Forever Material by Athena Grayson
Publisher: self-published
Genre: Romance
Sub-genre: Contemporary
Rating: 4 pints of blood
The cover is a good example of giving you exactly what you expect. This is a light-hearted contemporary romance, and the cover looks like... a light-hearted contemporary romance. The cartoonish characters are cute and we have no horribly eye-searing colours. It's cute, it's appealing, and it doesn't make any promises it can't keep. I give it my seal of approval.
Full disclaimer: Athena Grayson is a friend of mine, and I read and offered criticism on an earlier draft of this story. Yes, I'm the Anna in the acknowledgements. I debated for a long time as to whether or not I should review Forever Material, and eventually (obviously) came to the conclusion I should just go for it. Consider yourself warned as to any possible biases.
After one too many heartbreaks, Barbara has decided to put her painful lessons to use and share her knowledge about how to stop dating the wrong man and what to look for in the right man, putting together some very popular seminars. She teaches the difference between Fling Material and Forever Material, and how both types of men have their place, but never to settle for a Fling when what you want is forever.
Of course, right next door, running the local karate studio, is a prime example of Fling Material. Jake wears leather, rides a motorcycle, and has never been seen with the same girl more than three times. Of course he gets Barbara's pulse racing --she's never denied her attraction to bad boys-- but she's looking for something long-term, not another notch on the bedpost.
Jake resents being compartmentalized so neatly, although privately he has to admit Barbara's not wrong about his intentions. He is deeper than her simple categories, though, and he challenges her to prove her seminar material applies to him. Soon, the two of them have made a bet over whether or not Barbara's workshops are right. For Jake to prove he's more than just Fling Material, though, he'll have to see if he can make Barbara fall in love with him. Both of them have decided there's no more than a fling between them... but will either of them be willing to let go when the time comes?
Forever Material is a quick read, just under 50 000 words, but for such a light read, there's actually quite a lot packed in there. It's also solidly put together, something you can read in an afternoon but can then later reflect on it without having to keep your brain turned off.
Barbara's workshops about dating had some great material in there, realistically presented, and I found myself wishing she'd come around to my town so I could send a friend or two in her direction. Boiled down to its essence, Barbara tells women that it's ok to have a fling, and it's ok to want forever, but they're not going to happen with the same man, and that's where the heartbreak comes in. She maintains that while a man can change from one category to the other, he's not going to do it for the sake of a woman; he has to make that change himself, and expecting forever from a man who's only interested in a fling will end disastrously for everyone. I loved that her material was so practical, that she wasn't relegated to trying to warn women of the evils of men or insisting everyone need to save themselves for Mr Right. As a character, Barbara was very likeable, a woman desperately trying to navigate the world by placing everything in neat categories and discovering all the shades of gray that fall between black and white.
For his part, Jake is a pretty complex person, which is why he dislikes being compartmentalized so neatly. He doesn't want to be dismissed as being good for nothing but a fling, although he doesn't have commitment on the brain right now. He's quite busy enough running his karate school and dealing with troubled family members. He can at times be chauvinistic, but someone (usually Barbara) always calls him on it.
One of the themes that fascinated me most was that of family, loyalty, and commitment. Barbara tells people that when a man can commit to things outside of a relationship, it's a good sign in the love department. A man who takes care of parents and siblings will carry that devotion into a relationship. Naturally, Jake spends a considerable amount of time cleaning up after his extended family, but the interesting part is that in spite of her opinions about families and loyalty, Barbara has cut herself off from her own family. I'm sure there are readers who will see this as a hideous double standard, but I actually really liked it. From what Barbara said about her family, it sounded like she'd removed herself from a toxic situation, letting the book (and hopefully the reader) take into account that while family is important, loyalty should only ever go so far.
So while it might sound contradictory, Forever Material is a light, fun read, and more than occasionally funny, but it's also got a lot of depth to it, and some ideas worth pondering long after the book has been set down.
Forever Material is available as an e-book through Smashwords or at the Amazon Kindle store
. My copy was generously provided by the author.
