Review: Snow Angel

Title: Snow Angel
Author: Sharon Maria Bidwell
Publisher: Loose Id
Publication Date: 19 December 2006
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 136 pages

Rating: 1 out of 5

Review: It was a simple case of mistaken identity when Dean, newly returned home after college, kisses Jay, a childhood friend and brother of Dean's intended target. What neither realizes is just what an impact such a small mistake can have on their lives.

Dean is, for me, thoroughly unlikable, just absolutely appalling. He has notes of crazy stalker/rapist to go with his complexes, and spends a lot of time focusing on how nothing is really his fault. He's big and good-looking--I get that--but his personality leaves a lot to be desired, even when he's not vaguely creeping me out. He never really seems to grow; things just align themselves to him, rather than him making any real changes.

Jay is rather spineless and hard to root for--something about someone who uses the phrase 'use me' makes me think that someone is going to need a large savings for therapy bills. He bends over even when he should be asking for help, but shoves help away when he does get it. He's aggravating most of the time, honestly, in his sheer milquetoast-ness.

As a couple, Dean and Jay push all the wrong buttons for me. That crazy stalker/rapist thing? Never quite goes away, and dubious consent is not exactly my thing. (Seriously: you let yourself into the home of a friend with whom your last interaction was an argument, find him masturbating, and invite yourself to join in before he knows any better, and that's not even slightly inappropriate?) I could never get past that vibe enough to even begin to grasp any other facet of their relationship well enough to compensate.

The supporting cast is small and bitchy--April (Jay's sister) is a seething pit of bitchiness for most of the story in a way that makes her seem less concerned older sister and more psycho hosebeast. I started skimming her scenes as the story went on because 'fuck off and die' can really be conveyed only so many ways.

The story itself was terribly disjointed, mostly feeding back into itself in the stalker/rapist craziness through a string of sex scenes. Actual plot happened here and there, but didn't help much; the climactic confrontation over Jay's car came out of nowhere and was handled clumsily, with an off-the-cuff disdain that would alarm me were we dealing with real people. (Two words: tetanus shot.)

The writing style is also not to my taste. Most of the time, I get what the author's trying to do, but it falters stylistically before it's pulled off. As an example, this is pulled from a scene towards the end:

Seeking, asking with caresses, Jay's fingers worked at buttons. He tugged the zip down. The prison gaped. The prisoner sought early release. Jay took the naked captive and soothed the punishment with kisses.

This is part of one paragraph. The entire scene went along in this vein. (If you don't see a problem there, more power to you. Like I said, not my taste.) Frequent editing errors didn't help.

I usually know I'm in trouble when I start counting pages; nothing says non-immersive experience like the compulsive need to see how much there is left before it's done. If you don't mind dub-con, maybe you'll find more here than I did, but I don't think I'll be looking again.