Review: Songbird by Jaymin Eve

Songbird
(Sinclair, #1)
By: Jaymin Eve
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: July 13, 2014
Genre: New Adult Romance

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It took many years but finally Melodee Lee is in control of her life. The twenty-three year old trusts no one, and spends her time nomadically wandering with the underground cage fighting scene. Her innocent looks are an asset and she utilizes them to their fullest extent. Fighting is how she makes her money and she’s damn good at it. Yeah, sometimes she’s lonely, but her set-up guarantees no one screws with her and she doesn’t have to think about the ten ways she knows how to kill a man. Of course, that was before she met the Sinclairs.

Nathan Sinclair; one of the four brothers that dominate the city of Syracuse. Nathan’s a rising basketball star, set to be signed by the NBA and despite the fact his slam-dunk nickname was earned both on and off the court, he’s decided that it’s time for a break. He’s over the drama of college women.

An accident, a baby and unforgettable circumstances bring these two people together when their worlds should never have collided. And the end result have both of them questioning their lives and the choices they’ve made to be happy.

Melodee is an underground cage fighter who trusts no one. She moves around a lot and doesn’t make any connections with people. She grew up in the foster system and learned real quick that the fighting skills her deranged parents (who were also assassins) gave her were useful when dealing with one crappy foster home after another. Now an adult, she uses those same skills to make money and win fights. After every fight she moves to a new location to get away which is how she ends up in Syracuse and in Nathan’s path.

I thought for sure I’d love this one. I mean, how many times have you read about a female cage fighter? They’re always males. So that was really intreging. Also, Nathan is supposed to be a hot shot basketball player at SU as well as a local celebrity in Syracuse. Which by the way is where I was born and raised. So… the fact that this takes place in my hometown, even cooler. However, this story fell flat with me. It started off strong with Melodee fighting in the cage and then afterwards getting on a bus and winding up in Syracuse. She seemed really bad-ass and I was all in. Then one of her apartment neighbors spots her walking in a snowstorm from the grocery store and insists that he gives her a ride home, but first needs to make a stop at his friends house (Nathan’s) to drop off some stuff. Now, for someone who is a loner and doesn’t trust people, she got into the car, but whatever I can deal. But when they get into a fatal accident killing her neighbor and the driver of the other vehicle, leaving Melodee and the woman’s baby the sole survivors things started changing. Nathan hears the crash from his place, goes out to investigate and that’s where he and Melodee meet up. Just about the entire inner dialogue of both parties is about how hot the other one is. Nathan shows very little to no grief over his friend’s passing. Hell, at one point they are wrestling in his cabin after the accident laughing and having a good ol time. Now, I get that the snowstorm knocked down power lines and there’s no cell service to call and report the accident but jeesh, show some emotion. Melodee I could see not being sad, she didn’t know the guy, but Nathan didn’t really care that his lifetime friend was dead, body frozen in a vehicle by his house. Not to mention that when Child Services shows up the next day to take the baby to a foster home, all Nathan has to do is say his name and that he and Melodee want to keep the baby and *BAM* the woman walks off in agreement and Nathan and Melodee are the new proud foster parents of an infant. …. WHAT?! Apparently if your father is a Senator and you play in college basketball, you’re totally fit to be a parent. Screw background checks or interviews, nope… if you want that snotty nosed infant, you can have it! Nope, not buying it.

At about halfway through I stopped reading. It went from being a great story with new and exciting characters to totally changing to a sweet and sappy love story that I’ve read 100 times before. Except those stories made sense and flowed together, this one was all over the place and just sort of made stuff up as it went along. I wish Melodee showed more of her f*ck-off personality throughout the story. Instead she not only jumps Nathan’s bones but tells him and his brother about the torture she endured. And for someone who keeps to themself, that was just too out of left field. I just couldn’t get into the story or connect with the flippant nature of the characters.

“More often than not the best people were the ones with the rough edges. Life had tried to chip away at them, but they still carried on.”