When I picked up "Belong to Me" when it was still a fresh new hardbound months ago, at a local Borders, I read the side flaps and then nervously put it aside. See, I didn't want to ruin the perfection that was Marisa de los Santos's first novel (entitled "Love Walked In," if you must know). "Love Walked In" had been a treasure of a book, the kind you somehow want to hold next to your heart where it will keep you warm and precious and delicate.
The description of "Belong to Me," with the same lovely characters--only this time married and displaced to the suburbs simply did not seem to be up to par with its predecessor.
Months later, however, I grew desperate for a good read and finally caved. And boy oh boy am I glad I did.
The appeal of "Belong to Me" is the way it is written. de los Santos has a writing style that is fluid, beautiful, magical. Add to that a knack for creating characters that are unique, lovable, precious, and intelligent, and you have a story that you want to immerse yourself in, that you want to become.
"Belong to Me" is the kind of book that inspires you to live a better life without once preaching or proselytizing.
The biggest appeal of this book is that the characters are real. While their circumstances are the stuff of drama--she is in recovery from breast cancer, and he is the black sheep of a wealthy family (who doesn't love a rich hero?)--their psychological issues are deliciously relatable.
The plot isn't predictable, and it's an easy, light read after work. I liked it enough to look for her next book. If you're in the mood for a modern, realistic romance, I recommend this.
Where have all the dramas gone?
Today, in need of a major stress reliever, I decided to drop by the neighborhood library and borrow pounds in books. Naturally, there were romance novels in the selection.
I picked up Candace Camp's "The Marriage Wager" with some optimism. Having never heard of Camp, I was nonetheless intrigued by the backflap description of her Regency romance.
It took me little over an hour to read the book once I got home, in part because I skimmed a chunk of it. The chunk that details exactly how the heroine (Constance) the hero (Dominic) fall in love.
Honestly, the name "Constance" should have given me a clue. The book was consistently boring. Oh, there was nothing technically wrong. The plot was interesting enough and carried enough complications (she's an aging--28 year old--spinster and he needs to marry for money), the characters were discreetly charming, but...and this is a big BUT...there was no drama. Camp's attempt to add something shocking when Dom's family attempts to frame Constance simply falls flat. No one falls for it. Where a Judith McNaught novel would have you fighting back horrified tears (no, he didn't just think that of her even though he loves her!) while a delicious thrill crept up your spine because you just KNOW there will be an amazing, heartstopping grand gesture of an apology to make up fr it later, Camp simply makes you think, "Oh," sigh, and move on.
Don't get me wrong, I am by no means disparaging the subtler forms of romance novels. Julia Quinn never resorts to high drama, her character are rarely ever dukes or absurdly wealthy, and she never has grand gestures. But romances of this type usually have a character psychology that backs them up.
Camp leaves a lot to be desired.
I found this book educational for two reasons: It was always a dream of mine to study at Tulane, and this is where Kate goes to study... Law, which is a process I never quite understood ("Legally Blonde" didn't give me an accurate depiction), and now have lived vicariously through her.
I liked the book because Kate is relatable. She's smart, has ambition, but is also tied back by fear and insecurities. She is the play-it-safe kind, the middle-of-the-road girl, the person I feel that most of us are but don't want to be. So she goes to law school, and she makes friends and mistakes along the way, and she discovers a bit of herself in the process. Nothing too exciting or out-there, this book will give you a homemade apple pie feeling that someone understands you, someone is like you, and like Kate, maybe you can succeed to.
Worth it to buy? I say just go to the library and borrow it. Worth it to read? Yes, if you think you're like Kate, and/or are interested in either Tulane or law school.
I feel like there is so little time to write these reviews--but if I don't, I'll lose track of everything I've been reading! I'm already at least ten books behind what I've read in the past month---eeek!
Today I finished Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, something I never would have read had it not been assigned in my Lit of California class. Surprise, surprise. I actually liked it. (Thank you, Professor Jack Hicks--On a side note, he's a co-editor on an anothology called, what else, The Literature of California: Writings from the Golden State, and it is great. Living in California and reading it is like having 600+ pages of insider jokes and shared memories.)
The story is set 20+ years in the future, when global warming and the lack of water has turned California into...a war zone/desolate wasteland/cannot-come-up-with-the-right-description-but-it-is-definitely-terrible. It's written in journal form by a sixteen year-old, who lives in one of the few relatively safe gated communities left. The novel is a wake-up call, a nightmare that could very well happen to us if we don't change the way we treat our environment. At the same time, it isn't preachy and it is neither too happy-ever-after nor doom-and-gloom. It is, I suppose, an excellent rendition of a very likely What If. It will shock readers into wanting to change.
Worth buying? Well, see, I'm really more of an optimistic-book buyer. I happen to have gotten this for free. I will say this. It's a good addition on your shelf, so go to a used bookstore and maybe purchase a copy there. It's definitely worth a read. It has an open ending, which is why I didn't snap my book shut with a sense of satisfaction, but I suppose that's just the romance novel reader in me. The bottom line: it is an excellent piece of writing for its unlikely genre.
I found myself picking up The Gatecrasher (its American book cover is different, by the way--I suspect this is the British version) to see what differences its heroine would have from the vapid shopaholic by Kinsella. I figured that Wickham wanted to separate herself from the series; hence, writing under a different name.
While The Gatecrasher is written in such a way that what could be plausible, events still have an unsettling sing-songy sense of happy-ever-after (my personal marker for a good writer is one who takes a premise that may not be plausible but make it feel totally believable within the world of the novel), it at least has a heroine whose feet are more firmly planted on the ground than the Shopaholic. Fleur Daxeny has an interesting past (sadly only barely brushed on in this novel--would have loved to delve into the psychology of that a bit more) that accounts for her current lifestyle as a pseudo-con artist. Aside from that, the book offers little pleasures. It talks about more serious issues--everyone has self-esteem problems, and those who don't are potential alcoholics/wife beaters--but doesn't resolve them in a satisfactorily realistic manner. What could have been a touching love story instead falls flat, and what could have been a moving new understanding between mother and child is also lightly resolved, almost as if with a fairy wand.
As always, I close with... is it worth buying? No. Worth reading? Perhaps, especially if you were a fan of the Sophie Kinsella books. If you have little time on your hands, and want a light novel to relax, I would recommend a Sarah Strohmeyer novel over this Wickham work.
The beginning shows promise because Gideon does something unexpected. But then the text just goes on. And on. And on. And then there is some odd metaphysical stuff that occurs out of nowhere that isn't properly explained or particularly believable. It's a little device that could have been removed from the text entirely had proper psychological bits been placed instead. (Sorry, I know this sounds vague, but I am not one for placing spoilers in my book reviews.)
Would I recommend buying this book? No. Reading it? Perhaps... If you are a serious fan of JAK's style. Personally, I think you could get the same feel from some of her other books--Wildest Hearts, for instance, has similar character types but is a much more fulfilling read.
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Recent Comments
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Cori said:
[this is good]Thanks for the warning! While it's not perfect, I enjoyed Pride, Prejudice, and Jasmine Field, by Melissa Nathan, as a... read more
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misshalfway said:
it's nice to know i'm not the only one! read more
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Inspirational Place said:
Thanks for the review on the latest Amanda Quick novel - I have been a fan of Mrs. Krentz's for... read more
on Thursday afternoons = Romance novels at Borders -
thanks for the suggestion. will read it soon...maybe this weekend! read more
on The "don't bother" books