Review: "Out of the Blue" by Alison Bliss

Out of the Blue by Alison Bliss
Published 2020 via Forever
★★

A tale as old as time: man wants woman, woman wants man, woman is convinced that man can't possibly want her. Throw in some clumsiness and (in this case) a weight-loss/body-image plotline, and you have a bread-and-butter romance.

I'll note straight off that this was exactly what I was looking for when I read it—I was sick and tired and wanted something that didn't require me to think too hard. That said:

- Preslee is set up to be a classically cute-klutz of a heroine. In the first chapter alone, she calls herself clumsy, trips, trips and falls into the hero, trips and catches herself, accidentally hits the wrong button on a workout machine (simultaneously messing up her livestream), is called accident-prone, steps on a loose string and trips herself (falling into the hero's arms), and walks into a treadmill. It's clear that her defining personality trait is going to be "klutz". But then it's dropped almost entirely: In Chapter 2, a character calls her "a bit clumsy"; in Chapter 3, she knocks a stapler off her desk; and in Chapter 10, she trips on a root. That's it. Now...I don't like the klutziness-as-character-flaw trope. It's so overdone in romance that it's no longer recognizable as something edible, and it usually reads to me (rightly or wrongly) as though the author isn't willing/able to do the work that a more interesting character flaw would require. But if that is going to be her Defined Flaw, I'd at least like it to be consistent. (How is this not an issue with Preslee working in an antique store?)

- Heroes making bets about heroines will never go over well. Doubly so when it's about something that is societally extremely sensitive (weight); triply so when the hero then spends most of the book using the heroine to suit his own means and gaslighting her about it. As part of this, he also pressures her into weekly, semi-public weigh-ins, and...my dude, you're never coming back from that.

- The book doesn't pass the Bechdel test. In fact, if there were a male version of the Bechdel test, it would only barely pass that.

- A little too much slapstick for my liking. Personal preference, but...when Preslee trips and falls in the first chapter, she ends up with a bandage that everyone thinks looks like a pantiliner, because, well, romance novel. Much later in the book, when she and Adam are watching a movie, the sounds of next door's...horizontal activities...are so loud that they need subtitles for the movie, and Preslee still needs Adam to explain what's going on next door. I'm not sure if this is slapstick or just over-the-topness, but rather than being cute-funny it left me questioning Preslee's intelligence.

- Adam is meant to be a good guy, because this is a romance novel that wasn't written in the 80s. But mate. You were already never coming back from the gaslighting and related mess. You didn't need to add to the mix inviting an unsuspecting woman over to your house to tell her that you want her to "do" you; telling her that even though she thinks she's safe to drive (and you have no reason to question her judgement), she's had (as have you) more than a single sip of alcohol, so she'll have to ride with you; and cutting off her means of escape in the process.

Again, this was what I was looking for at the time, and I can't fault it for being a bread-and-butter romance. Overall it doesn't feel very up to date, though, and it's one I'm unlikely to return to.