User blog:7GSTF/A Review of Laws of Attraction

A lookback at Laws of Attraction

To start off with, let me begin by saying that LoA was the best book written by PB in a long, long time. While that doesn’t say much considering their most recent releases, it was nevertheless an excellent step in the right direction to say the least. It was a welcome change from TNA (why, honestly why ?! - wasn’t Witness bad enough?!) and the never ending series - The Royal Romance. While the first three books of TRR were decent and rounded out the series pretty well, what has followed has been nothing short of a travesty. However, enough about that. LoA. Right. It was good, great even, until - yeah, THAT scene. That chapter. Having built up an excellent slow burning romance, one which seemed perfectly believable and even beautiful in many places, they shoved in THAT scene. It became pretty clear to me as to the direction PB is heading in, and there seems to be no stopping them from jumping headlong in making a quick buck territory and it is sad to say the least. However, let us step away from that train wreck of a chapter, shall we? Let us see what else is good, bad or ugly about this book.

The Good.

A balanced MC.

The MC isn’t a complete Gary Stu or a Mary Sue here. Buying all the diamond choices doesn’t ensure that you get the best ranking in your cases as there are some places where you have to use your head. You can do it through careful deduction, reasoning and some luck too. There are free choices which can up your rating too. One good thing about this MC - very likable. Nothing too strange or weird from him, but certainly one for the road - a character you can depend upon. Also a good point - and something that PB has definitely been carrying out - GOC. A truly welcome change for certain.

Decent plot

Yes, it is a rehash and recolouring of old Suits episodes and a bit of Phoenix Wright thrown in for good measure. Yes, it has some blatant plagiarism. Does it make it any worse? Well, it depends on how you look at it. The legal details and the office lingo is excellent and gives you the look and feel of a law firm, but the solutions sometimes feel as though they were derived out of thin air. Well, regardless, the plot is decently executed, with a slow buildup of small cases before the big climax. The cases have some depth to them for certain, and the final case has quite a bit of heft, being stretched over eight chapters and needing a number of clues. It is interesting. Also good is the twist making Sadie the villain of the piece. There is no question that she was always a suspicious figure, but the hints were done reasonably well. Beau’s character arc is good, going from a rich boy villain to a more humbled friend. Martin is interesting all the same.

Romantic build up

Okay, I hear your protests. I know the obvious problem. Let me speak first. Simply put, up to that point, the romance was very well done indeed. It was slow in building up, and was excellent at rewarding the people for patience. From flirting, to the holding of hands, brushing of thighs, stolen glances and finally the kissing, everything was actually done very well. If the hookup had been executed better, it would have proved the perfect climax to this slow boiling pot of emotions. However, that travesty of a scene does not take away the earlier execution of the romance. It is very well done. Aislinn is darling in every aspect of the term. A beautiful woman. Out of all of the Choices' love interests, she is a special one. Why? Simply put, she is one of the most mature ones ever. The fact that she recognizes her worth as marriage material is an added plus. She is extremely sweet and ridiculously lovable. Too good to be true. She became one of my top five love interests by the end of the book. Yes, she has a tendency to be a doormat and at other times be extremely shy, but regardless, she is a wonderful person, marriage material for sure, I say. Out of all the Choices' love interests, she is the most lovable for sure. Great LI.

Gabe… Gabe, Gabe. Where to put this guy? Pretty boring on the whole. Straightforward forbidden boss employee relationship territory, nothing special or out of the ordinary. As far as a character for the law firm, essentially a copy of Gabriel Macht’s character in Suits - Harvey. Is it a good thing? Maybe not. However, it isn’t a completely awful thing either. At least, he works to fight for the little guy, and he is quite charismatic when the situation demands it, but nothing really to write home about.

The hookups - interesting concept, and one that makes more sense than too many love interests with no real development for many of them. Give the audience what they want while also not compromising the quality of the writing with regards to the actual LIs. Honestly, I would rather this mechanism continue than the actual writing with regards to the LIs to decline.

Characters

Beau - Clearly this was PB’s darling in every sense of the word. The redemption story arc is one of their favourites - see also : Ayna (Foreign Affairs), Becca (The Freshman), Beckett(The Elementalists), Hex and to some extent Rayden (The Crown and the Flame), Aleister (Endless Summer) and the list goes on. Not a bad one at all, and the relationship you develop with him is good too. Far better than most of the characters PB has been churning out of late. Honestly, even though he is a rich guy, the death of his parents and a lack of personal relationships draws the reader’s sympathy even though he is unlikeable at times.

Martin - Yes, he deus ex machina-ed himself into the senior partner position, and the entire process there was a brain fart by both Gabe and MC. Seriously? Nobody thought to buy off Sadie’s silence until this guy got the bright idea? Classic plot hole and idiocy. However, his inferiority complex is real. Even though he is a Harvard educated genius, he is consistently in second place throughout, with no respite, resulting in him taking his anger out on us. In any case a troubled character, imperfect and some WTF moments with him - sure… but I am willing to give PB the benefit of the doubt here. The Gary Stu moment at the end was awful to say the least. They could have shown him beating MC in a case in the chapters prior though, as he had never really been a top ranker and was consistently mid tier. However, this character has potential, unlikable - for sure, but there is a story somewhere beneath the depths.

Sadie

A good villain. Yes, a good villain. The hints were subtle, and there was hardly any spoon feeding or heavy handedness about her. Remarkably good at what she does. In her own twisted sense, she can even justify her actions of leaving Marcus to hang out to dry. Huge charity board position? That’s an opportunity that rarely comes twice. She is protective, manipulative and to some extent, even vindictive. An interesting character who I would love to see more of if possible.

Koenig

A placeholder villain. The real deal is Sadie, and this guy was the big bad all along, and there is little by way of mystery or character to this guy.

Marcus

An ok client. The love making scene ain’t exactly a great placement either but it ain’t as bad as THAT scene. At least, his lack of confidence and victimization are consistent. A decent character but he ain’t any character that inspires in any real sense. Reasonable

The other characters including Gigi make for little to write home about, in my opinion.

Overall rating

7 out of 10. One of the reasons it is a seven is simply because of the fact that it isn’t as bad as some of the more recent books that Choices have been publishing of late. Also, the romance is believable, until the aforementioned scene. So are the cases, as they seem grounded and down to earth in most places. The art is standard PB fare, nothing truly special or mindboggling, but this isn't a book where that is really necessary either. Decent plot on the whole, and a good place to build towards a good finish, or a middle book of three. Solid effort from PB, and a step up from the awful fair to be had otherwise.