Better Than This made me angry in a way a good book should. It also reminds me why I steer clear of romantic dramas (and also why people love them so much). I was completely invested in these characters and was so sucked in, I couldn’t do anything else but see where the story went. I wanted to protect Ali, reassure Carl, scream at Taamarai, and we will leave out all things I wanted to do to Darren but I am positive the highest court wouldn’t convict me! I know most avid romance readers have “book loves” or book boyfriends but Darren is officially my “book loathe”. I don’t think I have ever detested a character as much as him. The raw feelings that clearly emit from this review is a true homage to Rose Marzin’s writing ability. I invite you to enjoy this carefully woven tale of two people whose self worth has been defined by everyone but themselves.

Having come to the US for college, Taamarai’s only knows life as the way it has been for the past 10 years: Multiple jobs, constantly moving from one opportunity to the next, and her husband Darren her side. Finally, she is ready to put down roots and make her dream come true – opening her own restaurant; but first, she has to return to school. Despite objections from her husband, she moves from Boston to Gabriel Heights in North Carolina and meets a young woman named Ali who ends up being all the pieces that Taamarari hasn’t realized she was missing from her life. Along with Ali comes Carl, a man who life hasn’t done any favors. A single father doing what is necessary to keep roof over their head and food in their mouth, he doesn’t have time for another flaky neighbor with high hopes to move in, only to move right back out. To his surprise, over time, Taamarari not only remains his dutiful upstairs neighbor, but turns his world on its axis in more ways than one.

What I like about it: This book could have been subtitled “How to Gaslight Your Spouse 101”. Darren was a piece of work! I am happy Carl vocalized every single thought I had about that guy! The guilt trip he laid down when Taamarari first spoke to him with the “I’m not worthy” topper was a dead giveaway that he wasn’t a good guy. You gave him the benefit of the doubt with what little you knew but as the layers started to peel away, you realized how rotten he was at the core. With that being said, Marzin wrote characters that romances typically ignored. Carl wasn’t your dashing gorgeous hero that any woman would have been lucky to have. Taamarari wasn’t your model sized drop dead gorgeous heroine that could stop traffic with her beauty. They were real, they were flawed, they were human. The beauty of both characters was life (or individuals in their lives) spent some much effort telling them that they were less than that they couldn’t believe anything else. With this, you already see them/met them at their lowest. Taamarari in a marriage that she had to numb herself to in order to survive the pain and despair that came with it. The expectations that society had on Carl to not be seen or heard because they already deemed him worthless. For these two people to have found each other and not only saw beyond their shields of survival, but saw the good and the possibilities that were still there – I couldn’t help but want everything for them.

What I love about it: I absolutely loved how this story was written. It wasn’t quickly resolved, it wasn’t easy – it was messy, it was complicated, it was life. I couldn’t get enough of Ali. I adored that young girl and applauded how much she grew and held her own in the story. While this is fictional, I can only imagine what type of woman she would become. I wasn’t sure how she would play into the story when she was introduced at the beginning but she was so instrumental that I couldn’t imagine the story without her.

What I don’t like about it: The one thing I found difficult in the story was the random POV change. From the beginning, the reader is given the impression that they are seeing everything from Taamarai’s point of view. The first time it switches to Carl, the author places a divide to show the POV change. After that, it just randomly switches and you don’t know who’s perspective you are sharing until you are told their reaction to a situation. While I don’t think she would have needed to split the story into POV chapters, keeping up with the asterisk divide to show the shift would have been helpful.

The only thing, while minor, was there were a few grammatical errors and sentence fragments. While it didn’t take away from the story, it did give pause when I had to read them several times only to conclude the thought still didn’t make sense but wasn’t critical to that moment in the story.

This is a true classic to romantic dramas without the fire and heat. It’s focus isn’t about love or lust, it is above overcoming and survival. While it does elude to moments and there is a soft subtle scene between two people who really cared about each other, it remains chaste. I wouldn’t consider it a build up and fade out scene- more of a truly innocent moment that would be considered PG.

There is so much to take away from this book but the primary focus is societal perspective and the power of gaslighting. Darren effectively controlled Taamarari because he constantly used her need to please to make her believe that those around her saw her less than. Carl was convinced that society didn’t want or need him so he would cut off ties first. Both survived based on a skewed view of their placement, that they were not good enough, not worthy enough, and should accept their plight in life. I focus on this because it is seen so often in every day life. Some people are dealt a bad hand and instead of society being understanding and compassionate, it looks down its nose and determines, without evidence or reason, their fate is justified. 

What simply floored me was the moment after Carl’s last job. I honestly can’t remember doing anything else but focusing on that moment in the book. It was so intense and surreal. You wanted to reach through the pages and be there with them. You could feel every single emotion of those moments, the fear, the hope, the agony – it was incredible. Most of the book is quite sad to be honest but when good moments take place, you love being a part of it.

For a debut novel, Rose Marzin outdid herself. I hope others find this book and love it as much as I did. I am still seething over Darren’s character but that simply reaffirms how good Rose builds characters and paints pictures!