Ponder: End of Story

End of Story ©2023 is a romance novel by Kylie Scott who is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today best-selling, Audie Award winning author. She has sold over 2,000,000 books and was voted Australian Romance Writer of the year, 2013, 2014, 2018, & 2019, by the Australian Romance Reader’s Association. Despite all these accolades, I thought the book was terrible. I rate it one star.

I did finish the novel and the conclusion was predictable. I do not hold the ending against "End of Story"; most romances do have a predictable finish and it is the path getting there that is engaging. The premise is that, due to past circumstances, a house renovation causes awkwardness between the main handyman Lars and the homeowner Susie. He is best friends with her ex-boyfriend.

The hero Lars, stereotyped as the strong silent type, was silent enough to be boring and annoying. The heroine Susie was so self-deprecating I wanted to slap her on the side of the head and tell her to wake up. The pacing was slow. There were so many red herrings that were confusing such as a car accident, the inheritance from a favorite aunt, a dysfunctional family, and a mysterious document; these diversions may have provided a seed for the plot, but were not resolved or detailed enough to contribute to its advancement. Sexual relations were very, very explicit and the frequency and amount of alcohol consumed as a coping mechanism was distastefully overused. 

Amazon readers rated the novel 4.2 out of 5. In reading these reviews, though I noticed most of the comments were from those already fond of Kylie Scott as an author and were depending on her past successes for their opinion. 

I will admit I, too, can be guilty of prejudice for authors I really enjoy; e.g., Louise Penny, Brenda Novak. Using that strategy in reverse, I will put Kylie Scott on my list of "do not read" authors. My advice is to not waste your time on this book.

★☆☆☆☆ Awful but I read most or maybe even all of it