By James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

OK, intriguing idea for a romance novel: woman still remembers fondly the “imaginary friend” she had as a child, who had to “go away” on her ninth birthday. All of a sudden, he shows up in her life again, and he is just the same: just as handsome, witty, supportive, and comfortable to be with. They fall in love. But he could disappear again at any time, since he is, after all, an imaginary friend “as a career.”

Kinda cool, I think. I had some high hopes for the book. I’m not into James Patterson at all (or pretty much any of the “bestselling novelists” who churn out mysteries/trite romances on a continual basis), so I was hoping that the second author might have made the book better.

Unfortunately, she may very well have made it worse. Reading this novel was a huge disappointment. In the right hands, it could have been really neat and very romantic. However, it fell completely flat. It felt like reading the CliffsNotes version of a real novel. Or like reading the authors’ notes for what they would end up writing. Geesh.

Had a few nice moments, but overall it was just a disappointment.

Rated: High for about five occurrences of strong language (particularly bad considering how short the book is), about five uses of moderate language, ten to fifteen occurrences of mild language, and one moderately detailed sex scene.