Donnerstag, 4. Februar 2016

Call Me, Maybe - Ellie Cahill

Title: Call Me, Maybe
Author: Ellie Cahill
Rating: 3/5

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Loveswept for letting me receive a digital copy of this book before the official release date.
Clementine Daly knows she's the black sheep. Her wealthy, powerful family has watched her very closely since she almost got caught in an embarrassing scandal a few years ago. So when Clementine's sent on a mission to live up to the Daly name, politely declining isn't an option. Of course, the last thing she does before boarding the plane is to grab a stranger's phone by mistake—leaving the hunky journalist with her phone. Soon his sexy voice is on the line, but he doesn't know her real name, or her famous pedigree—which is just the way Clementine likes it.

Despite all the hassles, Justin Mueller is intrigued to realize that the beautiful brown-eyed girl he met at the airport is suddenly at his fingertips. They agree to exchange phones when they're both back in town, but after a week of flirty texts and wonderfully intimate conversations, Justin doesn't want to let her go. The only problem? It turns out that Clemetine has been lying to him about, well, everything. Except for the one thing two people can't fake, the only thing that matters: The heat between them is for real.

I was looking for a light and sweet read, like one of Cassie Mae's novels, and when I saw her recommending Call Me, Maybe on NetGalley, it felt like my duty to request a digital copy of it. In the beginning, it seemed like I made the right choice (and I still don't regret reading this one, but then when I reached like 50% of the book, I was disappointed in how things turned out and about the main character's behavior.

At the airport, Clementine's brother Honor accidently grabs the wrong phone and Clementine ends up with a stranger's cell phone. As the stranger - whose name is Justin - notices he has got the wrong one, too, Clementine decides not to tell him her real last name, in order for him not to be able to blackmail her or something. In the past, she has already had a bad experience with that. It soon turns out that the stranger's who's got her phone is also the guy she almost fell on at the airport, so technically, they already met. Though they're connected by calls and messages only, within days their feelings for each other develop and when they find out they're both from Chicago, they agree on meeting in real life too. But is their attraction strong enough to survive real-life problems, too?!

Of course, my long-story-short version is bad as always. That's what happens when I'm still conflicted about whether to like a book or not - my thoughts get all mixed up. As I said, I liked Call Me, Maybe in the beginning. I saw the potential and was really excited about reading of a relationship that slowly develops through phone calls. However, that’s not what happened… Things picked up pace really fast and I was disappointed in both characters. May I blame it on the hormones or whatever, but what Clementine thought and her actions were two different pair of shoes. And I liked none of them.

In my opinion, they met too fast. I guess it was thought-through concerning the plot of the story, but to me it seemed a bit rushed. Their whole relationship was rushed, seeing their first date as the perfect example. Seriously, if she's so traumatized by her past, why would she say the things she says to Justin? Why would she send the pictures she sends? Why would she... Yeah, you get the story. Also, toward the end, I was tired by her “sorry’s” so much. Funny how she told Justin the word would lose its meaning at some point, when she crossed that line already.

I don’t mean to sound harsh or ungrateful. I’m still very lucky I received a digital copy long before the book’s official release date, but I can’t make myself like it any more than I actually did. And it wasn’t all bad. The character’s connection is what bothered me. Other than that, I liked how book-obsessed Clementine was, how she tried to figure out what to do with her life while her family expected her to decide on a path that mainly includes the family business. So no matter what I thought about the relationship, the problems she dealt with were real. Other twenty-three year old girls feel the same way.

Maybe this is another wrong-time novel, which means maybe I should wait a year or two and read it again. Perhaps I’ll start liking it more then. But even then I won’t find out more about Clementine’s parents or about Justin’s past at all. We only find out so little about him, that made me like him less from chapter to chapter. And whew, he really grew on me during their phone calls, but when they met… It all evaporated.

Naturally, I’m sorry for not finding more positive things to talk about. Look at my rating; it’s still a good one. Please don’t take my review as an advice to drop this book, because if you want to try it, then do it. Ellie Cahill probably hates me right now, gah. I feel awful. Anyhow, I like the author’s writing style, and that’s also the reason I’d pick up a book written by her any time. Call Me, Maybe wasn’t what I expected and I still finished it. I wouldn’t have if there was something I truly hated. It definitely has potential, most definitely. It’s probably the characters that I just couldn’t relate to.

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