Title: The Good Soldier
Author: Jill Robi
Published by:CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Publication date: Jan 15th, 2016
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 289
Format: eBook
Source: Jill Robi
I was given this book a fair few years ago by author Jill Robi herself, after reading and reviewing Fangirl – another of her books that I rather enjoyed – so it only feels right that I leave my thoughts about The Good Soldier here too. Firstly, an apology that it took me so long to get round to reading and secondly my regrets that I didn’t pick it up sooner.
Books like this are something of a guilty pleasure for me; a slow burn romance between two unlikely heroes. Reese Alexander, a young woman struggling to come to terms with who and what she is and Nic Sloane a high-flyer in shady businesses trying to do right by his family (both blood relatives and ‘adoptive’) both of which are captivating characters which a to read and learn about throughout their stories. I personally find that this is a really strong skill that Jill Robi has; character study. You get a real sense of who these characters are, what drives and motivates them as well as the depths of their background which is paced as well as the blossoming romance. It’s refreshing to come across an author that doesn’t bombard and overload the reader in an information dump of character development. It makes the book a real page turner, making the reader eager to learn more about the pivotal characters lives (past and present) and to find out what is going to happen with them as individuals as well as were their relationships are heading.
Reese Alexander meets Nic Sloane under the prospects of using her unique talents as a means of work – she is the stuff of heroes and just what he needs in order to keep his family safe. At first, I was very wary of the male lead, Nic and his less than honorable intentions for Reese but as the book progresses I found myself more attached to him and his vulnerabilities than I was to Reese and hers, which isn’t a mar on Reese at all, as I really like her as a strong female lead. She is a very real character and very relateable. She is sympathetically written and her personal goals are really rather endearing, giving her a very human feel.
I’ve seen in other reviews of this book that it reads like the pilot episode of a TV series and I find myself in agreement with this. It feels like were just scratching the surface of something that could be much bigger. There is enough left out of the world building for further exploration should a follow-up be on the cards – I have my fingers crossed.
There are some tried and tested tropes in the book – rags to riches, abusive parents, attempted rape, Mama didn’t raise no criminal, are a few that I can drum up, but they’re few and far enough between that isn’t not a problem and actually adds to the characterization of the cast rather than detracts from it, but I can imagine that some may find these a little cliche and off-putting. Personally I find that they help flesh out the characters in a realistic manner and create a good driving force for the story – I’d love to find out more about some of the supporting characters too, Dr. Calvin being a strong candidate.
I am not one to find fault in someones writing, but I do feel that the book could have done with a little further editing as there are a couple of times I found words a little awkward and a couple of misspellings – Nic was once written as Nick, but this may have been because I was given an earlier edit of the book. I’m not sure? These can be overlooked and aren’t often enough to distract from an otherwise magical book
I admit, I am fast becoming a fan of Jill Robi and her writing and am eager to find some more of her novels to see if they stand up compared to this fantastic story.
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