[Subdue] Where Do I Start? by Chase Taylor Hackett - 3.5 stars

[Pam]

I have been avoiding this book for years because the premise -- a second-chance romance between a couple who broke up after one of them discovered the other had been sleeping his way through Manhattan throughout their entire relationship -- should NOT work for me. Which is why I spent the bulk of the book wondering what mad word-sorcery was at play because I'll be darned if I didn't fall head over heels for that f**kboi within a handful of chapters!! How???

For one, it's brilliantly structured so you realize very quickly how these two fell into the trap of an ill-defined relationship in the very beginning with their various insecurities enabling this one dysfunction within an otherwise perfect pairing.

And two, Fletch (the cheater) is so likable it's mind-boggling. Sorcery, I tell you! He's so charming with such wildly confident swagger that you have to really know him to see the raging insecurity that lies beneath. There's never one second when you doubt his overwhelming love for Roger. 

Gah, they are so perfect together, but they spend the whole book circling each other as newly reconnected "friends" and it's not until the very end that it gets a little frustrating. I started watching the number of pages left getting way too small for the amount I still wanted to see happen. It got there -- but barely.

This is one that I really need to sit with a few days before rating properly, but for now I'll split the difference and give it a 3.5!