Thursday, November 1, 2012

S.L. Scott's Naturally, Charlie

Twenty-five year old Charlotte Charlie Barrow is caught between her old life, and the one she is beginning to build, when she crosses paths with a handsome stranger on the subway.  Not looking for romance, she closes her heart off to the possibilities of love.  With a knack for mishaps, Charlie maintains her sense of humor while befriending the kind stranger who seems to be there at all the right times.

New York freelance writer, Charlie Adams is forging his own path beyond the expectations of the society circles of his childhood.  Rejecting family money, and fast-lane friends, he is snubbed by his family as he follows his own compass to a life more extraordinary.

Their chemistry is palpable as they balance precariously on the line that divides them as friends or more.

Charlie walks close, so close, and drops his arms forward on either side of me.  He’s trapped me between them, and although I shouldn’t want this with a friend, I do with him.  I want it more than I should. I love being this close to him, but instead of giving in, I hold my own, standing my ground.  His head moves even closer to mine, but he purposely keeps our bodies apart.

“I bet I can.”

This is the tale of two Charlies learning to trust again while fighting their fates to create their own destiny.

READ YOUR WRITES REVIEW

Wikipedia states that fate implies no choice, but that destiny is participating in achieving an outcome that is related to itself.  An argument can be made that this book is full of fate and destiny.  I don’t know what to say about this book.  I don’t know if I just liked it or if I loved it.  I found many similarities between my life and Girl Charlie's.

It’s every girl’s dream to be in a crowded room and make eye contact with that one special person.  You know the ONE.  The one who can fulfill you and make all of your dreams come true.  The one who completes you.

As the book blurb states, Naturally, Charlie is the tale of two Charlies.  Yes, this can be rather confusing while reading the book, but it’s totally worth it.  Charlotte “Charlie” Barrow has trust issues.  She feels responsible for something she had no control over and she’s betrayed in one of the worst ways possible.  Charles “Charlie” Adams is simply trying to live the life he wants, without all the false pretenses.  Charlie Boy is from a life of privilege, where money is the only thing that really matters.  Unlike his parents and his friends, Charlie Boy realizes that money can’t give you two of the most important things in the world, which are love and happiness.

Naturally, Charlie is one of those books where once you pick it up, you aren’t going to want to put down.  While reading the book I thought, “yes, they get their happy ending”.  Then I realized that I was only about forty percent of the way through the book.  NOT a good thing with romances.

The two Charlies initially first laid eyes on each other on a crowded subway in New York City.  Each was mesmerized by the other.  Instead of taking this opportunity to formally meet, they each went their separate ways.  As chance would have it, they run into each other again at a nightclub.  Girl Charlie is there with her friend Rachel.  This time however, they get to speak to one and other.  Charlie Boy immediately spots Girl Charlie.  But by the time he makes his way to her, she runs off to the ladies room.  Boy Charlie decides to wait for her with Rachel.  Boy Charlie wants to get to know and spend time with Girl Charlie, but unbeknownst to him, Rachel is sending Charlie Girl signals to tell her to leave.  Girl Charlie rushes out of the club, leaving Boy Charlie to think that she isn’t interested in him.  Boy Charlie and Rachel go on two dates with each other before he realizes there isn’t anything between them.

As fate would have it, Girl Charlie and Charlie Boy run into each other as Girl Charlie is on her way to the funeral of her ex-fiance and Boy Charlie is on his way to the funeral of his Great-Aunt Grace.  Boy Charlie suggests that they attend the funerals together as friends and as a support system for each other.  This leads to them becoming friends and more.

Naturally, Charlie is a real sweet romance full of fate and destiny, that is both touching and heartbreaking.  In my opinion, Charlie Boy takes romance to a whole new level.  One where you don’t even know that it’s romance.  Charlie Boy seriously “courted” Girl Charlie, without her knowing.  I don’t know if he realized it or not, but he did.  I love the fact that the MOST important thing to the Charlies was their friendship.  And I loved that their friendship turned into love before either of them knew it.

This wasn’t one of those books where I wanted to slap one of the characters because they kept sabotaging any chance at a happy ending.  For me, there were emotional roller coaster moments.  The climax of the book was something that I didn’t see coming.  Boy Charlie decided to let destiny determine the future for him and Girl Charlie.

Another thing I liked about this book was that it gave you closure.  You didn’t have to guess, assume, or envision how life for the Charlies turn out in the end.  I love it when authors write Epilogues for their books.  Even though this Epilogue did give me the closure I was looking for, I found myself getting confused going between the present, the past, and the future.

If you are a hopeless romantic like me, I DEFINITELY recommend you read this book.

I look forward to reading more books by S.L. Scott.

My review of this book was made possible by receiving it through NetGalley.

Rating: 4

Visit S.L. Scott’s website to learn more about her.

Naturally, Charlie can be purchased from:

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