Every Which Way by Calia Read

When the only real negative you can say about a book is that you didn’t like the character names, then you know you are being a pain in the butt! But that being said, I really didn’t like the character names…sorry.
Severine (really) took a while to actually endear herself to me, and I say that because I was really struggling to put in any effort with her at all at one point, I wanted her to actually force me to pay attention and I hold my hands up and will now admit that she won me round, she was a funny woman with a wicked sense of humour and an attitude that meant she didn’t really hold anything back, she was a confident woman in some respects but in other aspects of her life she hid not only her feelings but her heartache.
And then you come to Macsen and Thayer (again…what!) Macsen was a hard guy to get a handle on, he was a real enigma, a lost soul so to speak and I felt that because of the way he was, he really struggled to fit in, he was happy being and doing what he had always done and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing, he was far too often the catalyst of his families hurt and pain and while he may not have been entirely comfortable with that, it was obvious that he was floundering, he has so much more to give, he just needs a reason to let the world see the real Macsen. I hope that the author gives him a strong story in the next book, this guy is far from ordinary and I am sure he will be more than able to raise some hell!!!
And so on to Thayer, between the guys, I was sure that Thayer was the right man for Severine, I can’t exactly say why, because to be honest I don’t actually know but he just seemed to be the guy that would love her for who she was, and that initially went again the character that I thought I was seeing portrayed. He gave the impression that he was the consummate player when nothing could have been further from the truth.
Star of the basketball team, Thayer had women at his beck and call but once he had set his sights on Severine, it was game over. But the fact that she was in a relationship with Macsen meant that his options were limited, he either waited it out, he walked away, he played dirty – all’s fair in love and war and all that jazz. Well I was thankful that he was a good guy and he watched from the side-lines so to speak and didn’t stick his oar in to their relationship but I was so pleased when she finally realised where her heart lay.
Not that I wanted Mascen to be hurt but she belonged with Thayer.
The story was a sound romance, it had all the elements you could have possibly wanted and for a debut novel, it read very well.
The characters were engaging (despite my affliction to their names) and I am itching to get my hands on more of their tale, and a lot more of Macsen.
Be warned that despite this being a debut, the author has definitely nailed one aspect of storytelling…the cliff-hanger…what a way to finish!!!!