Review: THE JOURNAL by Jaqueline Francis

“Sometimes in life, a moment happens that changes everything. A first kiss. The birth of a
child. The death of a loved one. A moment that sets in motion a chain of events and changes
your life forever. For Adrian Hawk, one such moment was not too far away. His story begins and ends with a woman named Rodriqua...” (2)

This is the story of Rodriqua and Adrian, two people that started off as junior interns in the advertising business and worked their way to becoming the “deadly duo, a powerhouse, unstoppable when they worked together.”

I could relate to Rodriqua, especially when she felt like a “wild bird trapped in a tiny cage.” Growing up as a pastor’s daughter, she was never good enough and was simply “manufactured purely to complete the picture of the perfect life.” She is resourceful, resilient, and independent. Adrian, on the other hand, was a player, a walking sex god. This is definitely the odd couple—two different people with no similarities. You couldn’t see them as a romantic couple. Hell, you can’t even see them as a dynamic duo in the work force with their bickering banter and challenging views. But, somehow…it works. Like batteries, each has an opposite charge and when fused together, it works. 

Even though they work together, they are the best of friends, almost like a brother and sister. But could there be something more after all these years?

 

Well-written and witty, this is the sweet story of two people stuck in the friend zone. They like each other, they want each other, they fawn all over each other, but they are too afraid to be anything more.

“This isn’t a want. This isn’t a need. This is an ache. I ache with wanting. I ache with need. I

ache until the pain finally leaves me feeling numb. I long for that numbness. It’s the only
time I feel like…I don’t feel.” (36)

 

“It was becoming more and more clear that their friendship was slowly mutating into some sort of beast; a beast that had trouble breathing and keeping his feet in one place.” (48)

The whole book revolves around the endearing bond and hidden desires of the two. Readers will understand and empathize with the characters—their motives, their feelings, their lusts.  You feel for them and hope that things work out. A wonderfully crafted story of longing and passion, one enriched with beauty and colorful language. It’s about the sheer agony of an unfulfilled fantasy.  A story of a convoluted, irrepressible, and frenzied love.  Reader will feel a vacuum of crazy emotions from start to finish. I admit the latter half of the book was too much with that major bombshell, which seemed to shatter the allure from the beginning. But it will definitely evoke sympathy and sensitivity. It may even have some reaching for the Kleenex.

Lovely, woeful, and poetic, this is a worthy literary novel.

 

My rating: 4 stars