Review:: Where I Belong by Rachel Ann Nunes

Where I Belong by Rachel Ann Nunes
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Pages: 207

When Heather Samis moves in next door, she and Tanner Wolfe quickly become best friends. They help each other through high school and college, date other people, and write letters during their time apart. Heather passionately dreams of becoming an artist, while Tanner has his life mapped out as an executive at his father’s software company. Their friendship is too important to let romance get in the way.

Then the impossible happens, and the invisible line between friendship and love is blurred. But Heather has seen her mother give up a promising artistic talent to raise ten children and to serve others at church, and she is determined not to sacrifice her own talent.

Her beliefs shaken, Heather is faced with a decision that will change her life forever. She desperately wants to allow herself to love her best friend and become a mother to their children, yet how can she forget her lifelong dream of succeeding in the art world? And if she does choose love, can she be truly happy without the art that is as much a part of her as breathing? There seems to be no way to succeed in both. Or is there?

Review:
I have a lot to say about this book. The beginning {and first 5%} of the book is just one giant paraphrase. I could have done without that. It started off with dialogue and a story but then went into a paraphrase about Heather and Tanner's life up to this point. I didn't need that. I would have understood they were friends and what not without that. I just didn't enjoy the style I guess. I was afraid the whole book would have been that way. 

I really liked Tanner and I wanted more of him but there just wasn't. The story was more Heather's and well...I just didn't like her very much. She didn't exhibit likeable qualities and she was quite thick in the head. Come on girl! Don't be so stupid. Her problem was quite selfish to be honest. It is a big sacrifice to have kids, but the way she was going on about it was really disturbing. I just didn't feel that connection with Heather that I like to have with a main character. 

Now, let me talk about the romance. It was...meh. Why didn't Tanner and Heather talk more? If they were such good friends, they would have. I didn't get butterflies when they had their moments. The dialogue between the two of them didn't feel real. It was kind of cheesy and all I could think of was that nobody actually talks like that. I was also expecting a big ta-dah ending! But it was also just...meh. 

This book was OK, but not great. If I don't feel a connection with the characters then what is the point? I just didn't "get" them. I wanted too, I just didn't.