jayvall reviewed The Chai Factor by Farah Heron
Review of 'The Chai Factor' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
This wasn't great and it wasn't terrible. It very much felt like a debut author, which is not a slight, just an observation. Amira wasn't a very likable character but it's explained very well why she is the way she is. Some of the secondary characters were more fully drawn than others: the "villains" in particular were wooden and obvious, while the friend group were much more believable. I liked the way the author incorporated the foods and customs of her heritage but didn't bog the reader down in explaining every little detail.
The romance is maybe the least strong aspect of this book, which is unfortunate because the author clearly believes this to be a contemporary romance. But there was so much plot that the romance was not the main focus here and I didn't really believe that either one of them felt as strongly about the other as …
This wasn't great and it wasn't terrible. It very much felt like a debut author, which is not a slight, just an observation. Amira wasn't a very likable character but it's explained very well why she is the way she is. Some of the secondary characters were more fully drawn than others: the "villains" in particular were wooden and obvious, while the friend group were much more believable. I liked the way the author incorporated the foods and customs of her heritage but didn't bog the reader down in explaining every little detail.
The romance is maybe the least strong aspect of this book, which is unfortunate because the author clearly believes this to be a contemporary romance. But there was so much plot that the romance was not the main focus here and I didn't really believe that either one of them felt as strongly about the other as they claimed to. I don't even think they were in lust (let alone love) with each other. Amira spent so much time insisting that she didn't like Duncan that I just don't believe all of a sudden she decided he was actually spongeworthy. Yes, I'm showing my age here. Even though this wasn't the best, I'd read the next book from this author to see how/if she improves as a writer.