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The problems of this cleanliness rep and her bad boy love interest don’t amount to a hill of jelly bellies in this crazy fantasy world… or do they?

Look, I love a good romance book as much as the next love struck fool out there, nothing wrong with that. But occasionally I would like to read something that is abit of an innovation to the concept (now really, is that too much to ask?)

So when I heard of this title, Magic Lover’s Tower, it had this fanciful magical fantasy realm sounding title and I thought it might be the next big romantic title to hit… little did I know it would end up challenging something else… mainly my love of this genre.

Roxanne (Roxxxxxxaaannnneee…. Oh, wait, the song isn’t named after her is it) is a nerdy class “Cleanliness rep” (I.e. it’s her job to make sure the class is cleaned at the end of the school day since, in Asia, they seem to save money on a school janitorial staff if the students do their own cleaning). She’s secretly in love with the “bad boy” of the class, Logan (he whose bones are not laced with Adamantium and doesn’t have long claws). Too bad she seems to be at best a paper tigress as she has the potential to stand up for herself (just not enough backbone to do it).

Take a little spin with her older sister’s nail polish, and an emergency trip to the drugstore for nail polish remover, and she is suddenly offered the chance to make a better person of herself when (through circumstances not entirely her own) she “sets free” Baphalen (a magical being presently serving punishment on Earth for being too much of the ladies’ man back in the Heavenly realm). Next thing you know Roxanne’s feelings for Logan are exposed and he cons her into playing a game to win her Logan’s heart (when she‘s not being completely skeptical about the whole situation)… too bad she doesn’t own a Nintendo DS, however, as it seems I’ve seen one particular part of this game’s rules how—oh, right, I’ve seen it in “The World Ends With You”!

Like in TWEWY, she is given a tight deadline to accomplish a specific task, though at least for her failure won’t mean erasure… she’d wish it did, however, should she fail as failure equals the eternal hatred of the one she loves the most.

So then, conned into this competition she is given a new look, and tasks to complete (at times with even tighter time limits than TWEWY!), all the while keeping her eyes on the prize, Logan (who ends up dreaming about her the night she sets off on this little competition).

However it seems once she makes this “pact” with the strange Baphalen she doesn’t only gain a strange “fairy godfather” but she also gains… a roommate? Apparently he now has to bunk over at her place while she’s competing for Logan, which is kinda awkward because day one morning one he’s caught in her room by the parents and ends up having to be assigned to Roxanne’s school to live out an elaborate masquerade while he’s helping her with the whole Magic Lover’s Tower thing. And, as you guessed, hilarity ensues and her once orderly (crybaby) life is flipped upside down and given a bad case of shaken crybaby syndrome.

So all she has to do is play the game and win Logan, right?
So why is it Baphalen isn’t exactly telling her everything she needs to know?
Why is it Baphalen seems to be cheating on her behalf from time to time?
Why is it he forgot to mention that death in this competition (in a fantasy realm or not) is not going to be a good thing for Roxanne if she is Erased?
And why is it all of a sudden as we go into the second half there seems to be some sort of love triangle going on beween Roxanne and her indecision between the bad boy Logan (who is dreaming of her whenever she competes for him) and Baphalen (who needs therapy something fierce).

Maybe not so much of a lover’s triangle as Volume 2 opens and the consequences of a certain someone’s cheating (guess who) comes back to roost (and penalizes Roxanne in the process) making it harder for her to win what she wants, add to that the appearance of a mysterious woman (the one Roxanne transforms into when going to the fantasy world) and suddenly Roxanne is behind the eight ball and has to struggle to get back on top again! Maybe a trip back to the Magical world can save things… or not as it turns out this next game becomes a study is sibling dysfunction as Roxanne becomes the evil stepmother to her lovely older sister’s Snow White and things rocket right downhill from that point forward.

And that’s all I can say as the rest, including the cliffhanger ending, is up for you to discover… now the breakdown.

Sigh. Mixed bag of emotions about this title on my part.
I was looking for abit more innovation and what I got was a variant on the romance theme of seemingly plain weak female character getting a backbone while chasing the man of her dreams (and getting her priorities straightened out and her relationship tastes fixed before the end of it all).

Unfortunately if the title was already too formulaic the way too predictable ending (you’ll see it coming before you even get there) and the sad ending (and by sad I mean oh no it’s a been there done that I’ve seen this before don’t go there ending) makes me wish for something more from this (which this title doesn’t deliver).

Don’t get me wrong, I do like the character of Roxanne (when she’s herself and true to herself) but the “adventure” she goes on to get her priorities straightened out, and the way it all ends (and who she ends up with) is a complete cop out and I wished there was some twist to the end that spoke more of innovation (and not a safe been there done that formula from beginning to end that works, but doesn’t really go anywhere fresh or different).

The title works, if you’re a major fan of the romantic genre it’s probably getting a spot in your collection, just that without any fresh taste of new thought or expression in the story itself (and again it’s entirely disappointing been there done that ending) I wish this offered more. Could have, should have, didn’t do it, got a straight middle of the road 3 Wishes for a Better Happily Ever After out of 5.

Interested in seeing more? Check out www.drmasterbooks.com for more DRMaster titles available now!

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