Review: Orientation by Gregory Ashe

Genre: Adult, Romantic Suspense, M/M
Pages: 303
Series: Borealis Investigations #1 (Not standalones)
Release Date: May 24, 2019
Publisher: Hodgkin and Blount

This is going to be a slightly unusual review. Mostly because I hated this book, hadn’t wanted to write a longer review until I suddenly changed my mind, and I’m now annoyed with myself. Quick synopsis first.

The protagonists are North and Shaw (I hate that I remember their names), and they have a PI firm—though North recently got his licence suspended. Shaw has been in love with North for years. North also has feelings, I think, but they’re repressed, and he’s married (to a monster of a person). Supposedly, North and Shaw are best friends. Emphasis on the supposedly because they treat each other horribly. In fact, everyone treats each other horribly in this book, and I wanted them all to drop dead. Well, everyone except North, but I’ll get back to that.

I think I mentioned this before, but other than a few bookmarks or highlights here and there, I don’t really take notes while reading. But this time, when I was about a quarter of the way in (give or take), I paused and wrote some stuff down. It’s a list of everything I didn’t like, and this is what it contains:

1. The monotone writing
2. North is kinda douchy
3. The over-description of EVERY travel route
4. Pari: A Bitch
5. The office is gross
6. Shaw and his flirting
7. Shaw not doing his job
8. Shaw too flustered or mad or something-personal to accomplish anything
9. Shaw dating a fucking client
10. Too much focus on Shaw’s personal drama

So yeah, it’s safe to say that anything to do with Shaw sucked. And he actually got worse. There’s a scene in which he discovers something about North, and it’s a moment in which he should’ve been there for his friend. Instead, he couldn’t stop whinging about North not telling him beforehand—it’s not about you, asshole!

I swear, if I could’ve reached into the book and stabbed him, I would’ve.

Additionally, here are a couple of comments from Goodreads, one from my buddy read, the second my mini, place-holder review (I warned you this was going to be a weird review).

The author seems to put all-dialogue scenes in which we have no idea what the characters are thinking or feeling, and then later have a huge inner monologue basically recapping what happened with some of what the character felt thrown in.

The one-star seems really harsh but I can’t think of a single thing about this book that I liked…the book put me in a bad mood whenever I tried to read it. Not to mention the suffocating levels of angst that asphyxiated anything I’d thought was interesting. I only kept going by skimming the second half. So this is the only rating that made sense.

The attitude of both the protagonists was also highly unprofessional. And when I said their office was gross, I meant that it was cluttered, dusty and had days-old food lying all over the place. Partially because Pari, their receptionist (office assistant?), got mad and threw shit around when asked to clean her desk or do her job.

Finally, getting back to why North shouldn’t drop dead. I fucking hate everyone else in this book. North, I think, could be a good person if he got away from everyone around him. I suggest he move to Canada, get a new job, make new friends (people in Montreal are very nice), and see a therapist once a week (for at least three years). It would make his life so much better.

Overall, I think I’ve given a satisfactory explanation of why I hated this fucking book. I don’t plan on reading anything by this author ever again. And in case this last part got lost in the disjointed nature of the review… not a book I recommend.