Cynically Sweet (Booklikes)

Finally by Scarlett Metal is about Marcus and Lauren. Lauren was recently in a relationship with a guy named Kyle, but when she found out he was cheating on her, she broke off the engagement. So, she turns to a relationship with Marcus. They've been working at the same company for a long time, and they've had various feelings for each other. Though, they have not been able to see each other often because they don't live in the same area. Finally, after a long wait, Marcus is coming on a business trip to Chicago and they're both looking forward to it.

I've never read anything by Scarlett Metal before now. I thought that this was a very sweet story between Lauren and Marcus, they were a very intriguing couple and obviously liked each other very much. I think that, despite Marcus being a little overly protective, he was very respective of her and obviously adored her very much. Lauren was very demure and obviously a very intelligent character, without being annoying. In fact, to me, both main characters were very likeable. I felt that the way both Lauren and Marcus were written made them feel very genuine. I didn't really like the other characters, not even Lauren's friends.

As for the plot, it was kind of cliche in some areas. The ex-boyfriend/ fiance who cheats on the main character so she turns to a new boyfriend. Old boyfriend starts trying to contact her again and then new boyfriend gets jealous. Mix that in with a few friends who, with good intentions, try to ruin her life, you get a bunch of cliches. In the non-cliche bits, I thought it was very sweet that Marcus was willing (and did) give up his job because he likes her so much. It showed that he really did like her a lot.

Overall, I liked the story, but feel I have to mark it down for the cliche portions of the plot and the characters I didn't like. I do want to read the story further into the series, despite there no being a second right now. I think I might read other books by the same author in future.