Title: And The Survey Says…
Author: Karma Eastwick
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance
Length: Novel / 260 pages
Rating: 2.75 out of 5
A guest review by Kassa
THE BLURB:
Project Director Zane Caldwell has a major problem—a charming, go-getter hotshot from Chicago named Ford Trionni, recently hired at Windley Finch Inc., a Connecticut-based marketing research company. The man, whom the secretarial pool nicknamed “The Italian Stallion” based on his stunning good looks and sexual aura, has also gained the reputation of a superstar in the industry due to his innovative analytical techniques. The trouble is, the man wears his accolades like a badge on his lapel, strutting around the office like a peacock.
Ford’s self-centered, lofty attitude drives Zane to utter distraction. Even worse, the man seems to know it, intentionally using his sizzling sex appeal to tie Zane’s patience and libido into knots while giving off mixed messages of mutual attraction. But from what Zane can tell, Ford’s already involved in an intense relationship with someone else, and the last thing Zane wants is to fall for a guy who not only treats him like a peon instead of an equal, but intends to make him a side dish to his current love affair.
Yet as he works with Ford on an important account, Zane begins to realize there’s more to Ford than the man lets on, and all may not be what it seems. As the heat between them builds into an inferno despite their contrary work relationship, Zane vows to get to the bottom of Ford’s confusing behavior once and for all. Is the man playing games with Zane’s job and his heart, or is there a chance they might actually discover they’re the perfect partners?
THE REVIEW:
Despite the publisher’s claim that this is a romantic comedy, it’s not at all. It’s got a dash of office romance, some family drama, miscommunication, fear of rejection, and all the classic issues relationships deal with in romance novels but it’s not very funny – actually it’s not funny at all. It’s a decent read but has some serious problems and the prose is not very good in my opinion. I had issues with the writing, characterization, and weak plot though it did have some real strengths in portraying realistic tension and fears. Overall a mixed bag that I can’t say I particularly enjoyed, although it’s not a total train wreck.
The lengthy blurb pretty much summarizes the extent of the story. There is an opposites attract theme with office co-workers Zane and Ford as they jockey for king of the mountain so to speak. Ford’s attitude rubs Zane the wrong way while Zane can’t think of much beyond wanting to rub Ford in all kinds of ways. When the two finally sit down to talk, Zane realizes that there is more to Ford than he realized but Ford’s fear of rejection and family issues may drive a wedge between their budding romance.
The plot itself is uneven and never hits a smooth pace. The beginning is quick and sexy with some hot banter that sets up what should be a romantic, sexual tension filled office romance. There is some witty dialogue, lots of sexual lusting and musing mixed with I hate him/I love him waffling. This carries on for about half the book as the two men circle around each other offering quips and jabs while building the tension. Nothing is really funny or comedic at all but the story is somewhat entertaining as the two men dance around their explosive chemistry while not wanting to give in for their own reasons. There is the mysterious Mitch who Zane thinks is Ford’s high maintenance boyfriend and this throws a wrench into the relationship until Ford can explain. From here the story takes a turn and becomes a rather serious, dramatic piece about dealing with family illness and the repercussions.
The subplot about Ford and Mitch is well handled and the best part of the book. Watching Ford maneuver through life with Mitch is interesting and compassionate while bringing up some very understandable fears and issues. Ford’s fear of rejection and inability to really commit makes sense in light of his life and past so the tension revolving this feels honest. Although Ford’s issues drag out and flip flop a bit much, the underlying issues work and so this isn’t a big issue. Both Ford and Zane are decently characterized but they seem to change once they start having sex. Ford’s confident, outgoing demeanor turns almost meek and quiet. He becomes introspective and almost lost except during sex scenes when he’s vocal and calling out what he wants. The switch to Ford’s personality is meant to show him losing the arrogant façade but he loses his entire personality unfortunately. Likewise Zane originally comes off as sharp edged but sexy yet during the sex scenes he becomes dominating and I’m not sure where that came from.
