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A review by shaunnah511
Ten Thousand Words by Kelli Jean
4.0
"All I want now is to be a man who is worthy of you, Xanthe."
Ten Thousand Words is the story of Xanthe, a dorky, hipster author, who meets her match in Oliver, her photographer turned cover model.
There are so many of my favourite things here. A sexy love story that draws you in right away, with characters you can't help but love. I absolutely love author stories (a la [b:Mud Vein|18246727|Mud Vein|Tarryn Fisher|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1379536072s/18246727.jpg|25697736]), because I feel like authors make super interesting and relateable characters. Xanthe is adorkable, but also empowered and self-conscious at the same time. You get dual POV here, and each of the voices were unique enough that I enjoyed that aspect.
Ollie is the definition of swoon-worthy. He becomes enamored with her quite quickly, but I wouldn't classify this as insta-love. He's quick to anger, but also quick to realize his mistakes and make up for them, in the most adorable ways possible.
There are several elements of suspense that keep the plot going. Xanthe has secrets and a lot of past baggage, but I liked the way things were handled for the most part.
I really loved the inclusion of positive LGBTQ references. There are several great side characters, but also smaller lines that could be easily passed-by. For instance, when referencing her fan base, Xanthe notes, "...he'd made my panties catch fire, so my readers - who'd had their panties, or boxers, catch fire while reading about Donovan...". I love that the author made the fan base inclusive!
The secondary characters were varied and well-done. I'm excited to see them again in future books in this soon-to-be series.
I will say though, this one was long! And a bit repetitive. I can't even count how many times Xanthe references her pits and boobs sweating. There is a TON of detail, that sets scenes up very well, but also causes the plot to drag at some points. If you like a lot of detail in your stories, you'll love this one.
One great scene I made note of, was Xanthe sitting with her cat. The author sets the scene, "[the cat] spread out over my tummy, his happy little face between my boobs." The cat also becomes his own little character throughout the book and often made me laugh or smile.
Overall, I definitely recommend Ten Thousand Words. Kelli Jean created some great characters and a story that was unique and engaging!
ARC was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
Ten Thousand Words is the story of Xanthe, a dorky, hipster author, who meets her match in Oliver, her photographer turned cover model.
There are so many of my favourite things here. A sexy love story that draws you in right away, with characters you can't help but love. I absolutely love author stories (a la [b:Mud Vein|18246727|Mud Vein|Tarryn Fisher|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1379536072s/18246727.jpg|25697736]), because I feel like authors make super interesting and relateable characters. Xanthe is adorkable, but also empowered and self-conscious at the same time. You get dual POV here, and each of the voices were unique enough that I enjoyed that aspect.
Ollie is the definition of swoon-worthy. He becomes enamored with her quite quickly, but I wouldn't classify this as insta-love. He's quick to anger, but also quick to realize his mistakes and make up for them, in the most adorable ways possible.
There are several elements of suspense that keep the plot going. Xanthe has secrets and a lot of past baggage, but I liked the way things were handled for the most part.
I really loved the inclusion of positive LGBTQ references. There are several great side characters, but also smaller lines that could be easily passed-by. For instance, when referencing her fan base, Xanthe notes, "...he'd made my panties catch fire, so my readers - who'd had their panties, or boxers, catch fire while reading about Donovan...". I love that the author made the fan base inclusive!
The secondary characters were varied and well-done. I'm excited to see them again in future books in this soon-to-be series.
I will say though, this one was long! And a bit repetitive. I can't even count how many times Xanthe references her pits and boobs sweating. There is a TON of detail, that sets scenes up very well, but also causes the plot to drag at some points. If you like a lot of detail in your stories, you'll love this one.
One great scene I made note of, was Xanthe sitting with her cat. The author sets the scene, "[the cat] spread out over my tummy, his happy little face between my boobs." The cat also becomes his own little character throughout the book and often made me laugh or smile.
Overall, I definitely recommend Ten Thousand Words. Kelli Jean created some great characters and a story that was unique and engaging!
ARC was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review