Review: Mark Radford – Virgin Quest

Virgin Quest

Mark Radford

Tom is ready to race in the Virgin quest, a staged performance of single men performing running and resisting temptations in order to win an honest woman. Tom continues to prove his morality, but who knows which side will win?

virginquestI won this novel in a GoodReads first reads giveaway. Otherwise, honestly, I wouldn’t have bothered finishing it. At a pathetic 100-odd pages long, 46 pages in and I was rushing to finish it. Not for the right reasons.

I don’t get the race’s point in the first place. Or why Tom’s mother is so against it. What’s going to happen? They’re going to drop out and get sex anyway? Are general women so bad that you have to race to get them?

I didn’t understand where this was taking place. All over the world? In a little world set by the author? Where was it occurring in time? What was the athlete’s village? Should I imagine it is an Olympics venue?

This is apparently a satire on the romance game, with a touch of mystery All I got from it was a vague sense of being cheated. The idea had merit, but it didn’t feel particularly well thought out and the execution was poor.

The language is halting, the conversations disjointed, and the characters one-sided. The bad blokes are clearly bad, and the mystery never really builds. I’m happy Tom ended up with some girl, but I don’t see why he had to race to get there.

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4 thoughts on “Review: Mark Radford – Virgin Quest

  1. It’s so sad when you read a book that disappoints you… I don’t usually like these kinds of reads where there is a competition for love, so I’ll let is pass.

    Thanks for your review!

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