Doppelbanger by Heather M. Orgeron

Doppelbanger is an intriguing title, but I was surprised to find that it actually had very little to do with the plot other than one random comment near the beginning of the book. I was somewhat looking forward to a book where the main character just slept with a bunch of guys who all looked alike… but it’s fine (sigh). Really, it’s fine. The book was an entertaining read nonetheless.

Doppelbanger was my first read by Heather M. Orgeron and it took me a little while to realize that perhaps there was a first book in the series I should have read. I didn’t need to read the first book in order to follow along though and neither will you should you choose to read this romantic comedy full of embarrassing moments, foul language, and sex on ships. It was positively scandalous.

This book was hilarious at times, but there were others times that I found myself momentarily stunned by the main character Gina who was so far outside the norm for a heroine. She is crass and unapologetic with questionable behavior and occasionally questionable morals. I think that many people would find themselves shocked by such a character—I was briefly, but eventually I got to know Gina better and she grew on me. She’s an interesting woman who loves sex and doesn’t give a shit what other people think of her. A unique character for sure who, throughout the book, survived things that would have embarrassed me enough to crawl into a hole and die, but she took it in stride.

Compared to Gina, her counterpart Jeffrey was one boring puppy. But I think the novel needed someone more grounded and “normal” to keep things from getting too crazy. Single father stories always get to me, and I especially love it when the guy is suffering from some major internal conflict (re: dead wife). There were so many times I wanted to reach through the pages and whap him on the head, but then there were times that I was extremely pleased that he was such a dunce because it obviously made for good reading.

The child characters were entertaining though, as a nanny, I found myself positively horrified at their language and behavior. Though, even though I’d never let my kids speak and act that way, it certainly made for good reading. They were a main part of the comedy portion of romantic comedy. I found myself laughing out loud a couple times.

The sex was intense between Gina and Jeffrey. Blush-worthy stuff. But there was so much comedic relief that you never felt all that overwhelmed by the passion. There was definitely some love-hate chemistry at the beginning which made for some whoa-moments in the bedroom, but eventually they realized they did sort of like each other and new sort of passion developed between them. They were quite a pair!

This book will not be for everyone, but for those who love wild characters, a lot of swearing, and some cringe-worthy moments for their characters it’ll press just the right buttons.  Doppelbanger is out today!  Click here to purchase for a mere $2.99!