Sold!

Sold:! J.L. Campbell. 2016. 161 pages. The Writers’ Suite. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.]

I was drawn to this book more because of a profile about its author than the plot itself. I wanted to check out J.L. Campbell, and the description for Sold! seemed appealing as an entry into her works.  This isn’t a bad book by any means, but it isn’t something I feel is a necessary read.

Sold! features Feechi, a single mom whose sense of self-reliance tends to keep the opposite sex at bay.  Carsten is a wealthy businessman who sees something special in Feechi, both as a business partner and as a life partner.  The majority of this book centers on Carsten’s attempts to court her, even while trying to keep his independence.  He comes across as a guarded and toes the line of arrogant. In reality, he’s very focused and doesn’t mince words.  He’s an interesting foil for Feechi because is fairly observant and intuitive regarding her hand-ups.

Feechi, on the other hand, is cautious to a fault, and gets in the way of her own happiness on several occasions. She’s been hurt in the past, and her inability to get past that affects nearly every aspect of her life. She’s extremely distrustful of men, and is incredibly overbearing with her son and dog that was dropped on her doorstep. She comes across as high-strung, though Carsten does help her let loose.

Overall, I found Sold!  to be a slow read, which is disappointing because it’s a rather short book.  Whenever I picked it up, I could only get into it for a few minutes before putting it down. The writing isn’t bad, and the plot has potential; it just doesn’t have anything that compelled me to keep reading.  I did, however, appreciate how Campbell made the book’s setting almost as integral as the main characters.  I enjoyed reading about cities that weren’t the same tourist attractions, and felt she highlighted the beauty and offerings of the country in an authentic way.

Although I’m not wowed by Sold!, I am planning to check out at least one more of Campbell’s books. Perhaps this selection is simply a fluke, and others will more closely match the strong reviews I’ve seen for her.