and I crave for stories set up in Paris where I imagine the darker side of life. And Jazz. Yes, Jazz is totally needed here. Some sort of 1950´s black/white art feeling and me happy. 

 

Sometimes life is that simple.