The Scale (Martha's Way, #1)

by Mika Jolie

[Angie]

I was pretty eager to read The Scale. It’s an interracial romance, and I felt like I could relate to Minka’s struggle with her weight. She’s having a bit of a rough time. She’s secretly in love with one of her best friends who is now marrying her twin sister. She’s packed on some weight and isn’t feeling too good about her body, but she can’t seem to shed the extra pounds. Then she meets Jason during the wedding preparations and can’t believe a gorgeous man like him wants her too. But he doesn’t do relationships and she’s still pining after her sister’s fiance, so maybe she shouldn’t risk it at all.

The Scale does have a sweet romance, but I was distracted by the awful dialogue the entire time. Everything sounds so formal and stiff. I couldn’t believe that anyone really talks this way. The dialogue sounded more like it was suited for a Historical rather than Contemporary, or even for stuck up rich people who sound fake anyway. It was just very awkward and felt like the characters were allergic to contractions. And some of the phrases they use just did not fit this modern, laid back setting.

On top of that, Minka has absolutely no personality whatsoever. I felt zero emotions coming from her, despite knowing that she’s not thrilled about this wedding and that she’s unhappy with her weight. Whenever she opened her mouth it was something along the lines of “I’m sorry,” “I can’t,” “I won’t,” “I have to go,” “I can’t stay,” or she chose to say nothing at all. Very negative, but with nothing behind it. It’s like she was just going through the motions, which she very well might have been because she was just trying to get through these two weeks, but I should have gotten a hint of something from her. It was even more frustrating, because I got personality from everyone else! Maybe it was a self-fulfilling prophecy, and her feelings of being invisible compared to her twin made her dull narrator.

The Scale also suffers from one of my least favorite Romance tropes. It doesn’t go quite as far as it could have, but once again, Minka’s lack of emotional response made it even more awkward. She literally has no reaction to it at all. Even when she tells her best friend about it, it’s like she’s commenting on the weather. I’m not saying that she needs to be super dramatic about it, but whether your feelings are negative or positive on the situation, you’d have some kind of feelings toward it, not “Oh, this happened.”

Sadly, The Scale disappointed me. I wanted to relate to Minka and cheer for her to reach her goals and get her man, but her lack of emotion toward anything made it impossible for me to get emotionally involved.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.