I usually don’t “do” spoilers and this is actually not a review – this is the email that I send the author to explain my rating therfore it contains spoilers so do not read further if you would like to avoid those

Knowing how hard it is to place your debut “baby” out there it is double bad to get the first rating that is not good.

Thing is reviews need to be respectful BUT honest otherwise they do not help in any way

I liked the storyline really but I feel it needs editing. There are the issues I mentioned and while I read on (and finished) there were a few others that I did not list because at that time I already felt that the story needed someone to have a look at it. I rarely do Beta reading because English is only my second language and hesitate to correct grammar when I can hardly follow the rules myself.

What I do is automatically check the consistency of stories … it’s like a curse like an OCD I can not stop it.

Don’t feel bad if several people read the story and did not find the issues … I think its impossible to have one person do both at the same time – check grammar and consistency.
Also if people close to you read the story they will never be as critical as strangers no matter how hard they try – only strangers can do that
And the author is also not able to check because when you are the source of the story everything makes sense.

The consistency issues are one thing but why I honestly can not give the book the 4/5 stars that the storyline should have received is another problem. This book is designed as a romance and it starts out great and mysterious but then the romance gets lost in tiny details that are repeated several times (like the way the breakfast sandwich is prepared – just one example). The spark is taken out of the plot to early (he knows where she lives – he could have simply dropped the phone number at any given time in her mailbox) and the characters seem to be sidelined around their issues (at times they almost forget about each other I could not feel the yearning), after their first meeting where they really had something in the storyline going for them THEIR story is lost … People pop up throwing things into the plot just to disappear again leaving me as a reader wondering about the meaning – her boss – the tailor … there were just too many things around their romance that left me wondering …. other issues were left open or disappeared into thin air (he could not contact her – even given her his number for months and then suddenly it was just a mistake that he kind of misunderstood the contract he requested himself) – at the end I wondered where the romance went because the spark I felt, in the beginning, was not there anymore #sigh

Really it might be just me and my curse to always think too deep when I go into a book but I need things to make sense no matter if a story is contemporary or even paranormal – my “curse” demands that.
I checked last night after I finished what other readers thought so far – ( I try to avoid doing that before I write my review so I am not influenced) – so far the readers were generous. Are they avoiding to be the first ones to give a bad rating ? not sure. Am I to critical ? Maybe

But one thing is sure – I will not be the only one noticing things and now there is still time to consider combing the story with some very critical beta readers.

So – this email is basically my review that I will hide on Goodreads as I usually don’t post spoilers but when I started reviewing – much like Mason made his contract – I made my review rules so I do not waver when it gets hard/difficult and when I take a look at them I have no other choice and I hope you can forgive me for only leaving two stars with the story as it is .