Unfortunately the relationship between Ford and Zane just never reaches that same level of interest as the brother plot and if anything, their sex scenes really helped kill any enjoyment in the book. Ford supposedly puts on an arrogant shell to mask his insecurities and his fears but once in bed when Zane takes on his weird dominant role with Ford as submissive that feels awkward and wrong. Their attempt at talking dirty during sex totally turned me off and made the erotica a chore to read. This dialogue and the various sexual descriptions sound corny and off-putting. Such as “he had several inches of my throbbing shaft buried inside his snatch” or
“God damn it,” he said on a groan. “Your whiskers…they’re driving me wild…they’re so damned prickly.”
“Just making way for the prick I’ll be giving you soon.”
“No, no, not soon…now, fuck me now.”
“Now?” I asked, chuckling before giving his opening another swipe with my tongue and making certain I waggled my whiskered face over his buttocks.
I realize this is highly reader dependent but the story was heading downhill and lost me entirely when describing Ford’s asshole as a snatch. I may never recover. I also didn’t particularly like the mixture of dirty talk with more staid descriptions of actions. It felt awkward and uncomfortable so much that I wanted to skip the sex scenes entirely.
Overall the story seems to suffer from not taking a strong focus. There is the office romance aspect but other than the fact they work at the same office, this never really plays heavily into the story. The fun dynamic of office politics and getting it on during the work day or the tension about such never materialized in any meaningful way and the comedy description is a total error. This is not a comedy and the drama of dealing with a family member with Down Syndrome was perhaps the best part of the book. While entertaining to read in some areas, this is not a book I particularly enjoyed and therefore wouldn’t recommend. But that’s just my opinion.
Wow, talk about a complete difference of opinion. This was one of the funniest books with some of the best dialogue and descriptions I’ve read in a long while. I LOLed endlessly and didn’t think the sex off-putting but hot as heck. And only with one chapter in the middle did I get a sense of some heavy seriousness, whereas the rest was rather light and heavily romantic. I’ve been a silent visitor for a long time to this blog and I have to say I’ve been visiting less and less recently mainly due to the complete opposite opinions between the handful of reviewers who post here and my own experience with the stories I’ve been reading. I know I’m not the only one who thinks that. Many of the reviewers seem totally disconnected with some of the material that’s being reviewed and more often then not I find their opinions bizarre and shockingly unnerving. Just my opinion, of course, but I don’t think I’ll be trusting the reviewers on this blog for any actual advice.
Beverly
First I would like to comment on the review. Kassa is always thorough and explains, in great detail, why she likes a book or not. I have not read this book so I have no idea whether I agree or not, but that’s not the point. The fact that you disagree with the review just means that you have a different opinion, not that you’re right or wrong.
I’m surprised that you still visit this site if you have felt that the reviews do not align with your views of books. As you know, opinions about books, food and music are probably the most subjective and you will find opinions from one end of the spectrum to the other on any of these topics. Frequently when I see a review of a book I have read I wonder whether the reviewer and I read the same book.
You might be interested to know that this book received 3 stars on another site, Rainbow Reviews, so maybe not everyone was as wowed by it as you were. Regardless, I’m sure you will agree that opinions on books are very subjective and varied.
BTW there are more than 10 reviewers on this site which is a bit more than “a handful” and I think that many reviewers on any site at least gives readers different perspectives on the books reviewed.
Thank you for visiting and have a wonderful day.
I’m sorry you feel that way. I can only offer my opinion of what I read. I didn’t find this particular book funny at all but I’m glad you did. For some reason this author and this book didn’t connect with me, perhaps it’s me.
Reading is so subjective it’s really hard to find people with similar opinions. Reviewers sometimes laugh about “hive mind” when several reviewers feel the same but every one will tell you there are multiple times that they simply disagree entirely. There have been both poor and raving reviews of books I disagreed with and others have felt the same about my reviews.
