BOOK REVIEW ― Curveball by Mariah Dietz

Curveball by Mariah Dietz

★ Buy Curveball (Kindle)

Shakespeare believed there was always humor in tragedy and tragedy in humor.

My life proved his theory as fact.


At eighteen I was a single parent moving to this small town to be with the man I loved. The one who was supposed to love and cherish me in return.

Finding out he had a wife was tragic. Remaining in love with him in spite of her was more tragic.
My mom and best friend setting me up on a long string of blind dates was an ongoing tragedy.

Nine years later, I’ve learned to see the humor in most situations.

My mom and best friend setting me up on disastrous blind dates. My son’s jokes.
The fire alarm going off each time I cook.

My constant bright spot always adding to the humor was my son, Hayden. But when Hayden had a life-threatening allergic reaction, the man who came to help my little boy became my own savior. His laugh, his smile, and the way his eyes lit up when he spoke to my son made him a beacon of light in both our lives.

But I wasn’t the only one who noticed him.
When I began having feelings for the man my best and only friend had fallen for, I knew following my heart would once again lead to a fresh round of heartbreak.

Love led me to this town. Lies kept me there.
Would history repeat itself? Or had life just thrown me another Curveball?

Rating & Review

    1/2

I just need you to listen to me. Listen to my actions. Do you realize how many times I’ve come over here with weak excuses just so I could spend more time with you? Do you understand that I fall asleep thinking about you and wake up with you still on my mind? This has nothing to do with her and everything to do with you. With us.

Take my heart and keep it prisoner if you will deliver these kinds of lines. Sigh! I'm just going to starfish on the floor and bask in this story.

*deep breath* I don't know how Dietz manages to capture emotions, that sometimes even the person feeling them can't explain, but she does. And through that, she manages to capture the readers. It took me four and a half hours to finish this book. Four and a half. That's the fastest I've read in two months and that too with stopping to do work here and there.

Comparing it to Dietz's previous works, in my opinion, it was a tad lighter on the emotional scale but not for one moment did it feel that it was too light or you didn't hit the right emotion because you sure did!

There were SO many paragraphs I highlighted, never a line, but paragraphs because either it was funny or two because it just touched the heart. For example:

When you give your heart away there’s no way to fully get it back. Pieces will be left behind, lies will drill holes, deceit will cause cracks, and the feeling of being unwanted will create a doubt your heart was ever whole. The only time I’ve ever felt as though my heart was entirely full was years ago when I thought a man loved and adored me more than anything or anyone. It’s a feeling I have missed for the past nine years, and one I find myself briefly waiting to experience on every blind date I go on. There have been moments where I’ve even wondered if I was possibly experiencing a small bit of it while out on a date. A private smile, or a prolonged glance, or finding something special in common like a shared loved for French espresso have all had me believing and hoping I could feel that fullness I once felt. It was almost cruel to experience those dates at all because it didn’t feel fair to my feelings, let alone my heart.

GAH! There were so many lines that just hit me, not because I could relate but because I knew them to be profound. There are so many little things that make up this story but this time I want to talk about the characters in detail.


The characters that I loved:

I love that even after hearing so much bitching from the people around her Ella always kept her head high even though she felt like giving up a lot of times. What I didn't like was how she always took what she was given and like Coen said, never stood up for herself or defended her actions but I can understand. It is sometimes easier to silently take everything than refute every person coming up to you and hating you.
Hayden was such a darling! And Coen, can I find a guy like him somewhere? Lol! It was SO nice to see someone actually standing up to Ella and telling her to feel whatever she wants. That it was okay to say no. He gave her space when needed and understood her even when she didn't say anything. Oh! and how he didn't let the rumors hinder him (even he had that small doubtful moment)


And now the ones I hate.

Patrick is such a grade A asshole. Wanting to have Hayden with him and then disappearing and then acting as if he had any right over Ella. But what bugged me the most was how pissed he was when he found out that Coen and Ella were dating. Wish I could sucker punch him.
Rachel. I swear I've never wanted a character to be so real that I could slap the hell out of them and then maybe rake them over coals. What Patrick did, at least Ella knew but Rachel? That was the worst possible betrayal EVER! I somehow didn't like her from the very moment she was introduced so thank you, Mariah, for giving me a valid reason to hate her all the more. Oh and the whole town of course.


I know this is not how I typically review but I needed to address these things specifically and simply put. I loved the story! I have been in such a funk for one and a half month and there are only a handful of books that I am able to read fully and enjoy and I am so glad Curveball was one of them.


PS. The female lead was cheated on but that was 10 years ago and you already know about it. The leads are true to each other! Hope this helps.