The Naked Fisherman by Jewel E. Ann
Romantic Comedy
9/30/2021
Review by Jen
The Naked Fisherman by Jewel E. Ann was the first book I have stayed up all night reading in a very long time. I tried to put it down around 1am and then powered through till 3:30am to finish it. I LOVED this duet!!!
Reese is eighteen years old. She’s had some tough times. Her mom went to prison for growing marijuana, her parents divorced, her mom was locked up for five years, her dad died and she spent several years living with her bible loving grandparents. The story begins post high school graduation. Reese has decided to take some time to visit her mom who recently got out of prison and lives in another state.
Reese’s mom rents a basement apartment from Fisher Man (get it?). Fisher is 28 years old, single, gorgeous, funny and owns a construction business. He’s lived in the area his entire life and is very close to his family. When Reese first meets Fisher, he’s just taken a shower and is in a towel. Quite the first impression! She’s very innocent but smart, sheltered but curious. Reese went to a strict Christian school and has a lot of ideas about sin, who is a sinner, premarital sex, drinking, drugs, etc…
Reese spends her summer working for Fisher, doing odd jobs at his company and figuring herself out. One thing she knows is that she loves words and making crossword puzzles. Reese and Fisher get close. They both try to fight it, because, really…eighteen and 28 is a BIG difference. The attraction is huge and Reese is a virgin. Fisher doesn’t want the responsibility of taking her virginity or a big relationship. Reese is conflicted. Her heart wants him, but she struggles with her religious upbringing. They fool around, get close, pull back, fall in love. Their banter is cute, funny and I enjoyed their growing relationship. Fisher is sarcastic, sexy and guess what… he’s into crossword puzzles and words, too! He hides that side from everyone, but shared it with Reese. He’s a bit of a word nerd. Just like Reese. The book ends on a cliffhanger! However book two, The Lost Fisherman, is out now. There’s a reason for Fisher being “lost” and it’s a terrific angsty twisty tale.
Throughout most of both books, Reese’s mom doesn’t know about her romance with Fisher. They hide it, which eventually blows up in their faces. I like age gap romances. With that said, eighteen is so young! My own daughter is eighteen and I would most certainly throw a fit if she brought home a 28 year old man.
I was able to put that thought aside and fall in love with this story. I liked how the author handled their ages and how they were in such difference places in life. Reese needed to grow up, figure out her calling, what she wanted to be and sort through her beliefs. Fisher needed her to do that, too. Just being in love wasn’t enough. Grab these books, you won’t regret it.
Grade A+
I’ve liked a number of Jewel E. Ann’s books—especially the TRANSCEND/EPOCH/FORTUITY trilogy and FOR LUCY (which can be very hard to read, cw/tw: death of a child)—but that age-gap is a hard one to get over, especially when the heroine has just become a legal adult. (It’s weird—I read tons of dark romance with heroines who have just turned 18 and are partnered with heroes of at least a decade older and it’s like nbd to me, but when the book is grounded in something a little more like “real life,” the age-gap becomes troubling to me. I have three daughters, all of whom are now in their twenties, but I certainly would not have been happy with them dating a man that much older when they were 18.) On the other hand, both of the Fisherman books are on Kindle Unlimited, so I can at least check out the first book and see how I like it.
I agree- it bothers me, too.
I think school settings are great environments for conflict, character development, and it’s the age range when people are dating in real life and figuring relationships out. I normally automatically age up the heroine in my head as I’m reading or find myself just compartmentalizing that fact, if they’re young. But this was outside of school, not a fantasy world, or at all dark. Normally that would be super cringey for me. But, I loved these books. Try them, I’m curious to see what you think.
This sounds quite appealing, Jen. Thanks for your review!