Review
I am perplexed and unsatisfied after reading Masked Intent: A Modern Day Play by Kimberly Greer. This narrative alternates between Alexa Winston, Mateo Da Rosa, and a strange narrator. Alexa Winston is a strong mother of three who works at a big time Public Relations Firm and finds her solace relaxing in her rose garden. Da Rosa, an American University Psychology Professor who goes from being a promiscuous bachelor to a love crazy romantic, vying for Alexa’s guarded heart. Periodically the Act will change and a mysterious narrator will side bar, the narrators elude to the fact that they are sisters representing honesty, truth and accountability. While I was never able to connect the dots as to what these chapters had to do with Alexa and Mateo’s story, Kimberly’s words were beautiful.
While I can appreciate that Kimberly Greer has exceptional knowledge in Public Relations and it shows, no doubt about that. As we go to work with Alexa her day is thoroughly (and I mean thoroughly) explained, detail by detail. I dreaded the chapters where we were forced to sit through her petty arguments with her boss Sydell Fischer, who believed that a conversation over dinner and a drink was the best place for business. I wish the characters were described as deeply as the case of the firms sketchy client, whom Alexa questions whether to represent due to her moral compass. She faces pressure from all sides, including her newly resurfaced cheating ex-husband.
The characters in this novel don't have many specifics, so you will need to use your imagination. Pedro Pascal with a man bun served as my Mateo, and Brittany Benson, the social media manager from the MTV show "Dr. Miami," served as my Alexa. A quick google search and you will most likely agree. I believed that Mateo was European due to his excessive use of his pet name for Alexa “love”. The internal and external dialogue was mostly cringeworthy as I didn’t realize Mateo and Alexa were actually adults. I was under the impression that they were teenagers until Alexa mentions her teenage son in the third chapter.
I love books where the point of view changes from chapter to chapter, which is how this book started. As I got farther through the story this structure seemed to have been forgotten, then remembered, then forgot again. The chapters started out exciting and I enjoyed getting to know each character and was looking forward to the surprise of turning the page and finding out whose eyes I would be looking through next. After some time this format was thrown out the window. Mateo and Alexa began sharing chapters, with just a quick space and a name as their line of demarcation. I found myself rereading various chapters since the author would jump from first person to third person in the same paragraph. I believe that due to the confusion it produced, many suspenseful moments were missed. A consistent and organized format could have made all of the difference.
Although I personally wouldn't recommend this book, due to the amount of sexuality and vulgar language I would say this book would be great for the 18+ community. This "play" includes corny dialogue, predictable situations and a conflict that was not very interesting to me. As an avid reader I enjoy reading romance novels, but this one lacked the intrigue, mystery, and inventive intimate moments that I look forward to in this genre. In conclusion, I found this book to be underwhelming and anticlimactic despite Kimberly Greer's extensive vocabulary and finely crafted phrases.
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theartofmadeline
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