Silver Bracelets by Tari Lynn Jewett ~ a Review & Excerpt

by MK French

Fourth-grade teacher Ashley Swenson is in the middle of a social media blitz as the unwitting poster child for accident safety. Even worse, every time she turns around she sees the same police officer Benito Lopez. He has a crush on her, and his friends' efforts to help him actually backfire. Will they ever fall in love?

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

February 2020; ebook (117 pages); romance

Ashley and Benny's meet-cute is at the bicycle safety session at school where she is essentially voluntold to participate. She runs headlong into trash, and the picture of it is immediately posted. Her friends find it cute at least, and she doesn't feel it's funny. From there, other accidents are photographed and posted online. Because she's a teacher it's seen as a social awareness campaign, and that she would do anything for her students. For me, I've never been a fan of secondhand embarrassment. Like Ashley, I don't find the pictures posted very funny, and it's awkward to read about her friends finding it hilarious.

Benny interacting with his family is funny to read about, however, and his grandmother is a wise and loving woman. He does try to defuse the situation when he realizes how upset she is, and tries to make it up to her with a grand gesture. I think it gets defused along the way, as there are almost too many side characters to juggle in the book and an additional hurdle for him to sidestep before he can ask her out.

The story stops there, and this is meant to be a cute romantic comedy. There are some romantic elements and funny elements, but this is the kind of story that makes me cringe and feel sorry for the poor person that's the butt of everyone's jokes. If not for that, I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more.

Buy Silver Bracelets at Amazon

Read an Excerpt

The Beach Break Coffee Bar was crowded and the girls squeezed through the throng of people to get to the table Evan was holding for them.

“It’s nice to be connected.” Ashley said as she slid into the seat next to Lucy.

Lucy smiled and started to respond just as Ashley smacked her on the arm. “Nooo,” she groaned. “That’s him over there.”

All three of her friends turned to look in the direction she’d pointed. Five good looking guys sat at a table laughing and drinking beer.

“Which one is he?” Mindi asked.

“He’s the jerky one.”

“You’ll have to be a little more descriptive.” Randi said. “I mean, they all look pretty friendly to me.”

“The one in the grey T-shirt. Don’t let that boyish smile fool you. He’s not nice.”

“I don’t know,” Mindi said. “I think he looks very nice. Look at the way that shirt hugs his biceps. Wish he’d turn this way so I could get a better look at his face.”

“What’s his name?” Randi had to raise her voice to be heard over the band who had moved back onto the stage and were warming up their instruments.

“Officer Lopez,” Ashley answered, trying to be heard over the music.

“What?” Randi raised her voice again.

“Officer Lopez!” Ashley said loudly just as the band stopped and the coffee bar buzz dropped to a din.

Officer Lopez and his buddies all turned to see who had shouted his name, and the lead singer of Reflective Lenses who was already standing in front of the mic picked it up.

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband and three young children. 

Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up today! Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.