Copper Script

Another great example of Charles writing

When I think about what I what from a romance novel, it is the strength of character in the leads of the book. I want to root for these characters and want not only their personal triumphs but to see them succeed together.

Cooper Script is a brilliant example of that.

From the very first moment, we meet Aaron Fowler, a highly practical man, we know who this man is, the duty he carries with him and what he’s willing to do to reach his goals. You also realize how lonely all the aforementioned has made him. He’s a man of duty and has therefore time and again put duty ahead of his personal happiness.

On the flip side, Joel Wildsmith is a man who is equally as lonely but for entirely different reasons. This is a man who has been dealt a rather unfortunate hand by life and as such he’s just been getting by. Not thriving, but surviving, with a few coping mechanism to prevent the world from harming him further. He’s at turns sarcastic, irreverent, volatile, and a delight of a character to read.

But at the end of the day Aaron and Joel are two lonely men, who desperately need someone in their corner and need someone to make their lives worth living again.

The chemistry between Joel and Aaron is delightful, while it doesn’t fully get started at first meeting, by the second the flames are fully ignited. But better than the undeniable chemistry and clear wanting between these two characters is the support they come to offer each other. Even if it’s sometimes reluctantly received on Aaron’s part. These two come together to fill the gaps in each other lives, to break them out of the mundane of just getting on and give each of them the ally they so desperately need. I loved watching these two fall for each other. In part because while the romance was quick (the book spans a couple months at most), it also wasn’t grand. This was not about grand love declarations. This was silent and steadfast support, gaining someone who will stand by you no matter what. Someone who sees your flaws and maybe loves you a little more for them. This isn’t to say their journey is easy, between circumstances around them and their own reluctance to trust another person that deeply.

This book is about 50% romance, 50% suspense plot. And the plot is quite nice. It’s a fairly straightforward plot of a honest cop finding corruption in his office. The plot is slow to start, the first half of the book centered mainly on the leads coming to trust and know each other, but once it starts things move along pretty quickly and at an engaging pace.

A facet of the book, I particular enjoyed was the use of Joel’s graphology. This is a world where graphology, or at least Joel’s, works exactly as it says on the tin. Which is to say Joel gets amazing incites from the handwriting of the characters around him. I find this to be a particular cleverly use tool by Charles as it gives her space to offer incites into character that there might otherwise not be space in the narrative.

Another spot this book sparkles, as is common with Charles novels, is the side characters. While many don’t receive much actual page time, they are incredibly memorable and in some moments my favorite aspect of the novel.

Overall, this was an incredibly fun read. A fine representative of what Charles always brings to her novels, which is a refreshing blend of historical accuracy mixed with wit, humor, a well-crafted and thought out plot, and compelling leads through which to deliver the story.