Book Review: The main character, Maya Kirkwood, is an artist with a background in fashion. But she's not a "shallow, label-centric" fashionista, rather, a down-to-earth spirit who loves and appreciates the beauty and craftsmanship of fabrics. Without making this book review about me, I have a background in fashion and textiles and have travelled the world studying textile design. Because of this, I felt an intimate connection to Maya as I read, which really added to my enjoyment of this great book.
Maya is a quirky, independent entrepreneur making a name for herself in the art world of San Francisco. If you enjoy the heroines of chick lit who have glamorous jobs in either fashion or publishing, you'll really like reading Libby Mercer's book for the refreshing way she adapts this archetypical heroine into a character that is truly unique and approachable. Maya sleeps on a futon in a tiny apartment with no TV and no money, but she strong in spirit, overcomes adversity, moves to a new city and starts a business. She is easily inspired by her surroundings, often loosing herself in the beauty of light coming through an expansive window. And hey, she can fashion a skirt out of a blanket in seconds flat. What's not to love about that?
Inciting Incident: Two very different personality types, Derek Whitley, the ". . . obsessive compulsive freak . . ." and Maya Kirkwood, the ". . . artsy fartsy flake. . ." meet at an art exhibit featuring Maya's work. As you'd expect, they don't hit it off right away, as Derek doesn't hide his very "neutral" feelings toward Maya's work. When Maya is commissioned to create and install some of her work at his company in Silicon Valley, the two have the opportunity to get to know each other better, and explore the possibility of becoming more than just professional acquaintances.
Characters & setting: There are wonderful characters, Lin, especially, at Derek's work and the atmosphere at his company feels like one big family which adds to the overall enjoyment of the book. I found myself curious to learn more about two characters and their situations, Daisy and Sarah Connelly, but I don't feel the writer should have spent any more time on these characters than she did in this particular book, rather, it would be great if she wrote their situations out in a prequel to this book, as that would certainly guarantee a book with an action-packed plot. The story is set in San Francisco and has a wonderful scene involving a carefree roll down a series of hills. The writer does a great job at capturing the sights and sounds of the city and I suspect this book will sell well in indie bookstores across California.
Central conflict: Both Derek and Maya have a backstory that complicates their attempts at intimacy. Each must come to terms with their own personal history in order to move forward.
Overall impression: This is a delightful journey and a fun read with characters that are real and very likeable. You'll wish they were friends of yours; you'll wish you could meet-up with them for a game of softball, a cold beer and some buffalo wings.
I will definitely read another book by Libby Mercer and this one, Unmasking Maya, was a refreshing 206 pages - the perfect length to tell their story - and a welcome word count for this chick lit reader setting out to read 52 chick lit books in 52 weeks.
Highly recommended. Tell your friends.
Complete book review first posted on the "Chick Lit Chit Chat" blog found at julievalerie.com.
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SoozBuch
More chicklit than romance and that's a good thing!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2013