I’m not sure what you mean about being disconnected with the material. It didn’t really grab me so perhaps it’s that. I didn’t go into the book with any negative thoughts, in fact I’d heard good things about it. This could just be me and I tried to be very clear that there is a lot of personal choices involved in the things I disliked. I hope that helps. In the end you can only search for reviewers that think like you.
Hi, Kassa! Thanks for the detailed and informative review. It’s too bad this didn’t work out — we need more romantic comedies! Interesting point that you and Beverly are discussing here in the comments. I find reading to be totally subjective as well. I mean, fascinatingly so!
Sometimes we all align in “hive mind” on something, but more often than not, we’re seeing books in a completely individualistic way.
Sometimes some of us “bring something” to the material already in that we already like, say, time-travel, and so we get a little more out of the story than another reviewer who approaches the material cold with no opinion about time-travel one way or the other. Other times, we reviewers have to state our personal biases against certain material.
It’s true that readers who seek guidance from reviewers need to shop around and find those reviewers who tend to like the same things that they do. This takes time to find those reviewers and get familiar with their tastes.
However, even those reviewers who have opposite tastes from the reader can be useful to that reader, e.g., like what Beverly is describing here, “due to the complete opposite opinions between the handful of reviewers who post here and my own experience with the stories I’ve been reading.”
She could continue to check in with this site, and use it as a gauge: if a story gets a negative review here, she might actually like it a lot. If it gets a positive review here, she might not like it. I’ve thought about doing this sort of reverse feedback check with reviewers on other sites that I know don’t match up with my reading tastes. 🙂
Very well said Val. Thank you!
You’re welcome. 🙂
I wasn’t going to comment but I just thought Beverly should check out the ratings of this book on Goodreads as well. It received varied ratings from 2 stars (from me as well) to 4 stars.
It was a pretty boring story for me. Ford calling first dips on everything was so childish and got old quickly. Zane and his secretary had such repetitive and mindless banters ever. Zord in bed naked, just talking and talking and talking might be hot for some but didn’t quite work for me. But that’s just me. I liked the Mitch parts though and the ending was really sweet.
I think, so far, I’ve had happy experiences with the books that were reviewed here and rated highly (especially the 5 stars ones). I did end up with a few that didn’t quite work for me but I didn’t think I’d hit 100% success rate. That’s just impossible given differing tastes and all between various reviewers and me.
And I’m just as happy to avoid books rated lowly here too. Saves me money and time. I don’t worry about missing out on a potentially good read that received a low rating here, cos I also read reviews from other sites, so if a book is really good, it’ll pop up!
I’d never hate on any reviewer (or commenter). I enjoy reading reviews and comments. It’s nice to know how different and similar we can be. I’m in Malaysia and you’re in Canada and yet, here we are! 🙂
Great comment. It’s true for any given book that reactions are going to differ. It doesn’t really bother me that another reader may LOVE what I found boring or even distasteful. After all, a review is merely one reader’s opinion.
That’s also why I’m a big fan of Goodreads and the like because you can see a wide range of reviews and ratings so no one is relying on one person’s opinion. I agree with you on this book, I was pretty bored for most of it and for me, the sex scenes didn’t work. I’m glad though that it worked for Beverly and she quite enjoyed it. Different strokes but again you give great advice in reminding that it’s best to watch several reviews because no one will ever match your taste exactly.
I don’t usually comment on reviews ’cause every reviewer is entitled to his/her opinion and I fully respect that. But in this case, when I was reading the comments and saw the part about how this story had only received rankings between 2 and 4 stars at Goodreads, I had to speak up to set the record straight. Because, actually, it has 5 star ratings at Goodreads as well. I know, because I’m one of the people who rated it a 5 on the day it came out. 🙂
In spite of the fact I read a ton of m/m, I don’t rate a lot at Goodreads because I just don’t have a lot of time to spend at networking sites. Mostly I take the time to rate only if it’s something I particularly like. I really loved And the Survey Says, loved the characters and their flaws and foibles, and loved Zane’s banter with his assistant–totally LOLed hard a whole lot when they were talking. Like her calling the guys “Zord,” and at one point he calls her Kindle her “portable porn machine,” which I thought was a hoot. How many readers who love erotic literature adore having a Kindle or other device so they can read their fave sexy stories out in public with the safe anonymity of a generic-looking device instead of a racy book cover? I know I do. *g* I really like Karma’s style and wit. Her stories always have witty banter, which is one of the things that appeal to me about her writing. I like her writing voice in general because it’s kind of edgy with a little more raw language and descriptions than a lot of gay romance has. She doesn’t hold back and try to always be politically correct, which I appreciate because so many stories I read end up coming across as bland for me as authors try too hard to be “safe.” So it truly is a matter of different strokes for different folks ’cause this was my fave of hers so far.
