Random Things Tours: It Only Takes a Minute by Sasha Lane

 

´I´ve spent my entire thirty-one years of living on this planet doing the right thing, being sensible, never stepping out of the line doing what was expected of me, and right now, as I sit and stare at the closed front door, contemplating my future alone, being sensible feels like the most stupid decision I´ve ever made´.

With a banking career and a predictable relationship who is history now, Kiera decided to overcome her break-up and spend some weeks on the Portuguese coastline. In the e-world we are living today, everything is possible within minutes: accommodation - one click; flights - another click; checking the weather - another click. For someone used with the predictable comfort, it was really fast. Even faster is her relationship with a local expat, Dylan, she met and...as the title goes It only takes a minute...to fall in love, obviously. And there is love and out of love and another very fast decision she will not regret.

The problem of a novella is that everything should take place fast, and if in the case of a mystery or thriller it is actually possible to move on fast forward to a solution, for a romance, the short times required to be burned fast because there is so much to develop in human time but so little time in literary measurement. 

Sasha Lane´s first stand-alone novella, It Only Takes a Minute is well crafted though and although it is largely predictable - within the matrix of Eat, Pray, Love (you break up, run away to discover yourself, randomly find the one, The End) - and even too fast for my emotional imagination (how people can fall in love so so fast...?) is nevertheless pleasant to read. And we need a pleasant book, and a hopeful story and a sweet ´happy ending´. 

If you are on your way to your summer destination or spending a day on the beach, reading keeps your spirit alive. And despite the easy plot, the novella is well written so definitely worth one bibliophile´s time. I would have wished Kiera is more developed as a character, although her handsome partner Dylan is easier to represent as a human being. 

For anyone looking to hone their novella writing skills, especially in the field of romance, this book is a recommended lecture for the humour, brevity and joyous storytelling. There is a genre for every category of reader and romance will never be out of fashion.

Rating: 3 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own