Tall Stacks of Books: Book Review | Love's Inconvenient Truth by Love Belvin

What can Elle Jarreau, a seasoned woman with a skewed view on love, learn about the verity of fairy tales from a man nine years her junior? Apparently a thing or two.

“I don’t believe in fairy tales; only acquainted with reality. I understand there are people who are genetically damaged in the womb. Some of these people, like me, are destined to be alone. We’re too strong willed; our power too potent and can destroy all around if wielded.”

Jackson Q. Hunter isn’t your average 26 year old. Forced to be a man before his time by his well-connected, extremely resourceful, and very wealthy father, Jackson is especially conversant on commitment and crowning a woman.

“Fairy tales don’t always have to be a forsaken concept. Sometimes it’s a matter of viewing it from the right perspective. Sometimes you have to simply choose a more suitable illustrator. Even we haunted cynics can find liberation in the mendacity of fairy tales. Sounds like your demons would fit nicely in my haunted closet with the rest of my iniquities.”

As secrets are unveiled and nightmares illuminated, see what they learn about self-acceptance and self-forgiveness when they find redemption through their mirrored self-exiled darkness.

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I decided to give ‘Love’s Inconvenient Truth’ a try when I came across it on Amazon. I thought the blurb was interesting and the cover was nice. Have I mentioned how much of a cover snob I am? So anyway. Nice cover. Interesting blurb. Caught my attention. It started off decent and it went downhill from there.

I really disliked the heroine.

Ugh, she got on my last nerve! She was the worst! I don’t see how she ended up with her love interest at the end of the novel. Seriously.

I am the type of reader that has to finish a book even if I don't like it. If it’s really, really, really, really, really bad then I might make an exception. Other than that, I stick with it until the end. Which is why I kept reading Love’s Inconvenient Truth. I don’t know if she writes like this in all of her books but some of the lines were ridiculous! She used words in sentences that did NOT belong. It was annoying. But I looked past that. What I can’t get past is the main characters.

Elle was the worst! She entered into a sexual relationship with a younger man. A man she saw fit to ridicule all the time. I believe the word toddler was tossed around more than a few times. She ended up using his little sister as a way to worm her way into his home time after time. I couldn’t deal with her. She came across as desperate! She was horrible to him and to the people who were suppose to be her friends.

Jackson also had his moments as well. I started to dislike him as we got deeper into the book. He was written ridiculously. She tried too hard to make him that sophisticated guy with a hard edge. He barely paid any attention to his sister who was CLEARLY suffering. And I seriously don’t see what he saw in Elle. At all. After they had sex she would run away or kick him out of her house. At one point, she forced him to tell her something he was not comfortable telling her. I’m sure he would have eventually but he didn’t get the chance to because she stalked him to find out his secret!

Now, I do believe the characters could have had some redeeming qualities. I would have liked to have seen the character development which would have turned the story around for me. What we got instead was LOTS of sex scenes. I honestly don’t see how they fell in love with each other. All they did was have sex! I don’t mind sex scenes. But this was too much. I felt like every time I turned the page they were having sex. I found myself skipping over scenes after a while. Honestly, I would have liked to see those excessive sex scenes dedicated to him trying to repair his family and going to therapy. Or more of Elle and her mother trying to repair their relationship. That would have saved this book for me.

This book was not my cup of tea. It was my first book by Love Belvin and I am not sure I want to read anything else by her. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the plot. It was just not executed in the right way. Overall, I give the book 2 stars. While it was not my favorite book, it wasn’t the worst written. You can tell Love Belvin is talented but she used that thesaurus too much. And she tried too hard with her characters. The drama was over the top!

Maybe I will change my mind and try something else from her in the future. Who knows? I try not to judge because even my favorite authors have written books I haven't enjoyed but as of right now…. I’m good.

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If you are interested in reading other books by Love Belvin, check below…

In Covenant with Ezra

He’s an Oxonian, licensed therapist, and man of faith, preparing to take over the largest Pentecostal church in New York.

She’s an around-the-way girl from Harlem, struggling with three jobs and school to make ends meet for so many.

So, what could they possibly have in common? Find out how Ezra Carmichael and Lex Grier make a covenant, creating a sphere for both their worlds to harmonize.

Rayna Brimm, hailing from an inner-city in New Jersey, survives a series of betrayal and loss only to forge forward in self-preservation and obtain an education in North Carolina. After receiving her degree, vowing never return home, she finds herself in California where she tries to build a self-contained life. She made a personal declaration to get through life without further dependence on others in order to avoid yet another heartbreak. Only, fate said otherwise.

Enter Azmir Jacobs, a tall, dark, handsome and very wealthy man, who has street credibility and executive power in the corporate world. Azmir has money, power and beautiful women at his beck and call, BUT only one woman has caught his eye. The resilient Rayna Brimm, a woman whose dysfunctional upbringing contributes towards her tough skin, issues with trust and a deep-seated fear to love, turns out to be more than he bargained for when he discovered her in his boardroom presenting a leasing proposal.

Rayna isn’t the only one with a checkered past. Can Azmir conceal his convoluted life long enough to prove that he can provide Rayna the stable and reliable love that she clearly needs and deserves? Or will his lofty lifestyle and endless resources scare her away?