Done Being Friends [Kindle Edition]

Back in November I posted a review about this book, Done Being Friends by Teresa Grace.

I felt bad giving the review that I did. The book was so wonderful, but the author was so excited to get her work published (who can blame her) that she missed one important step; having an editor proof the copy before sending it to Amazon. It happens to the best of is, we are human and we all make mistakes. I can relate to that. Having self-published a few of my own books I know how hard it can be to try to catch your own mistakes. Your eyes tend to read what you know it is supposed to say.

Recently I was contacted by the author with some stellar news; it had been edited. Would I like to re-review it for her? Sure!
It should also be noted that the author does use a pen name, which she has changed from Teresa, to Trisha. I like them both. But just wanted to let my readers know that was not a typo.

Just to give a recap of my review:
The story of two men in love with the same woman and the best friend in love with one of the men never gets old. Each person puts their own romantic twist on the tale. So, while the story and plot itself may ring true to so many other great novels out there, the characters and storyline are different. At least, that is what you hope for when running across something that's similar to what you have already read.
In this tale we are given four friends, Faith, Zac, Dylan and Jessica. In this novel we have a typical case of lifelong friend who are blind to the obvious. Faith, the homely boring girl who thinks no one wants her. Jessica is in love with the friend in love with Faith. Zac and Dylan are both in love with Faith and she only seems to have eyes for Zac. All would appear to be spoiled rich kids, until they prove you wrong. Aside from already knowing that about Faith early on, the rest might surprise you.
When tragedy strikes in Faiths life, she learns the hard way how to run her father's company, and who she can trust. Faith learns she can look within and actually trust herself. She is strong, she is smart, she is beautiful and loved, and she can accomplish anything in life. What I loved most about Faith was that she is not your typical rich girl. Faith uses her fortune for the greater good of the less unfortunate.
A story like that will touch the hearts of everyone.

New notes:
The author has 100% redeemed herself. A story like this never gets old no matter how many times and ways you tell it. In the first draft there were a lot of words that should have been capitalized. There were also a lot of words that were not misspelled, but where not the correct word. Spell check would not fix those since it does not know any better. I should note that in my second passing I did not reread the story, but rather took it on from an editor standpoint and did a proofing on it. In doing so, I found myself rereading my favorite parts. I love the story of Zac and Faith. Every woman should be like Faith, and every Faith should have a best friend, lover, and partner in a man like Zac. Sometimes love is blind. Sometimes it's right under your nose. You don't have to be a believer in God or religion to get the message that is conveyed within these pages. I raise my previous 2.5 stars to 5 out of 5 stars. The book has a purpose. The characters are full of life and full of meaning. I could not ask for a more heartfelt story.

I'll start with the good because there is some good in this book. It was very a captivating story. I stayed up 'til about 5 a.m. reading it, despite its myriad mistakes. I couldn't put it down. I really connected with the characters.
I know some people have called it unrealistic because they didn't have sex. The fact is--there is a minority group of people in our nation who don't actually have sex until they're married. I found it kind of refreshing to read a story about people who are like-minded. And, actually, Zac would have pursued the sexual relationship, but Faith made it clear that she wasn't interested in their relationship going down that path any time soon. Zac--a true friend and one who actually loved her--accepted her wishes and didn't push the subject very often. I think it might have been unrealistic if they hadn't kissed at all or if there was no admission of any chemistry in any form, but that was not the case. The scene in the movie room made it clear that they both struggled with a sexual pull, but that they had decided to wait.

On the other hand, this was rife with mistakes. I got the impression that English was not the author's first language. Much of the way words were put together was just "the other side" of correct. It was distracting. I, often, felt the need to stop and figure out exactly what was not right about the sentence I just had read. There were plenty of spelling and grammar issues.
Additionally, there were many repetitions--as if the author had written it one way, then added what she wanted into a previous paragraph and then neglected to delete the original paragraph. (One such example is found at 88%. Zac tells her they are going to his home for an interview and that he wants her there with him and then--just a few sentences later, he tells her the same thing again.)
My suggestion to the author for her next book (which I hope she will write as I thoroughly enjoyed the STORY)is to ask a native-English-speaker friend (or two) to edit it for her. It would be best if it were someone who was not familiar with the story at all. With that being the case, the reader/editor would see the real mistakes and not inadvertently read over them because he knew what was intended by the author. I make that mistake--often--when I write.
Something that bothered me--personally, but not editorially--was Zac's constant use of "my angel" and other like phrases, even before they even bothered to admit that they loved each other. I can imagine where this might happen every now and then in real life between people who won't admit their attraction to one another, but not as often as it was done here. It seemed wrong somehow. I can't even begin to articulate why it felt wrong. It just didn't ring true.
I tried to give it a 2.5, but I was not allowed to do so. Instead, I allowed it to go up to the next rating. The "non-story" mistakes (spelling, grammar, subject/verb agreement, words out of context) were this book's greatest downfall. A good solid editing (I can help, if you wish, Miss Grace) would do this story a world of good. I hope you will not be too discouraged by the reviews which were not constructively critical. Remember that no author is perfect. I cannot think of any really good author who does not have a hero of an editor and multiple, multiples, multiple drafts. Keep trying! I loved the story.

The first reviewer said that the story had been edited but I found mistakes of all sorts practically throughout the book. This totally interfered with the flow of the story which is a shame because the characters' personalities were well-defined and the dialogue was very good. Other than kisses, there is no sex at all; the book is squeaky clean so if you are looking for unbridled passion, you won't find it here. I thought the plot was too drawn out; it took about 1/4 of the book before Zac and Faith acknowledged that they loved each other in the romantic sense. I can see why some people would enjoy this book but I wouldn't recommend it unless it was edited again.