Finding a romantic comedy that maintains the laughs all the way through is not as easy as one would think. But this book did just that. Instead of turning into something heavy and strictly romance around the fifty percent mark, it keeps true to a tricky genre and proves to be a wonderful surprise.
The story is told first-person by the hilarious Ella, a chatterbox who does not just chat up others, but also herself, in the funniest ways. For the last two years, she has been the fake girlfriend of her gay best friend, a job that she loves but one that has left her lonely. When she is asked by a college professor she once studied under to come and teach at her old alma mater, her life is uprooted from New York to sunny California. Thankfully, she is someone who can blend in well with the students who are a mere six years her junior, and still work as a self-employed graphic designer.
After two long years of self-imposed solitude, young Ella runs into an unlikely stud on campus, literally. The first meeting with handsome JJ is a memorable moment, as the poor guy nervously tries to wipe the coffee off her shirt, much to her amusement. It takes her several encounters to realize that JJ is unique, and not in the everyone-is-special way – JJ is on the autism spectrum. JJ is not the typical romance hero with an alpha personality and need to own the heroine. He is a sweetheart who says what he is thinking and feeling without any doubt. This trait is one of the things Ella loves about him, aside from his hot bod, which she drools over often and then debates whether it is a smart move or not. Still, it does not take long before Ella decides she wants more and JJ realizes there is nothing he wants more than the chaos she brings into his life.
This is the first time I have encountered an autistic character in a book and it is beautifully done. JJ is heartfelt and refreshing, the perfect balance for spunky Ella with her obsession for cleanliness and fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants approach to life. Confessions of a Chatterbox stands out among the thousands of romance novels I have read as something wonderful. In some ways this book plays as the usual romance, but it is done in a manner that is all its own. The characters are a joy to read, even the side ones that add to the hilarity.
The rating:
- Genre and general reading age – romantic comedy for adults.
- Level of sexuality – very high. The actual sex scenes are not as spicy as I had expected, based on the amount and style of the sexual references. Ella sure does think about sex a lot, since she has been alone for quite a while.
- Is there graphic language? Of course. Where there is sex there is inevitably cussing.
- Did I cry? No.
- Did I laugh? Many times.
- Is this part of a series? This is book two of the Confessions Series.
- Level of character development – high. Considering this is a very quick read, the main characters are shockingly well-done. I could have used a bit more back story for JJ, but he still felt fully fleshed-out. Ella and JJ may not have a ton of history, yet they do not need it to engage the reader completely.
Perhaps one of the most notable perks of this series is the actual confessions that begin each chapter – a simple sentence that sets the mood. Each one is testament to the cleverness in the writing and the straight-up humor found in these pages. For all readers who love a heroine who does not mind embarrassing herself and a hero who collects Lego figures and is into all things Star Wars, this is for you. I give you 
.5 golden stars.
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