Book Reviews

Swish - 2

Swish - 2

A review of "Swish" by Kristen Oldham (AKA kristentaylor16).
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Perhaps this is is a personal thing, but I much prefer a slow burn... something that is believable, builds, and eventually crescendos. This doesn't mean there can't be physical attraction or flirtation from the start but, unfortunately, it just isn't that believable when people have this almost spiritual connection from the start.

Oldham also tends to over-explain situations, conversations or thoughts, rather than providing subtlety and implications. It's hard for the reader to fully believe what's happening because there's nothing left to interpretation or imagination. There's beauty in subtlety, but Oldham spells everything out.
Another tricky point is Virginia's dad. Having been around true narcissists, he's also a little hard to believe. Narcissists are typically good at hiding (whether conscious or not) so they manipulate people into their will without them even having a clue. It's highly unlikely that a real person in Virginia's situation would put up with her father's deranged (over the top and visibly so) antics like she does. Readers have to identify with the characters on some level, but it's hard to identify with someone who willingly chooses to keep herself in a crappy situation. The only saving grace to this plot element is that her dad holds money over her head, but even then, it still doesn't make sense that it takes her so long to realize her dad's true colors. She "fell in love" with Eli 10,000 faster than she realized her dad was a horrible person. It just doesn't add up.

Oldham's aesthetics for the characters were really nice and helped bring them to life, so that was an upside. She also included periodic chapters from Eli's POV (often overlapping or retelling the same situations and events as Virginia's chapters), which a lot of authors don't but I really enjoyed.