Friday, February 17, 2012

A Writer's Review of “A Tryst With Trouble" by Alyssa Everett


It has been a very very very long time since I've enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed Alyssa Everett's debut novel, A Tryst With Trouble

I know most of the books I read and review on here are from the Christian Publishing Market... but last week I was getting to the point of frustration at not being able to find a book WORTH reading. There are TONS of books out there--but I wanted to read something I would LOVE. This is the very reason I thought I didn't like to read until I accidentally stumbled upon Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca in my high school's lending library at the age of fifteen. Up until that day, I didn't know there were books out there which I would actually ENJOY reading! Well, anyway, on a regular basis I find myself searching high and low for my next captivating read... and more often than not, I become disappointed by only delving into so many "just good enough" novels.

So I turned to my NetGalley account... in hopes of finding something to abate this desire to be caught up in another world. And I'm so glad I did. Gathering that it wasn't an "inspirational" book, I did look it up on Goodreads first to see what was being said about it. Almost everyone who'd read and reviewed it already had it listed as a 5 star novel... "even though it didn't have a sex scene." Well, that last bit was what made me really want to read it. A secular novel getting 5 star reviews without having sex scenes littering the pages? Sounded like something I might like.    

A Tryst With Trouble was nearly perfect and had me bursting out with laughter at times. The author's voice and writing is exceptional... I could read it all day long without ever growing bored of it. Having a story written from the first person point of view of both the hero and heroine isn't something I see a lot of, but whenever I do see it, I love it.  

The ONLY thing that I would have changed about this book was one "rated R" scene (though I must add that it was NOT a sex scene, only... ALMOST one). And once I was through with the novel, I realized it was actually a fundamental part of the plot near the end. The hero and heroine both felt guilty for their actions afterwards, and both strived to do what was best for the other person. Overall it was a rather clean read if you love regency romance/suspense/humor. Even with that one quite racy scene (as well as a few others which were only borderline) I cannot help but give A Tryst With Trouble 5 stars.

I read this as an advance reader ebook from NetGalley and hardly saw a thing wrong with it. And that says a lot since I'm a fellow writer, exceptionally tough critic, and an editor (of words, story and plot) at heart. I already have A Tryst With Trouble pre-ordered at Barnes and Noble because I know this is going to be one of those books I will always be able to turn to when I can find nothing else worth reading. 

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Unfortunately, Dorchester Publishing went out of business before this book could be published. The author was able to get the rights back and her new publisher will be releasing it September of 2013. 

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