Building Character by Kate Genet

Successful author, Fen Marshall, lives her life for number one, herself. Fen is a womanizer, a love them and leave them type. Everything must be on her own terms and heaven help anyone who tries to get close to Fen in any way, she won’t let them at any price. However, Fen comes unstuck when she falls head over heels in lust with Ruby.

Ruby is the woman of Fen’s imagination, of her dreams. Fen is totally obsessed and besotted with Ruby. The only trouble is........Ruby is a character right from the pages of one of Fen’s noir fiction novels.

Ruby has been brought to life, in the flesh by Fen’s obsession. How could that happen? Don’t even ask, but it does. Fen decides she doesn’t care, as long as she can have Ruby.

Entangled amongst the Fen/Ruby liaison is stalker Marissa. Marissa had set her sights on Fen, only to find Fen is not interested. So she sets about stalking her. But Marissa doesn’t bargain on Ruby. Ruby will never let go of what is hers. And Fen is most definitely hers. Who wins? Ruby or Marissa?

Unfortunately for Fen, Ruby is not nice. Not in the least. There is something cold and calculating about her. But has Fen realized this too late?

Ruby may be voluptuous and gorgeous, but she has no heart and soul, no blood either for that matter. Has Fen just made a huge error of judgement in creating Ruby? If she has, how on earth does she get rid of her without harming herself?

When I opened this book, I had no idea what to expect. The synopsis seemed strange, yet attracted me to the book. From the very first page, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to put this book down.

Fen herself, isn’t a very nice person. Yet I was drawn to her character. There was just something about her that intrigued me. Ruby seems to be somehow a part of Fen’s inner self. As the story progresses, Fen begins to see what she’s created in Ruby and tries to rid herself of her. But Fen is being sucked dry by Ruby. It begins to look as though to get rid of Ruby, Fen will end up destroying herself. Maybe.

This book is certainly different from any other I’ve read. It is a page turner from the first page through to the last. The book is full of twists and turns throughout. All the characters interact well together and are essential to moving the story forward to a dramatic conclusion. Plus there are some very passionate sex scenes, always a bonus. Kate Genet has proved herself time and again to be an excellent storyteller. This book is one of her best ever.

Just one negative point I’d make, the book could do with another thorough edit. Having said this, the typos didn’t spoil the story in any way. This is a definite re-read for me.