It’s hard to believe that November is done and the year is coming to a close. I only read one book this month called The Flip Side by James Bailey. I took a break from romance books for a while and wanted to get back into it, so I chose this one off my TBR list.
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The Plot
The Flip Side by James Bailey follows Josh, who has broken up with his girlfriend, lost his job and moved back in with his parents all within the span of a few weeks.
At 28 years old, Josh feels like he has no direction and can’t make a decision to save his life, so he flips a coin. He makes the resolution that he’ll flip the coin for every major decision for a year, but will fate be on his side when he meets the girl of his dreams?
The Flip Side by James Bailey retails for $19.99 CAD.
The Review (Contains spoilers)
I was really excited to read The Flip Side because it promised romance, adventure and a chance with fate. It had everything it needed to be a great romantic comedy, but it wasn’t successful.
The book starts off with Josh proposing to his girlfriend, Jade, whose father owns the hotel that Josh works at. She subsequently tells him she’s been cheating on him and Josh is forced to leave his job and move out of Jade’s apartment.
These events happen back-to-back in the beginning and they keep the story exciting, but the plot falls flat shortly after. The following chapters are slow and focus on how Josh has no prospects or path in life.
There’s a lot of self-loathing and it’s written for the reader to feel bad for Josh, however, it’s hard to root for him when he doesn’t put effort into moving on with his life yet complains about it constantly. The novel also takes place over the course of a year and Josh’s character doesn’t evolve or develop at all.
Most romance novels introduce the love interests right away, but The Flip Side is unique in that the female love interest isn’t introduced until halfway through the book. This plot move could have set the book apart from other romances, but there was no intrigue or lead-up to the love interest.
The plot moves very slowly and it’s very obvious that the female love interest was written by a man. As a female reader, the romance comes off as cheesy and stereotypical. All the parts were there for the story to be successful, but it lacks the charm, intrigue and realness that popular romantic comedies have.
All in all, the ending was fulfilling and romantic, but the journey was slow.
I give The Flip Side by James Bailey a rating of 3 out of 5.
What’s on your TBR list?
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My TBR list is already so long but whats one more thing lol. Thanks for the recommendation.
I feel you! You can never have too many on your TBR list.