STORY: 4 stars
PERFORMANCE: 3 stars
OVERALL: 3.5-4 stars
77 STEPS is a new adult romance about a popular, confident guy and a self-conscience brainiac. With that alone, this book would be boilerplate but it's not; it actually contains some mystery and suspense which was unexpected and entertaining.
The female main character in this book supposedly counts steps (why the book is called 77 STEPS). Her compulsion to count could've been the foundation for a quirky character with OCD tendencies yet the author didn't go that route - her counting was only mentioned in passing, never presented as a problematic behavior. If Ms. Mullen had expanded on this character's mental health, I think it would've added more flair to the story.
Despite this, Mullen did a fantastic job of developing each of the characters and their ever changing relationships. I could FEEL the excitement between the main characters when they first met and continued to feel the passion, heartache and love between them afterwards. Speaking of passion, I would've like for Mullen to have expanded on the sex scenes. I understand if her desire was to keep this book appropriate for teenagers but I'm not a teen :-)
77 STEPS is well written yet there is a lot room for improvement. Assuming that the narrator read each and every word, I noticed numerous occasions where the dialogue sounded stiff and unrealistic. For example, the characters said things such as, "you are right" instead of, "you're right". There were also several words that were used repeatedly such as, "wicked" and, "incredulity". Worst of all was @ 77% into the book where there is a phone conversation that is written twice verbatim from the perspectives of the two people having the conversation. A good editor should've caught that.
Overall, 77 STEPS is an enjoyable story. I immediately felt the connection between the two main characters and enjoyed watching their love story unfold, collapse and come back together again. I appreciated that their reasons for breaking up weren't petty like they are in many romances novels.
PERFORMANCE
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Aria Abienta. Although it's unfortunate, I have to admit that I probably would have enjoyed this book even more if I had read it instead of listening to it. Abienta isn't a terrible narrator but can she definitely use some more acting classes.