More Than Water by Renee Ericson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Following a very public breakup with her boy band boyfriend (say that 3 times fast!) Evelyn “EJ” Cunning isn’t looking for a new relationship. She befriends “geek chic” Foster Blake who is also recovering from heartbreak. After a drunken hookup the two agree to a “friends with benefits” situation with strict understanding that neither party is looking for love.
What develops is a refreshing friendship where their differences are valued and explored. As a reader I very much enjoyed the respect that both Foster and EJ had for each other. There are far too many books that depict the egotistical brainiac belittling other characters especially someone with more of an arts-based focus. Likewise, EJ’s character finds Foster’s passion for science attractive and uses his knowledge to fuel her art projects. Kudos to Renee Ericson for developing such enjoyable characters. I also thought the book had the perfect balance of supporting characters. They were used to set up scenes and provide a platform for dialog but not too much to “water down” (pun intended) the story.
A few random thoughts to potential readers of this book:
*Out of all the books I’ve read in recent memory this one takes the top prize for containing the most pubic hair jokes/comments.
*When asked about her parents EJ describes them as “in love” which doesn’t jive in my mind. The author depicts EJ’s mother as a manipulative shrew with no interest in her daughter marrying for love. Mrs Cunnings character would have made more sense if she would have been stuck in a marriage based on status or convenience. (Not to say she doesn’t enjoy those aspects of her marriage. Just observing that it would have been more convincing if that was her main purpose in her own marriage verses a genuine love connection.)