Review by kjd1783 -- First Love by Momi Robins
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kjd1783
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Review by kjd1783 -- First Love by Momi Robins
[Following is a volunteer review of "First Love" by Momi Robins.]
What’s a girl to do when she’s stuck in Hawaii traffic? Reminisce about her life. That’s what Paige finds herself doing after a trip to the salon to freeze fat cells. From her parents’ abusive relationship to her struggle to be a good wife to her husband Jason despite frequent thoughts of her best friend Lance, Paige relives the moments that helped her trust in God and brought her to where she is today. When the traffic is gone, Paige has an epiphany. She has to write her story so that others know they are not alone in their struggle to accept God’s love and guidance. After reading Momi Robins-Makaila’s novel First Love: The Love of a Good Woman, I rate this book two out of four stars.
I like the frame story narrative Robins-Makaila used to tell Paige’s story. It made it easy to see how Paige has changed from the past to the present, and I could better appreciate the character growth she went through to be the person she is when we are first introduced to her. I also felt Robins-Makaila did an excellent job portraying Paige’s frustrations. Whenever Paige was upset--when she got mad at her mother for not standing up to her father, for example--I could feel how angry and hurt she was.
Three things made it hard for me to enjoy the story, however. My first issue is the dialogue. The conversations the characters have don’t sound believable. It felt like the characters were reading from a teleprompter instead of saying what they actually wanted to say. My second issue is the point of view shifts that would happen during the flashbacks. Since Paige is the one remembering these moments in her life, to suddenly hear what other characters were thinking and feeling during this time was jarring.
The love triangle is my third issue. The initial conflict between Lance and Jason is anticlimactic. When Lance catches Jason and Paige making out during a hotel party, the two men hardly address each other; Lance focuses solely on Paige, and Jason only talks after the conflict is mostly settled. Given that both men are supposed to be passionately in love with Paige, the calm and almost nonexistent interaction between the two in this situation was unsatisfying. I also found Paige’s love for Jason unconvincing. As the story progresses, Paige seems to find it in her heart to love Jason, but it came across as though she felt obligated to love him. Whenever Paige thinks of Lance, she quickly reminds herself of how good Jason has been to her. She tells herself she has to love him as he loves her. It was clear she appreciates him, but I wasn’t entirely convinced she was truly happy to be with Jason.
The story does not seem to be professionally edited. While I frequently came across missing dialogue tags and other issues, they only played a small part in my rating. Despite my problems with the story, anyone who enjoys stories of people having strength through God, and their journey to find that strength might find it enjoyable.
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First Love
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
What’s a girl to do when she’s stuck in Hawaii traffic? Reminisce about her life. That’s what Paige finds herself doing after a trip to the salon to freeze fat cells. From her parents’ abusive relationship to her struggle to be a good wife to her husband Jason despite frequent thoughts of her best friend Lance, Paige relives the moments that helped her trust in God and brought her to where she is today. When the traffic is gone, Paige has an epiphany. She has to write her story so that others know they are not alone in their struggle to accept God’s love and guidance. After reading Momi Robins-Makaila’s novel First Love: The Love of a Good Woman, I rate this book two out of four stars.
I like the frame story narrative Robins-Makaila used to tell Paige’s story. It made it easy to see how Paige has changed from the past to the present, and I could better appreciate the character growth she went through to be the person she is when we are first introduced to her. I also felt Robins-Makaila did an excellent job portraying Paige’s frustrations. Whenever Paige was upset--when she got mad at her mother for not standing up to her father, for example--I could feel how angry and hurt she was.
Three things made it hard for me to enjoy the story, however. My first issue is the dialogue. The conversations the characters have don’t sound believable. It felt like the characters were reading from a teleprompter instead of saying what they actually wanted to say. My second issue is the point of view shifts that would happen during the flashbacks. Since Paige is the one remembering these moments in her life, to suddenly hear what other characters were thinking and feeling during this time was jarring.
The love triangle is my third issue. The initial conflict between Lance and Jason is anticlimactic. When Lance catches Jason and Paige making out during a hotel party, the two men hardly address each other; Lance focuses solely on Paige, and Jason only talks after the conflict is mostly settled. Given that both men are supposed to be passionately in love with Paige, the calm and almost nonexistent interaction between the two in this situation was unsatisfying. I also found Paige’s love for Jason unconvincing. As the story progresses, Paige seems to find it in her heart to love Jason, but it came across as though she felt obligated to love him. Whenever Paige thinks of Lance, she quickly reminds herself of how good Jason has been to her. She tells herself she has to love him as he loves her. It was clear she appreciates him, but I wasn’t entirely convinced she was truly happy to be with Jason.
The story does not seem to be professionally edited. While I frequently came across missing dialogue tags and other issues, they only played a small part in my rating. Despite my problems with the story, anyone who enjoys stories of people having strength through God, and their journey to find that strength might find it enjoyable.
******
First Love
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Duplicity by Fin C Gray
