Shortish Near Meta Romance. This is one of those books where the author packs so much real-world stuff that directly applies to themselves in the novel that you almost can’t tell where the novel ends and the author begins. Specifically as it relates to insider knowledge of how things actually work within the industry moreso than with any particular plot line within this tale, to be sure. The romance itself here *does* go from enemies to lovers rather abruptly, so if you’re looking for a lot of angst or drama in that transition… let’s just say that Marsh didn’t have a lot of room within this page count for a lot of drama *both* at this point *and* in the standard “final conflict” of romance novels, so clearly an editorial decision was made here. Clearly, Marsh thinks it works well and honestly, so do I. But I’ve never been overly picky with my romance tales – they’re fun escapism for a few hours, nothing more serious than that. But *that* – fun escapism for a few short hours – is *exactly* what this tale ultimately is. And I’m very intrigued to see where Book 2 goes after this book not exactly being an obvious series starter. Very much recommended.
This review of Did Not Finish by Nicola Marsh was originally written on September 27, 2022.
