Review – Love Like The Movies by Victoria Van Tiem

Reviewed by Kay Brooks

Kensington Shaw is set to marry her successful fiancé, Bradley, and even her mother, for whom appearances are everything, approves of the match. It couldn’t be more perfect. The wedding will be out of a fairy tale and Bradley can’t wait to start a family. When her cheating, remorseful ex from seven years ago, Shane Bennet, arrives on the scene, wanting to work on a project with the marketing team both Kenzi and Bradley work for, their plans are thrown into a spin. All the little quirks that Kenzi’s family and Bradley would rather erase, such as her extreme love for romantic movies, are appreciated by Shane. Can he prove to her that she is making a big mistake if she marries Bradley by reminding her what love should be like?

The actual premise for this story is really promising. Shane wants to re-enact Kenzi’s favourite scenes from romantic movies to prove to her that love can be magical and isn’t all about winning approval from family members or taking the easiest route. Many of these moments are really well-written and will bring tears to your eyes as she learns to value herself. The chosen movies are well-known favourites, such as Dirty Dancing, 27 Dresses, Sleepless in Seattle and Pretty Woman.

As a main character, Kenzi is fun. She doesn’t take herself too seriously and there are plenty of laughs to be had when she gets herself into ridiculous situations. There were also moments where events seemed a little too madcap to be taken seriously. Shane, sadly, is an under-developed character with very little dialogue, which seems to contradict the bold way he attempts to seduce Keniz right under the nose of her fiancé. Despite this, I did find myself rooting for them to be together.

Some of the scenes in the novel happen far too quickly and left me with unanswered questions. Not everything seems to be tied up as neatly as it could be by the end. I was unsure as to why Kenzi’s job was ever in jeopardy; there are hints that there is a financial ‘situation’, but it isn’t ever followed up on. The motivation for both Bradley and Tonya’s behaviour and what exactly has happened between them is not made clear either. Ellie, who is Kenzi’s ‘best friend’, isn’t developed as much as she could be, again making her motivation seem quite vague. I didn’t really understand any of the characters apart from Kenzi and Shane who play the lead. Kenzi’s family is also something of a mystery. Her mother tends to interfere, using the excuse that she knows best, but then there isn’t any explanation as to why suddenly Kenzi’s choices are accepted.

If anything, this book makes the reader want to go on a romantic movie marathon!

6/10

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