Title: Dirty Brilliance
Author: Lea Bronsen
Genre: Contemporary Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: MM Gay
Publisher: Writers in Crime
Pages: 72
Reviewer: Melissa
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About The Book
Kace Karrington is a wealthy, self-made investor with no qualms about steamrolling others to achieve his goals. He’s attracted to men, but picks up beautiful women, giving the cold, unfeeling world of Finance the appearance he’s successful…powerful. That is until he meets a smoking hot street punk eager to show him there’s more to life than making money.
The Review
I am always troubled writing a lower scoring review, so I want to take the time to explain it.
It is truly is an opposites attract story .The author also includes rich vs poor, healthy vs sick, emotionally cold vs emotionally welcoming among other things.
The main character is hard to like. The plot felt rushed and the writing itself was awkward at times. There was nothing redeeming about the main character at all in the beginning and then in a moment he is redeemed by meeting a guy. There was no transition.
To continue; Kace Karrington is cold, ruthless, and super arrogant. He changes after meeting his sister’s friend Brandon. It was hard to invest in Kace. The book being written in first person did not help me feel for him.
So when it came time for Kace to thaw in his reactions to Brandon, it wasn’t as successful as I wanted it to be. I did like Brandon. His character in the plotline felt more genuine and easier to identify with as a reader.
This short story had a lot going on and the ending was great.
This novella takes on a lot of big ideas. I’m thinking this was a bit too much in such a short story, and am hoping to read more from this author.
The Reviewer
In writing this bio I am taking a rare break from reading! I always have a book on hand just in case there is time to sneak in a chapter or two. As a military spouse and a mom of two boys, it is amazing how often I am hurrying up to wait. Luckily for me I don’t have a favorite genre so I get lots of fun authors to choose from. My education was in sociology and mental health counseling, so stories with strong character development are my favorites. Happily Ever After is the best part of romance for me because real life is hard enough.
