3 out of 4 stars
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Randy Love … at your service by Shay Carter is a clever little coming of age novel that tells the story of Randy Love as he navigates life as a young man in England. Randy is intelligent, but he is also completely oblivious to the fact that the rest of the world does not exist solely to serve him and his needs. His social ineptitude is on display as we experience this self-entitled man-child’s approach to his job, living arrangements, immediate family, and toward women. Randy Love … at your service is sort of a romance – if you take the perspective that romance is messy, unpredictable, and funny.
The characters were my favorite part of this book. They were each fully developed and had their own quirky personalities. They were also well-placed in the story, allowing for their influence or interaction with Randy to be significantly timed. Randy is very likable although, at times, he was so self-involved it was frustrating. Combine that with his charming naivety and I couldn’t help but root for him. The author did an excellent job of making him relatable and that made the story.
The book is set in England and is filled with British humor, slang, and references. I thought the glossary of English terms at the end of the book was a clever add. The author clearly has a thorough understanding of the local jargon and has a hysterical slant on how to convey that to the reader. Make no mistake, the words make sense within the context of the book, the reference at the back seems to be there to drive the point home.
We do find Randy in sexual situations, some quite salacious. I found these to be appropriate within the story, but the escapades do go in a direction that might be too much for some readers. Additionally, there are places where Randy is quite disrespectful toward women. I do feel the women in the story get their due, but if this is something that upsets you or you aren’t able to laugh at, you may want to skip this book.
The story was well written and a relatively quick read. It was a pleasant story and a nice break from some of the ‘heavier’ novels I’ve read recently, but it wasn’t necessarily a page-turner. There were a few typos however beyond that, the book was well edited. All of that taken into consideration, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
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Randy Love...at your service
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