by Mel (link)
Genre het, romance
Pairings Zac/OFC
Length 18 chapters
Status Completed
From the very first chapter, its obvious what sort of story this is going to be. A girl’s point of view, a mention of Nora Roberts books — yup, this is going to be a romance. I have nothing against a bit of chick lit, if it’s well written and engaging. A laundry mat in Seattle is definitely a unique setting for a story, and it intrigued me enough to keep me scrolling. The first chapter was a little heavy on exposition, but as the story goes on, I found there was more below the surface that what little was revealed at first.
I’ll admit that I was a bit turned off by the way the main character, Peyton, talked about other people, especially other girls. She seemed to be really judgmental, particularly of a girl she considered slutty. The other character was never given enough development for me to decide whether or not there was more below her surface or not. I’m not a fan of cardboard cutouts in stories, but that’s what several of the minor characters here seemed to be. I know that not every character can be detailed and well-rounded, but it bothers me when they all seem to be bad/evil/whatever just in order to make the main character seem more likeable.
Still, a few of the characters — Peyton’s dad and Taylor, in particular — are allowed to develop and give the story a bit more depth. I appreciated that; it kept the story from being just a mindless piece of chick lit.
Coming in at only eighteen chapters, Lessons isn’t a long story by any means. But longer isn’t necessarily better. Most of the plot lines reach some sort of resolution by the end of the story and it ends on a high — and cute — note. If you’re looking for a fairly light, but enjoyable read, this is a good choice.
Review by Bethany (website)