(Review) Swear on This Life

Swear on This Life by Renee Carlino

Publication Date: August 9,2016

Pages: 320 (paperback) 

Genre: Contemporary Romance

My Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars

Goodreads Synopsis:
When a bestselling debut novel from mysterious author J.Colby becomes the literary event of the year, Emiline reads it reluctantly. As an adjunct writing instructor at UC San Diego with her own stalled literary career and a bumpy long-term relationship, Emiline isn’t thrilled to celebrate the accomplishments of a young and gifted writer.

Yet from the very first page, Emiline is entranced by the story of Emerson and Jackson, two childhood best friends who fall in love and dream of a better life beyond the long dirt road that winds through their impoverished town in rural Ohio.

That’s because the novel is patterned on Emiline’s own dark and desperate childhood, which means that “J. Colby” must be Jase: the best friend and first love she hasn’t seen in over a decade. Far from being flattered that he wrote the novel from her perspective, Emiline is furious that he co-opted her painful past and took some dramatic creative liberties with the ending.

The only way she can put her mind at ease is to find and confront “J. Colby,” but is she prepared to learn the truth behind the fiction?
My Review: 
This was an interesting little story, to say the least. I wasn't head over heels for any of the characters, but I did enjoy the ride.

Emiline's life is fairly normal. She teaches writing, has a boyfriend, and is working on her own novel. There's nothing spectacular about her life except for the fact that she doesn't let anyone in and no one knows her life story.

Well, they don't know it until "J. Colby" writes a novel about it.

The minute Emilie reads the book that Jase has written she seems to come alive...which is a good thing because she's kind of boring.

The little glimpses into the novel itself are kind of sad. Neither character had the best life and it's written in a raw, gritty kind of way. It's interesting to "see" how Emiline reacts to Jase's version of herself. For the most part he is spot on.

Meeting Jase felt kind of lackluster to me. The boy from the novel was kind and sweet, but Jase is cocky and a jerk. I didn't really care for him or the way he spoke to Emiline (who had a serious boyfriend).

All in all, this book was fairly interesting. Emiline had to do a lot of soul-searching with her kind of bland life. She found out a lot about herself through Jase's words and, in the end, discovered who she was meant to be. The dialogue was a little juvenile for me, but it got the job done.

Pick it up if you're looking for a quick, easy read.