Genre: Romance
Sub-genre: Contemporary
Rating: 4 pints of blood
The cover is a good example of giving you exactly what you expect. This is a light-hearted contemporary romance, and the cover looks like... a light-hearted contemporary romance. The cartoonish characters are cute and we have no horribly eye-searing colours. It's cute, it's appealing, and it doesn't make any promises it can't keep. I give it my seal of approval.
Full disclaimer: Athena Grayson is a friend of mine, and I read and offered criticism on an earlier draft of this story. Yes, I'm the Anna in the acknowledgements. I debated for a long time as to whether or not I should review Forever Material, and eventually (obviously) came to the conclusion I should just go for it. Consider yourself warned as to any possible biases.
After one too many heartbreaks, Barbara has decided to put her painful lessons to use and share her knowledge about how to stop dating the wrong man and what to look for in the right man, putting together some very popular seminars. She teaches the difference between Fling Material and Forever Material, and how both types of men have their place, but never to settle for a Fling when what you want is forever.
Of course, right next door, running the local karate studio, is a prime example of Fling Material. Jake wears leather, rides a motorcycle, and has never been seen with the same girl more than three times. Of course he gets Barbara's pulse racing --she's never denied her attraction to bad boys-- but she's looking for something long-term, not another notch on the bedpost.
Jake resents being compartmentalized so neatly, although privately he has to admit Barbara's not wrong about his intentions. He is deeper than her simple categories, though, and he challenges her to prove her seminar material applies to him. Soon, the two of them have made a bet over whether or not Barbara's workshops are right. For Jake to prove he's more than just Fling Material, though, he'll have to see if he can make Barbara fall in love with him. Both of them have decided there's no more than a fling between them... but will either of them be willing to let go when the time comes?
Forever Material is a quick read, just under 50 000 words, but for such a light read, there's actually quite a lot packed in there. It's also solidly put together, something you can read in an afternoon but can then later reflect on it without having to keep your brain turned off.
Barbara's workshops about dating had some great material in there, realistically presented, and I found myself wishing she'd come around to my town so I could send a friend or two in her direction. Boiled down to its essence, Barbara tells women that it's ok to have a fling, and it's ok to want forever, but they're not going to happen with the same man, and that's where the heartbreak comes in. She maintains that while a man can change from one category to the other, he's not going to do it for the sake of a woman; he has to make that change himself, and expecting forever from a man who's only interested in a fling will end disastrously for everyone. I loved that her material was so practical, that she wasn't relegated to trying to warn women of the evils of men or insisting everyone need to save themselves for Mr Right. As a character, Barbara was very likeable, a woman desperately trying to navigate the world by placing everything in neat categories and discovering all the shades of gray that fall between black and white.
For his part, Jake is a pretty complex person, which is why he dislikes being compartmentalized so neatly. He doesn't want to be dismissed as being good for nothing but a fling, although he doesn't have commitment on the brain right now. He's quite busy enough running his karate school and dealing with troubled family members. He can at times be chauvinistic, but someone (usually Barbara) always calls him on it.
One of the themes that fascinated me most was that of family, loyalty, and commitment. Barbara tells people that when a man can commit to things outside of a relationship, it's a good sign in the love department. A man who takes care of parents and siblings will carry that devotion into a relationship. Naturally, Jake spends a considerable amount of time cleaning up after his extended family, but the interesting part is that in spite of her opinions about families and loyalty, Barbara has cut herself off from her own family. I'm sure there are readers who will see this as a hideous double standard, but I actually really liked it. From what Barbara said about her family, it sounded like she'd removed herself from a toxic situation, letting the book (and hopefully the reader) take into account that while family is important, loyalty should only ever go so far.
So while it might sound contradictory, Forever Material is a light, fun read, and more than occasionally funny, but it's also got a lot of depth to it, and some ideas worth pondering long after the book has been set down.
Forever Material is available as an e-book through Smashwords or at the Amazon Kindle store
. My copy was generously provided by the author.