Komal Mikaelson

A Walk to Remember kinda love:

Love is patient and kind.
Love is always patient and kind.
It is never jealous.
Love is never boastful or conceited.
It is never rude or selfish.
It does not take offense and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins, but delights in the truth.
You never forget your first love.


The Opportunist Kinda Love:

Love is obsession. The all-consuming, over-zealous, fanatically destructive obsession.
Love is getting what you want, when you want, however you can get it.
Love is deceitful.
Love is lying, cheating, manipulating and to-hell-with-world attitude.
Love makes you vengeful, jealous and all too ready to tear lives apart to get what you want.
You never, ever forget your first love.

The Opportunist encapsulates a different, obsessive story of first love and how it festers, nags and takes over your life, expunging everything else.

The story revolves around Olivia Kaspen who is scheming and plotting her way back into her ex’s life, taking advantage of his temporary amnesia and Leah Smith, her bête niore. Leah Smith, is Caleb’s present girl friend and is understandably vary of Olivia’s presence in his life. And at the focal of all the drama, ladies and gentlemen, lies Caleb Drake. The Casanova of the college(of course)

The story is basically about 3 lying, manipulative, sneaky people and their attempts to construe any semblance of love from the chaotic malaise their life has been reduced to, after doing their best to ruin and shatter it initially.
It is everyone’s second chance to love.

Olivia Kaspen
I liked tolerated Olivia, at times, that is. She is spunky, bold and never-ever takes shit from anyone. A kickass. She is a complex character with multi-faceted personality. Poor upbringing, scarred childhood has forced her to erect this formidable wall around her that intimidates and scares away most of the people in her life. A manipulative nature in nexus with a shrewd, brilliant mind and BOOM! Olivia Kaspen it is.
I felt the attempts to highlight the fact that she was desperately wicked were over the top. It was like the author was shoving down our throats that she is evil evil evil. And maybe she is. But not to the cyclopean extent devised by the author. I mean, the hand she’d been dealt with was pretty cruel and it was her prerogative to be wary and cautious of people. But then again, that doesn’t exonerate her from being that mean and cruel to Caleb at the very beginning of their relationship.
All in all, her character was overdone and exaggerated to an extent difficult to digest.

Caleb Drake
Funny. Caring. Swwwoooon worthy.
Sneaky. Manipulative. Egoistical.
Again,a douchebag hiding behind a facade a multi-layered character. At one end of the spectrum he is a caring, compassionate boyfriend, a fun-loving person and on the other end, a lying, deceitful, chauvinist. He wasn't less “evil” than Olivia in any way, but the author downplays it. Maybe the book was from Olivia’s POV and she was ‘blind in her love’ and didn't see Caleb as he really was, because he wasn't really the ‘victim’ in this vicious tug-of-war, as he was portrayed to be. I didn't get his actions or decisions.

And he just pushed Olivia too damn far. Olivia is ‘a relationship retard’ and is wary of letting people and instead of understanding her, he pushes and nags and pesters her to accept that HE owns her. Egoistical, much?
That one scene where he strips her, humiliates her just to prove his point was too fucking over the top. I mean, really? If someone refuses to say ‘I love you’ (conveniently forgetting the fact that he too hadn't said it), and I don’t care you've been committed for a whole year, YOU DO NOT go that extent. Fucking monster.


Leah Smith
Mean. Selfish. A total bitch.
Didn’t really care about her. She enters their life, ruins their relationship and walks out. For a tiny period of time and again comes back. Whatever.
Girl, go manage your own life. AND GROW THE FUCK UP. Stop meddling and controlling people’s lives.


Caleb and Olivia and Leah, all of them were… disturbing. They stalk each other and not Facebook-stalking, but the actual Private-Investigator stalking, even when they are not really in contact and have got NOTHING whatsoever to do with each other. I am guessing it is supposed to be endearing and oh-so-touching because they luurrrvveeed each other. GOD!

And now, the most significant part of the novel (seeing as how it is of NA genre), THE CLICHES.

LOVE ME WITH CLICHES
-Studious, hard working girl asked out by the college heart-throb, who is the only one who notices her ‘inner beauty’
- Girl turns him down, and the guy even more determined to go out with her.
- Boy leaves his man-whorish ways for her, of course. She is apparently The One for him.
- Girl emotionally closed off, courtesy a scarred childhood.
- But she finally sees the light and falls for him.
-Emotional baggage and a sordid past drive a wedge in the relationship. Consequence: oh-so-heartbreaking breakup.
- Paths cross again and their ‘attraction’/chemistry/lust overcomes them and VOILA! Back on track once again.
.
.
.
And on and on.

Now, coming to the plot/loopholes
A guy meets you in the music store, you hand him a CD. The very same day, he bumps into you again, thanks you for the CD and INVITES YOU OVER FOR A COFFEE? That was a dead give-away as to he hadn't really lost his memory
As well as the Duchess slip-up Are we supposed to be dumb?

The Ending
I CANNOT EVEN
How ridiculous can you get?
Can’t say much, as there would be massive spoilers.
Just- Awfully convenient.
Yet another ‘incidental’ meeting.
Unloading of the figurative guilt.

COME ON!