What a wonder the romantic novel HER TURN by Allison Jones is. Funny. Endearing. Clever. Engaging. Hopeful. With characters so richly developed to be completely, earnestly themselves while haphazard-ing their way through life, readers are likely to forget these people are the product of an author’s imagination rather than new potential best friends. Like real best friends, the main players in this complex, poignant, and sometimes hilarious tale can make terrible decisions because they are somewhat damaged. Yet they also brighten the room each time they appear. And reappearing regularly is what they do as the novel alternates telling the story of Addie and Jameson from various points of view.
Addie is an extroverted introvert who spent ten years finally completing the novel that’s about to become a bestselling sensation which will require her to unwillingly leave behind comfortable (stained) yoga pants and T-shirts in favor of being styled by professionals for media interviews and such. But Nina (Addie’s friend who happens to be a literary agent) and Jameson (Addie’s brand new publicist) insist. Like cats and dogs, Addie and Jameson seem to have little in common, what with him being an emotionally shut down ex-Navy Seal, and her being a slightly rotund, argumentative hermit. Except for some unfathomable reason, they each secretly find the other nerve-wrackingly hot. And interesting! Most appealing of all is Addie’s brother, Owen, who has Down Syndrome and wants to be treated more like the 30-year-old man that he is. He takes a shine to Jameson as his new wingman. Sassy Owen and the protective sister who raised him bicker constantly in a realistic, relatable, witty way.
There are of course a few flies in this winning stew: long lost relatives plus other users who may not have the best interests of these loveable characters in mind. Dorothy, for one, is the insatiable wife of a lazy cousin who believes Addie should forever provide for them financially since Addie’s mother left them exactly nothing when she died. These ill-willed secondary characters serve nicely to help the protagonists figure out what they really want and need from each other and from themselves in order to grow towards the happy ending they so richly deserve.
Much of the utterly charming HER TURN by Allison Jones–a light-hearted romantic comedy with great depth–unfolds via internal stream-of-consciousness as a quirky cast of characters do their bumbling best to figure out life, each other and themselves.
~C.S. Holmes for IndieReader