Review: What If It's Love?

Title: What If It's Love?

Series: Bistro La Bohème #1

Author: Alix Nichols

Genres: New Adult, Contemporary Romance

Publication Date: June 17, 2014

Publisher: Sayn Press

Purchase Links: 

      

When the hottest man in Paris - Rob Dumont - shows interest in geeky, introverted heiress Lena, she suspects something fishy.

And so she should.

Is the Bistro La Bohème series for you?

If you enjoy romantic comedies with smart and strong heroines, sexy heroes and witty dialogue; if you love tender, poignant and steamy stories that keep you up all night -- then give this new series a try!

It will delight you with an unforgettable cast of young men and women who frequent an ordinary yet special Parisian cafe. They fall in love, cope with heartbreak and follow their dreams with a passion that makes them endearing even when in the wrong.

Welcome to Bistro La Bohème! Take a seat by the window, order your café crème and lose yourself in these deeply romantic tales of love, loss and second chances.

* * *

The books are interconnected, with a recurring setting and characters. But each story is self-contained, and you can read it as a stand-alone.

I’d have to say that I really had a hard time getting into Lena and Rob’s story. Right from the start, I had a problem with the shifting perspectives between Lena and Rob. I couldn’t catch up to the sudden shifts, and when I have already caught up, it will shift again shortly after. It became distracting for me, and I found some inconsistenties confusing (like how Lena said she didn’t know what Rob’s name was, but then few sentences after, she mentioned his name, what?) There were also abrupt jumps in the timeline towards the end of the story, which couldn’t really make me get into the story.

Additionally, I’ve been hearing from a lot that this one is not a predictable story, but I found it predictable (huhu, omg I feel like an odd-man-out). I think it’s rather because the plot is quite similar to the television dramas we have here in the Philippines. With this, I found myself skimming through pages instead, and found myself not missing that much of a story.

Although, I truly love all the secondary characters, especially Jeanne and Pepe. I also love how the characters came from different backgrounds and ethnicity, which make them truly an interesting mix. Seeing them converge together and become friends was beautiful, especially with their interactions, despite coming from different cultures. I love how Jeanne is such a great friend to Lena, and seems to be the only thing constant and always there even though the rest of her world is crashing down.

Sadly, I couldn’t say the same for Lena. Sometimes, I just found myself wanting to shake her because of the decisions and choices she make. It was wonderful to see her grow and become more mature, though. Still, for me, it wasn’t enough for me to like her more than I like Jeanne’s character.

In the end, I guess this one is about how there may be a lot of things going wrong, but in the end, if it’s meant to be, it is meant to be. Everything will fall in its own place, which I think is a beautiful theme, since it just gives this sense of hope that someday, everything will be okay, too. While I didn’t have such a great time with this one, I think it’s just me. 😔 Though, if you’d like a story with a non-fluffy, artificial-feel romance, perhaps you’d like What If It’s Love? better than I did.