Bitten by Books
This installment in the Cougar Club series finds forty-five year old Felicia, at the insistence of her good friend, Sis, joining friends of similar ages at a club with male exotic dancers. While there, Felicia meets Bris, a man eighteen years younger, who makes clear his interest in her. Somewhat flustered and not sure how to handle her own reaction to the younger man, Felicia ends up going out with an acquaintance ten years her senior, Dave. While at dinner, Bris appears, and Felicia chokes in reaction. When Dave discovers that Felicia considers going out with the younger man, he gets angry, and makes trouble for both Bris and Felicia. Aside from attempting to come to terms with her feelings for Bris, Felicia must also deal with several disturbing events.
Cheever does a very nice job of portraying the difficulties that may be faced by the older woman/younger man relationship, which means the typical romance trope of obstacles keeping a couple apart, usually brought on by the characters themselves, has a believable explanation. The attraction and emotions experienced by the two leads proves palpable, causing the reader to root for them from the very beginning. Aside from Felicia and Bris, there are several other well-developed secondary characters that add humor and spice to the tale.
This story works well within the shorter framework of a novella, and the author skillfully maintains the suspense, keeping one guessing until the very end regarding multiple plot threads. Two criticisms may be leveled against an otherwise enjoyable read. First, Bris’ job as an exotic dancer seems a bit of cliché. Though it may serve to reinforce to the reader his “hotness” factor, it detracts a bit from the portrayal of a man who wishes to be taken seriously-a point that could have been effectively made if Bris had some other occupation. Second, why does the librarian have to be a pudgy brunette? If the author wishes to depict a character breaking out of the mold, using a timeworn stereotype, even if used for a minor player, does not fit with the overall intent of the piece.
All in all, this story of a mature woman seeking to find love in spite of societal judgments and double standards will please romance fans, and will have this reviewer keeping an eye out for other works by the author.
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Summary : Cheever does a very nice job of portraying the difficulties that may be faced by the older woman/younger man relationship, which means the typical romance trope of obstacles keeping a couple apart, usually brought on by the characters themselves, has a believable explanation. The attraction and emotions experienced by the two leads proves palpable, causing the reader to root for them from the very beginning. Aside from Felicia and Bris, there are several other well-developed secondary characters that add humor and spice to the tale.
