Six years ago at a random diner I met a stranger and he became the-one-who-got-away, or more correctly the-one-who-didn’t-show-up.

A small advice from me to you: if you haven’t dated, touched *or* kissed a guy in years and *years*…do not try to crawl away or hide from the-one-who-got-away. It’s not a good look.

William Carter, the stranger I’d met six years ago was the last person I’d imagine ever seeing at my dad’s firm where I work. While I panic and fight off the butterflies in my stomach and in general struggle to act normal, I realize he doesn’t even remember me. I’m not sure if I should feel relieved or heartbroken. Things get worse when I learn we’ll need to work in close quarters to each other, but at least I let him know that I don’t have a crush on him anymore right away. Just in case he gets any ideas.

While I’m in the process of writing lists and making serious changes in my life, because I decide I’m ready to be the heroine in my own story; having William just a breath away is not helping things. Especially when things shift between us and we start to make eye contact in meetings. Then he shows up in places I least expect him to…as in blind dates and sex clubs. He also gives me cheese because he knows how much I like it and there are secret notes he leaves in my office. If you were wondering, I still don’t have a crush on him though. Nope.

Even though I’d promised myself I’d never wait around for another guy and postpone my own life, I’m afraid William Carter who looks at me as if I’m his and was always supposed to be his might ruin my hopeful plans. And quite possibly me for any other guy since I’m craving his touch like I’ve never craved anything in my life before. But we both know we’re a losing game so we keep admitting that neither one of us has a crush on the other.

Not anymore. Not at all. Not even a little bit.

Review

One of the most embarrassing and upsetting things in the world is spending the majority of a book wishing it was over. To me Charlie, Love, and Cliches was utterly boring. For a book with cliché in the title I had braced myself to be subject to ridiculous but also entertaining cliches. I absolutely love Marriage for One by Ella Maise, and I have read two other books by her, and thought them to be good, nothing spectacular like Marriage for One. My expectations were over the top for this one.

For a quick summary— both Charlie and William live in New York, and one week six years ago they met at a diner and opened up to each other. Then one day, William doesn’t show up and they go back to being strangers. Years later, they both end up working at her father’s company, and he still impacts her just the same.

I think my real issue with this story for why I didn’t enjoy it as much and why I believe it to be boring-- hinges on the main characters. Both of them fell extremely flat to me. The easiest way to categorize them two is Charlie is someone who won’t stop talking and has a complicated relationship with her family. And William is recently divorced, makes bad decisions, and can’t trust women. I can’t tell you anything else about them. They just seemed severely lacking to me, which is disappointing for a story that is trying to sell a second chance romance.

Final Thoughts

Charlie, Love, and Cliches was just boring.