Ransom Canyon

I received a free copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program.

I'm not the intended audience for this type of book, and I can't imagine myself seeking it out if it wasn't free. I tried to keep an open mind going in, thinking that maybe Ransom Canyon will overcome my preconceived notions and turn out to be pretty good. There are some charming moments, it's an easy read, but it isn't going to win over anyone that isn't already a fan of this brand of romance novel.

Every time I started to get into the story, the clunky and inauthentic dialogue took me right out again. The dialogue is not good, at all. I think at least half of the terribly stilted lines would have been improved if someone had just tried speaking them out loud. No one uses contractions (hard to explain why that bothered me so much, but it's noticeable) or anything really resembling natural speech.

I can forgive a lot of the corniness in a book that's aiming to be a light, feel-good romance. I can forgive some of the weirdly rushed romances between some of the characters. I can forgive a lot when I understand what a book is going for, even if I don't personally like it. What I can't forgive is dialogue so unnatural that it frequently took me out of the story. If you know what you're getting into and like this genre: use caution. If you're not a fan of the genre but somehow think this one will change your mind: ehhhh... Good luck.