A Minor Happy Ending
New Adult/Contemporary Romance
Released: March 26, 2016
Self Published
Reviewed by Sheena

Recent high school graduate and free spirit, Dyllan Prescott is planning on a summer full of fun with friends and her boyfriend, Nick who happens to be her best friends brother. Nick is the epitome of the typical nice guy. Kind, caring, but he becomes too attached, too quickly for Dyllan. Her boyfriend shelf life doesn’t usually last too long, but she is trying extra hard not to disappoint her best friend, Max. She begins to navigate through her new relationship with blinders on. All is well until Dyllan’s personal wet dream, Jace Harvey enters the picture. The chemistry between Jace and Dyllan is undeniable. When Jace confesses his feelings, Dyllan is conflicted with her loyalty for her friends as well as her attraction for Jace. Jace Harvey is a man with a complicated past and has never really known love. He can’t resist her. He’s sure that she’s made to be his. If Dyllan can make up her mind about her feelings for Jace, will she be prepared when Jace has a dilemma of his own? Can she live with his secret or will she be forced to make a decision neither of them are prepared for? A story of young love, bad choices and obsession. Can young love survive when lies threaten to tear it apart? Will Dyllan find her happy ending or will she have to settle for A Minor one?

So the blurb is kind of loaded.  I was thrilled that the whole, “best friend’s brother” angle was all but a non-issue.  *whew!* The actual story is a flash back retelling of a tumultuous love affair.  Right off, Dyllan is actually telling her daughter her road to her own HEA when she overhears her knock down- drag out fight with her young love.  The mood and temperament of this novel did not really sit well with me.  It was sad and moody in an unappealing, melancholy kind of way.  Slow in pace the plot kind of meanders about not really inviting me to stick around.  Ultimately, I just had trouble…caring.  I understand Dyllan was a “cool mom” and her daughter probably could tell her anything and vice versa- but it was kind of odd how detailed Dyllan would get regarding her sex life.   At one point I just gave up and decided that some parts were for readers eyes only, if you know what I mean. heh.

Besides the freaky mother-daughter TMI business, A Minor Happy Ending was too over the top angst for its own good and I have a high threshold for even the most far-fetched and angst riddled stories.  In a nutshell, there were too many competing issues that distracted me from being able to wholly appreciate the novel.  The characters were young and dumb and wildly immature.  And not in an amusing way.  Jace is a numbskull who made ridiculous and unnecessary choices.  Dyllan was almost too naive to function.  There is a ton of sex but gone are the days where you can just string smut together, mix in some tears and romantic affirmations and call it a romance novel.  These characters were barely 18 years young, and skewed even younger than that.  I am partial to young, strong, SMART heroines.  Dyllan was like a middle school adolescent who is ruled by sex.  Jace was a definite bad boy- and I like bad boys- I mean, cheers to the douche bags and all that- and when alpha asses are redeemed. Scooorreee!    But- totally not the case with Jase.  He has a secret. An incredibly bonehead secret- and ultimately goes to prison as a result of his actions.  There is not real redemption, though we eventually see that he obviously got out and made a decent life for himself.  The crux of the novel is Dyllan bonding with her equally immature besties, falling in love with Jace while hounding him about his secret.

Despite its slow and sad feel, there was an aspect of the novel I could appreciate and that is the unexpected spots of humor. I didn’t get any romantic feel (characters too ridiculous to grow attached in any capacity) I did crack a series of smiles and giggles from time to time.

I didn’t want to leave him, but I could just imagine his parents coming home tomorrow and catching us in his bed….”Well hello Mr. and Mrs. Harvey, your son just gave me about five orgasms and I worship the ground he walks on!” Hmm didn’t quite think that would’ve worked out well. I chucked and Jace pushed me away to look in my eyes curiously and said, “What?”  He smiled…”Not going to tell me hunh?” His hands found my ribs and tickled.  He was relentless with his hands that tortured me in both good and bad ways. I wiggled on his lap goggling and then it happened.

MY JAW DROPPED OPEN.

I farted!

Oh my God! I could not believe I did that!  He stopped abruptly and had this incredulous look on his face.  I felt my face heat up…I was stunned, I was speechless.  I had nothing! No quick witted comment, no clever quip…

He stared at me for a few more seconds that felt like a lifetime…he kept tickling me!

Is he repulsed by me now?

Ugh…his ears were turning red. Oh my God was he holding his breath? I couldn’t even smell anything.

I must say despite the rampant immaturity, this was one of the few and far in-between instances where I connected with Dyllan’s mania.  I too would be a crazy mix of mortified and hysterical after letting one rip in my new lovers arms.

I get the impression that this stand alone novel may be the first its series.  I would not read a book two, part 2 or anything else that followed these characters or any others from this novel.  It was just too impossible to reconcile the juvenile feel of it all.  The petty fights, poor decision making and over all (insert scrunched up face emoji here) of it all just did not resonate with me.  It only survived being a DNF because of random, well placed scenes scattered throughout that made A Minor Happy Ending feel like the little romance novel that could.  I am curious what author, Shaan Ranae, would do with a decidedly adult romance novel that was not written as a flash back to a childish love affair. Now that, I would give a chance to see if trying to write within this troupe trap is what did this novel in.  Perhaps one day I’ll see.

Grade: C-

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