Maxxed Out by Treva Harte

Maxxed Out by Treva Harte

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This story was a somewhat classic tale of childhood friends/acquaintances who hook up after years apart.

What it did well: The characterization of the two leads was done rather well. They were three-dimensional, and interesting, with believable issues and flaws that made their predicament engaging. The supporting characters were pretty good, although a little two-dimensional. I really liked the brother's girlfriend that Daniel talks to in a bar; she was an interesting character, for all that she was only in one scene.

What wasn't so good: Ms. Harte's style of storytelling was a little...clunky. The internal monologues occurred right in the middle of the dialogue, and it resulted in several paragraphs between lines of speech, which was annoying (but not unreadable). Sometimes it was hard to remember what they had been talking about, because the thoughts had wandered far enough off topic. The parents were predictable and somewhat flat...the scene they appear in they almost disappeared as Daniel and Max talked about stuff, despite the fact Max was coming out to them.

Also, some issues were never really approached that might have made Daniel's resistance more believable...his injury and his dreams/hallucinations from the war are both things that Max should be able to reassure Daniel about...I wish we could have seen a scene following a nightmare.

In essence, this was a decent read that had the potential for more. If you don't mind a slightly unpolished feel to your stories, you might enjoy this one.

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