I am honoured to be part of the Goddess Fish Blog Tour for Sally Bamajian’s romantic comedy So Hard To Do, which I read and am now reviewing.
(Please note: I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.)
My Review:
Sally Basmajian’s romantic comedy, So Hard To Do, is a fascinating, enjoyable read.
Written through the viewpoints of Suze, a 58 year old unemployed single mother and her autistic daughter Jannie, we get a close look at how each responds to the twists and turns in the story.
Add in a tall dark, handsome neighbour, who is older than the daughter and 10 years younger than Suze and the resulting trianglee gives us a story full of twists and turs and misunderstandings.
There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, from Jannie trying to flirt with Aram (“What’s wrong?”) to Suze’s interactions with Lola, the transvestite.
The secondary characters are diverse as well and provide an interesting blend of quirky and sympathetic.
I thoroughly enjoyed Basmajian’s novel. I found many insights to be gained about neurodiversity. I highly recommend this rom-com.
About the Novel:
BLURB:
Suze Foster has always been devoted to her daughter. As a child, Jannie required extra support
in school, but now-at age 29-she’s a rising executive. Suze, thrilled with Jannie’s success, is
finally free to follow her own dreams.
Without Suze’s dedicated attention, though, Jannie flounders. In a careless moment, she floods
her apartment. Enter our hero, Aram-her hot but significantly older neighbor. He saves the day,
and for Jannie, it’s love at first sight.
Not so much for Aram, though, who falls head over heels for Suze when they accidentally meet.
Unaware of Jannie’s feelings, Suze is equally smitten.
In this twisted triangle, can a happily-ever-after be achieved? Or will someone’s heart
break and the mother-daughter bond be severed forever?
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
After leaving the corporate world, Sally Basmajian discovered the joy of writing. Her fiction and
nonfiction stories have appeared in newspapers such as The Globe & Mail and in several
anthologies. In 2022 she won prizes for memoir pieces (Northwestern Ontario Writers
Workshop, Gulf Coast Writers Association), and was thrilled to have a poem selected by the
journal Antithesis. She expects to be busy in 2023, when her first two novels appear: in January,
a light-hearted romance, So Hard to Do (published by Creative James Media) and in October, a
much darker one, Fountain of Evil (Moonshine Cove Publishing, LLC).
Website: https://www.sallybasmajian.com
Book Link: https://books2read.com/u/mVAXE5
http://instagram.com/sallybasmajian
http://twitter.com/sallybasmajian
http://facebook.com/sallybasmajian
https://www.tiktok.com/@sallybasmajian
Buy link:
https://www.amazon.com/So-Hard-Do-Sally-Basmajian-ebook/dp/B0BK2Q12H9/
Excerpt:
He was the most good-looking man she’d ever seen. Luxuriant locks. She bet that’s how a
Harlequin Romance would describe his hair. And under the full beard, maybe even a cleft chin.
And most definitely, a sensuous lower lip. Ooh la la.
As she mused in an X-rated way about his mouth, Jannie remembered something from a book
she’d read where the heroine had a habit of biting her lower lip. It drove men mad.
So she tried it. Nibble, nibble.
Aram just looked at her. His breathing didn’t accelerate. His chest didn’t heave.
She tried again. Nibble, nibble. The prolonged silence was beginning to be uncomfortable.
“Are you all right, Jannie?” Aram finally asked. He studied her.
Well, that hadn’t gone so well. But she’d never tried to flirt with an older man before. Maybe they
needed something more obvious.
She attempted to look coyly up at Aram through her eyelashes. This wasn’t as easy as all those
romance authors made it sound. She felt her forehead contract, her nose wrinkle and her upper
lip pull away from her teeth in her effort to do the impossible.
“Jannie, are you having an allergic reaction? Shellfish, maybe? Isn’t that crab I smell coming
from your condo? Do you carry an EpiPen?”
She stamped her foot in frustration. It was supposed to look fierce and cute, but she could tell
from Aram’s face that he was way more startled than turned on.
Be sure to visit all the stops on the blog tour!
January 30: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
January 30: The Avid Reader
January 31: Literary Gold
January 31: Long and Short Reviews
February 1: All the Ups and Downs
February 2: Westveil Publishing
February 2: D. S. Dehel – review only
February 3: Joanne Guidoccio
February 3: Beverley A Baird – review only
And – enter the giveaway!
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
Sally Basmajian will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn
winner via rafflecopter<a href="http:// during the tour.
Beverley A Baird 
Thank you, Beverley, for hosting me here on your site, and for reviewing my book. I’m happy you appreciated my efforts at blending humor with real issues that occur in the lives of those on the spectrum, and those who love them. Your thoughtful words mean a lot to me!
Thanks Sally. It was such an enjoyable read.
Thanks for hosting!
Enjoying every page of this well-written story.
Glad you’re enjoying it. I did as well
Looks like a very interesting book.
It was. An interesting look at neurodiversity
Thanks, everyone, for your comments — and a final and hearty THANK YOU to
Bev. I really enjoyed our exchange.
I did too sally. All the best with your enjoyable book
This book was so much fun to read. It’s breezy and warm. You can’t help but enjoy it.
So agree with you Sheryl
Agree. A well-written and fun read. And Bev, you nailed the memorable universe of main characters: diverse, interesting, quirky and sympathetic.
Thanks so much.