Book Review: The Drought

By Sara Steven

Dan Hilles is a pretty regular kind of guy - regular job, regular bunch of mates, regular male aversion to shopping. But following his break-up with long-term girlfriend, Stacey, he finds himself single again. He's been out of the game for a while and is a little out of practice. Soon, the very irregular and increasingly worrying issue in Dan's life is the extended drought he finds himself suffering. And we're not talking the climate change, scorched earth, God I'm parched variety.

You've got to hand it to Dan though - it certainly isn't from a lack of trying. With stalwart mates Ollie, Jack and Rob on hand to lend their collective pearls of male wisdom and arrange the odd road trip, you'd think Dan's days of languishing in a sexual wilderness would be numbered. Even best friends can't help prevent the kind of surreal holes Dan just can't seem to help digging himself into. And with each failed attempt, his self-esteem plummets to the point where he wonders if 'little Dan' will ever work again.

Good job he has Kelly, his reliable and sympathetic colleague, to confide in. As a woman, she can perhaps shed some female light on why he's failing so miserably with the opposite sex, balancing out the testosterone-fueled 'advice' from the lads. Surely Dan can't go wrong with Kelly teaching him the various intricacies of a woman's mind. (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads)

I went about this in a more unique fashion- I originally read and reviewed the second book in the Sex, Love, & Dating Disasters series, The Flood. Having done that, I felt like I could dive right back into Dan’s world, and it was nice to get more background on who he is and the experiences he had in the first book, that lead him into the second.

Dan’s life cracked me up! The poor guy just can’t get his romantic life together, and we’re with him every step of the way through one failed attempt after another, rooting for him when we think he’s so, so close, and then laughing when it’s stripped from him at the last minute, in the most comical of situations. His three friends Ollie, Jack and Rob are the best dysfunctional sidekicks and best friends any written character could have, often projecting him even further into failure, while their hearts are in the right place. Through the comedy, I could feel the tight circle this core four have, a much-needed support system for Dan when the chips are down, which is often.

In learning the intricacies of the man’s mind through Dan and his cohorts, Kelly brings about the female perspective in all of this. It was a nice balancing act between the two, offering up the softer side to Dan. In his quest to change his personal drought, there was a need to see that he’s more than just a man looking for sexual adventure, that there’s more depth to him as a character, and that’s what Kelly brings to the table. She opened him up and showed his many sides.

Having read both books now in this series, I am eagerly anticipating the next one, The Pact, to see what happens for Dan and his crew. If it’s anything like the first two, It’s bound to be raunchy fun and lighthearted, a nice addition for lad lit and chick lit!

Thanks to Steven Scaffardi for the book in exchange for an honest review. The Drought can be purchased here.