Review: Dear Agony by Georgia Cates

What I love about romance is the story of the people. This delivers on that. The character Rose and Bastion are adorable and I balled my eyes out. This story isn't as raunchy as you would assume considering it starts off with Rose signing up to join a high end escort service.

Rose is smart with a dark past that makes her a well rounded character and Bastion is an amazing character that matches her. He is rich but he has been brought low by the losses in his life so he isn't the usual arrogant rich boy and Rose isn't your typical sweet innocent.

If I had to say one thing that bugged me it was the first person present tense. I think I'm old fashioned as I really can't get used the present tense in writing that has become more prevalent. I understand why it was used because all the characters need to live in the moment instead of the past and it does give it a sense that you are there experiencing it with the characters but I like a little more distance between me and my characters as what they go through in the story is rather intense. It is the kind of story that can stick in your mind for days as you wonder what kind of choices you would have made and whether it would have been different to what Rose and Bastion chose. The first person makes it hard to disengage and analyse it from a distance so when I find books like this they have to be books that will make me better at the end of it. I think I was lucky with this novel as though the concepts are deep there isn't anything in that is overly offensive.

This book might not pass a Bechdel test despite that over 80% of the characters are female but not surprising when we are in the story of a girl who is a high priced escort. But despite that it is a great romance that deals more with romance than lust so appealed to me. It has a good dose of emotion that keeps you involved past the epilogue.

FYI don't skip to the end. I have a bad tendency to skip to the end. If you are one of these then i have one other thing to say. I only like books with happily ever afters.

5 Stars.