{Review} Pearl Lover by Kea Noli

ASIN #: B008HLHBY2

File Size: 358 KB

Page Count: 220

Copyright: July 4, 2012

Publisher: Kea Noli

Book Summary:

(Taken from Goodreads)

A spoilt debutante. A manipulating mother. And a love triangle with a twist.

Nixie Veidt is forced to choose between money and love. She must stay faithful to the bureaucrat she marries to save her inheritance, but her love belongs to a Russian dancer. When she hires him for her company, she risks everything.

Is it moral to love two men? Be prepared for an unconventional ending.

Nixie's mother, a wealthy socialite, hires a private detective and spies on her daughter. A debutante's conflicting love for two men, and the struggling rebirth of Ballets Russes, a ballet company.

Kathy's Review:

I began reading this in a complete shroud of confusion. Nixie's father is dying, he tells her "go on, take the money and run" (hoo hoo hoo! TM Steve Miller Band) but ... why? Then there's these gangster types - or are they cops? I don't know. The author is being deliberately mysterious, I'm sure, but I don't even have the remotest of clues what is happening. Even a quarter of the way in, I was still floundering to understand the action. I think I'm in for a kind of fugitive-on-the-run cop thriller, but then it ends up being a story about spoiled rotten prima donna ballerinas.

Huh?

I settled in, finally, and began to despise the main character of Nixie and her boyfriend, Kolya, who seems to be the French equivalent of a d-bag. And only interested in Nixie for her seemingly endless supply of money. They are both immature brats. The money Nixie inherits from her dad quickly disappears with the extravagant lifestyle Kolya lives. Then, did I mention that Nixie has to marry an older (20-something) cop to be able to access her inheritance because she is only 17? He's in love with her, she's in love with Kolya and kind of in love with Morten, Kolya's in love with Lea, another ballerina, but also has feelings for Nixie. Nixie's mother, Maria, really muddles things up, and in the end, things fall apart but kind of come together. Does that make sense? Probably not.

The significance of the pearl in the title is a necklace that Kolya buys for Nixie (using Nixie's money! WTF!) that symbolizes his love for her even though they are both with other people. Yes, it is just an object (albeit an expensive one), but it is used throughout the story to show the love between Nixie and Kolya.

If you ask me, all these people need some tough love, therapy and a "real job." The moral of the story - I think - is that money can't buy happiness. No one in this story really seems to understand this, except maybe Morten (Nixie's husband-for-hire). However, without feeling truly grounded in this novel until maybe the second act, and with characters you just want to throttle, the message is lost for me.

AND - in re-reading the book summary, I just caught something. The genre is listed as "Young Adult." I'm sorry, but this is not something I would recommend to a teen. It's too dry, and the action is very adult as it all revolves around money or the lack thereof.


*An ecopy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.