As far as star ratings in general when it comes to any books…honestly, I don’t find them terribly helpful as a comparison tool because 1 star or 3 stars or 5 stars mean totally different things to different people. I realize some authors and readers love star ratings, but they’re used so inconsistently across the industry that it’s tough to know what they truly mean. I have some friends who only give 5 stars to their handful of absolute all time fave reads–they’ve read thousands of books and have only ever given 5 stars to like five books total. And I know others who give them to almost everything they read that they like in any fashion. I’ve read reviews that rated a story 3 stars and couldn’t find much of anything they liked about it, and others rated 3 stars where the reviewer said absolutely nothing negative about the story and seemed to love it. Heck, I once got a 1 star rating on one of my books at a major online bookstore where the reviewer said he would have liked the story and characters if it had been written by a man, but since I was a woman, he couldn’t accept it and therefore gave it one star. Um…okay. *g* So for me, if I’m reading reviews, I cull information from what’s said about a story, not how many stars it’s received. Which, I suppose, is a lesson I should learn when it comes to Goodreads where, instead of just rating stories that I really love, I should take the time to write at least a few lines about why I like it, so that readers get a better feel for where I’m coming from and have more info on which to base their own choices. 🙂
Hi! Thanks for commenting and I’m glad you enjoyed the book and laughed a lot. I’ve tried to explain the reasons why I didn’t and again, reader preference. Perhaps the author just isn’t for me.
I think it’s really interesting that two or twenty or a hundred people can read a scene or a book and come away with a totally different feeling. I agree with you regarding the Kindle, I adore my Sony to no end – one reason I can read what I want without the covers showing. Though I used to cover my romance novels with a piece of plain paper to hide it, how sad is that! I can remember the scene you’re talking about with the kindle and while I appreciated it, I’d read a very similar banter about porn on ereaders in a few other stories recently so I didn’t find the exchange that funny. More like.. oh this again? But the first time I read it, I laughed.
Also I agree with you about ratings. They’re totally subjective, each person has different criteria in applying them and they don’t always make sense. I’ve given 3 star reviews that have been mostly negative (sadly, something I need to work on) because sometimes the story is just… ok. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it and it’s forgettable filler so I just say um.. 3 stars. So it’s a totally random system in my opinion and it’s the comments and opinions that mean anything.
Hi M.L.
As I mentioned to Beverly, I haven’t read And The Survey Says so I don’t have an opinion on this book. What I objected to was the way she attacked the reviewers on the site as well as their opinions
If I don’t agree with a review or a rating I’m respectful of the reviewer’s time for doing this job when she/he could be doing things that are sometimes more fun.
I’m not a member of Goodreads as yet because of time constraints so I haven’t read the ratings for this book on that site. What I can say about Kassa is that her ratings are consistent for all the books she reviews. In the entire time she has been reviewing here, which is over a year, she has only rated one book as 5 stars; that was such a shock I offered to send her a bottle of virtual champagne. 🙂
Each reviewer here has a different rating style even though most of them follow the rating system on the site, with a few variables. I guess I should make the time to read this book because there is such a wide spread on the ratings for it. Like you, I read the reviews rather than just depend on the ratings, and take from them what gems I can to help me make up my mind whether or not to buy a book.
Thanks for stopping by, M.L. You should visit more often. 🙂