Review: Out of Eden by Beth Ciotta

Out of Eden by Beth Ciotta
Contemporary Romance
HQN Books (April 1, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0373774432
384 pages
E-galley provided for review by the publisher

Sometimes paradise isn't all it's cracked up to be.

That's what I, Kylie McGraw, have discovered since sacrificing my dreams of traveling the world to run the family shoe store. But if I have my way, peaceful Eden, Indiana, is in for a major shake-up…


It all began on my birthday, when I got drunk and disorderly all over Eden's hunky new police chief (and my former high school crush), Jack Reynolds. Then I may have, in my Cosmo haze, witnessed a murder in progress. Now I'm almost certain I'm being stalked by the mob, while he-of-the-distracting-abs Jack continues to think I'm nuts. However, there comes a time when a girl has to kick off her sensible shoes (size 7, cushion insoles) and go after what she wants. So if I can just survive long enough to put on my sexy new red heels, that's exactly what I intend to do…

Beth Ciotta's Out of Eden is a pretty standard, small-town contemporary romance. There's nothing unique to be found here and the romance is weighed down by a silly subplot involving mob intrigue.

As far as the hero and heroine go, I liked Kylie and Jack. They were both well-drawn and entertaining, especially the newly adventurous Kylie. Part of what saved the book for me was their sweet romance. It's predictable, but I have a particular love for reunion stories set in small towns. The gossipy backdrop and characters that populate it add some fun to the development of the romance. What makes it even better is the fact that Kylie's feelings were formerly unrequited. While Jack and Kylie's relationship is cute, their thoughts and sentiments often come across as cheesy due to Ciotta's somewhat sappy prose and habit of making her characters a touch melodramatic.

Speaking of cheesy, that's an apt word to describe all of the mob-related parts of the novel, especially the wise-guy dialogue. Silly subplots in a contemporary are fine with me, as long as they are funny. Ciotta's tried to be and failed, in my opinion.

As far as the family members and small town folks that serve as secondary characters are concerned, I'm mostly indifferent. The storyline about Jack's sister Jessie was interesting, but I wish that there was more seen from her and her daughter Maddie. The same goes for Kylie's brother, Spenser, who is talked about a lot but barely heard from. The rest of the population of Eden = typical small town characters. No, not much about this book is memorable at all, but I'm not mad that I read it.

Grade: C

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