Review: Side Effects

Side Effects by V.K. Powell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Finished on April 23, 2021

Favorite Scene/Quote: "I want you so badly my whole body aches, but I can't."

I’m honestly not sure how I feel about this book. Parts of it were interesting enough, but other parts didn’t feel earned.
    
Jordan is a detective with serious issues stemming from her past. She doesn’t really make personal connections. She and three other cops are made to watch over Neela when she is seemingly threatened. Neela is the state health director in her state which has recently become more conservative-led. She’s not happy about having people watch her every move and Jordan isn’t happy about having to babysit a doctor. The two clash, a lot, but there seems to be something else lingering just under the covers.

At first I found it hard to like either of the characters. At the beginning Neela came off like someone trying too hard to hide who she was and what was going on in her personal life. Jordan was trying to hide her past from people and it made her quick to anger and reckless. Eventually things were explained and revealed and I began to like the two characters more, but it took some time.

I don’t feel like the romance in this book worked. The two were physically attracted to each other, sure. But the two felt emotionally drawn to each other even though they knew next to nothing about the other person. Eventually things began to get revealed and they opened up more to each other but seemingly only about the serious things. I’m not saying that serious discussions can’t fuel a relationship, I’m just saying there should have been more. It felt rushed and clumsy and forced, and I didn’t like the relationship. If it had ended where the two were in physical relationship moving to an emotional relationship it might have been better, but it didn’t.

I quite liked the plot actually. I felt that it might have been a bit underdeveloped, but the ideas were good and for the most part they were executed nicely. The side characters were nice enough, especially Bina, and they helped prop up the main characters more. Liz was a bit combative at certain parts, but it made sense in the context. Bex was too nice to Jordan when she was pulling some of her reckless antics. Jordan is a cop who should have been treated harsher than she was.

This book did discuss several things that are important. Abortion, abuse, being raised in an orphanage, sexual dysfunction. These and other topics were discussed, usually not to a long-detailed degree but enough where you understood what was going on, and I thought they were handled pretty well.

This book was a decent read. It’s nothing amazing but it’s interesting enough, especially with the threat plotline.