The Drake Equation by Heather Walsh

I know I’m not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but look at that! How could I not? It’s a beautiful cover, you have to admit. The Drake Equation by Heather Walsh is a good story. Not wholly life altering perhaps, but for a book with a dreamy cover that promises ‘a contemporary love story’, it’s awesome.

Summary: She’s a Democrat, he’s a Republican. She spends her days
fighting global warming at an environmental non-profit, he makes his living
doing PR for Bell Motors and their fleet of SUVs. But as soon as they meet,
Emily Crossley and Robert Drake realize they have encountered their
intellectual match. You’re never challenged, he tells her. You’ve surrounded
yourself in a cocoon of people who think exactly the same way you do. She hurls
the same accusation back at him, and the fiery debates begin. Despite both of their
attempts to derail it, there is no denying that they are falling in love. But
their relationship is threatened by political differences, Robert’s excessive
work hours, and Emily’s fear of losing her identity as she falls deeper in
love. Can their love survive? The Drake Equation is a tale of modern love and
all its complexities.

My thoughts: When Robert and Emily met, I felt I knew what was going to happen; how the plot was going to play out. Romance novels can be awfully predictable. But The Drake Equation wasn’t all that formulaic. The love story was both gradual and instant. A long time passed before either of them was serious about the relationship; though that didn’t happen many pages into the book. But the initial inevitable attraction, the eventual relationship weren’t too drawn out. I liked that there was so much fun dialogue, and few descriptions of fluttering hearts and insanely attractive knights-in-shining-armours. The conversations, the playful arguments and the serious discussions were precious. Both Emily and Robert started out as stereotypes (they definitely stereotyped each other), but they weren’t picked straight out of a fairytale. They were real and really interesting. They grew with the relationship and ended up in an altogether different place than they’d started. I still wasn’t sure why I so liked the book until I read that very nicely dealt with ending. The Drake Equation is not just another cozy romance, a quick breezy read; though it does a good job convincing you it is. I enjoyed the book immensely because of that: that easy flow it maintained despite all that seemed to be going on; even the often unfocused chaotic plot, managed to be very engaging.

There were other characters that were nice and funny, and some that were perfectly capable of shocking/disgusting me, none of them redundant. There were delightful bits of information about every thing from language to food, fascinating talks about Charlotte Bronte and Carl Sagan, politics and environment. The book did make a point in the end, a big one; and had many small messages strewn over the pages. It had quite a bit of The Pride and Prejudice ‘do-i-know-me’ and ‘am-i-really-sure-i’m-right’ theme. But I don’t want to talk about the things the book made me (re)consider, I don’t wish to spoil the experience for you. You’d want to analyze the story, not to mention, heart-flutter over Robert Drake/Emily Crossley all on your own.

Huh. I guess I only thought I was a cynic, when all this time I’m just a goofy romantic. That’s correct, this is one of those rare times when I recommend a love story on this blog.

If you are still not convinced you’d like this; read Dented Cans, the author’s debut novel which was more of a your-and-my kind of book. You don’t want to miss this author!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from the author.