2 Many Books 2 Read

Liked it

2011-08-21T11:41:00.000-04:00

The Burning by Jane Casey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"You can change everything about yourself - the way you look, the way you talk, the way you behave - but you can't escape what you truly are..." so says Louise North, one of the multi-faceted characters in Jane Casey's The Burning. I remember reading a review before starting this book that indicated it was less about the serial killings taking place in London parks for whom the book is named, and I found that to be true. However, it matters little...I enjoyed this book immensely. It was a compelling read with good characters and more than a few twists. I thought the opening chapter was fabulous, and I appreciated the way Casey alternated chapters between Maeve, the young DC trying to make a name for herself, and Louise, best friend of Rebecca, the supposed latest victim of the Burning Man. I loved how we went back into Rebecca's past in an attempt to find her murderer, and how Casey does the same for Louise. Maeve is a great character who reminded me of a British Kinsey Milhone, a ringing endorsement indeed!

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no one quite gets it like parker

2011-07-25T09:21:00.001-04:00

Blue Screen by Robert B. Parker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

parker's books are always winners, this one hit home in more ways than one. i have always been amazed at his ability to get inside a woman's head. even though the mystery's not really the thing, i appreciated the commentary on love and life and relationships. so sad parker's not with us anymore.

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Can't rate

2011-05-24T10:58:00.000-04:00

Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens

i received an advance reader edition of chevy stevens' "never knowing" - i should've read the fine print, or at least given the prospect of reading it for the purpose of reviewing it more thought, b/c i found that i could not get past the main character, sara, who was adopted, discovering that she was conceived as a result of rape. for this reason, it would be unfair for me to give a rating to "never knowing."

admittedly, the serial-killer-as-father plot line could very well be a red herring. the book jacket suggests twists and turns so perhaps i'm jumping ship too quickly, but the notion that the main character's father was a serial killer was just too distasteful to me. in addition, i tired quickly of sara (a bit of a whiner) and her comments and complaints about her adoptive father's obvious lack of regard and love for her. no doubt his reasons become clear as the novel moves forward?

i'm sure i'm missing out, but it's a chance i'm willing to take. that said, i did enjoy stevens' writing...and all those four-star reviews can't be wrong! i'd like to give her another chance by reading "still missing."

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Angels and Demons

2011-05-18T08:47:00.002-04:00

Fallen by Karin Slaughter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed reading Fallen, Karin Slaughter's latest, although not as much as her previous novels. It is definitely a page turner, and I like the characters of Will and Faith, even Amanda. The plot line was a little confusing sometimes, but Slaughter wraps things up quite nicely. I did not especially appreciate the similarities between Roger Ling and Hannibal Lecter, but even Slaughter makes a joke about it, as Amanda refers to Will as "Clarice." The best thing I took away from Fallen was a Tennessee Williams' quote: "If I got rid of my demons, I'd lose my angels."

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sigh

2011-02-08T11:08:00.001-05:00

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

eh...this book got tons of press and very decent reviews, but it's not working for me. i can't even bring myself to finish it.

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Counting on Paretsky

2010-12-22T16:16:00.000-05:00

Indemnity Only by Sara Paretsky

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

this first of the V. I. series was really good, think paretsky has gotten better as she's developed the character. these books are always winners.

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Black Pat

2010-12-16T16:09:00.001-05:00

Mr. Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

"You are a dark star in the constellation which forms me. And to fight against you is to try and fight the stars in the enternal firmament." so says churchill to black pat, the huge, black dog that exemplifies his depression...and who becomes a temporary lodger of esther, a young widow...a great premise that was fascinating to me but in the end, i was bored. and a little confused. i think hunt does a really good job of personifying depression...i very much identified with black pat/mr. chartwell...and i enjoyed the interplay between him and churchill. i found esther to be a bit underdeveloped. still, worth reading if only for the images...the finely detailed and original rendering of depression.

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the sad Sisters Blythe

2010-11-22T11:09:00.002-05:00

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"She was the breeze on a summer's day, the first drops of rain when the earth was parched, light from the evening star." i absolutely adored The Distant Hours...can't say if it's Morton's best but it's just as fabulous as her previous two, The House at Riverton and The Forgotten Garden. The Sisters Blythe are wonderful characters, as is their castle, Middlehurst. i love the surprises and twists and turns, just when you think you know what happened, you don't. i read an uncorrected proof, and felt some parts earlier in the manuscript seemed to drag. perhaps an editor has or will correct this. at any rate, a must read, a journey back in time, full of love and regret and things lost but not forgotten.

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FUN with a capital "f"

2010-10-05T09:07:00.000-04:00

Night Passage by Robert B. Parker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

liked it a lot...fun, fast, easy to digest. liked the characters a lot. i'm not sure there's not much parker didn't do. now to tackle spenser...

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a "little" disappointed

2010-10-04T09:21:00.000-04:00

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

oh, my, i was SO disappointed in "the little stranger." i loved waters' "fingersmith" and couldn't wait to read "stranger." it is very well written with a great sense of place and characterizations, but the ghost story is pretty much non-existent. waters spends about 3/4 of the novel leading up to a whole lot of not much. there are one or two very chilly scenes (one character is mysteriously locked in a room and peering through the keyhole, sees a child-like shadow passing by and back again...running its hand along the wall, scratching fingernails...yet there are no children in the house), and i kept thinking/hoping it was going to blow wide open, but sadly, it never quite did.

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B O R I N G

2010-09-20T08:50:00.000-04:00

Corrag by Susan Fletcher

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

i received this book as part of the early reviewer's program at library thing. first let me say that i enjoy reading about the 1600s, and witchcraft and was looking forward to losing myself in corrag. i even liked the title (cora, her mom + "hag" or witch...clever.) however, the book bored me to tears. i didn't like the style of writing, all monologue and rambling, total stream of consciousness about not much at all. i did enjoy charles' letters to his wife, but it wasn't enough to save it for me. i seem to be in the minority; maybe it's just the author's style that i can't get past.

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good but not great

2010-09-13T15:45:00.001-04:00

Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

i enjoyed blindsighted but so far, it's not one of my favorite karin slaughter books, and if i'd read it first, not sure i'd continue with any of her other series. wasn't a fan of sara or jeffrey. for some reason, maybe because he doesn't seem stock, i prefer will trent. that said, blindsighted's plot is first rate, and i enjoyed the twists and turns.

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nice, very nice....

2010-09-04T08:52:00.001-04:00

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

very good...loved the writing. loved mattie.

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SO insipid

2010-09-01T09:32:00.002-04:00

A Silent Ocean Away: Colette's Dominion by DeVa Gantt

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like "a silent ocean away..." it has pretty high ratings on goodreads and i enjoy historical settings/sagas. but it was SO insipid. ugh. i could not respect myself if i finished it!

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2010-08-29T19:05:00.000-04:00

The Woods by Harlan Coben

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

a little cliched but very readable, good story with nice twists and turns.

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good albeit gruesome

2010-08-27T21:32:00.000-04:00

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

i liked heartsick. i liked it a lot. some parts were a little gruesome for me, but i thought the story was well done and the characters were, too.

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OMG...armand

2010-08-19T08:32:00.001-04:00

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

OMG...armand gauche...never "known" a detective quite like him.

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single lady

2010-07-27T09:51:00.002-04:00

Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe by Sandra Gulland

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

i must admit i liked this single lady more before she put a ring on it. somehow rose was more compelling than josephine.

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"sleep is sweet"

2010-07-22T08:50:00.000-04:00

Silent In The Grave by Deanna Raybourn

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

a little slow, but good characterizations and more than a few surprises. i enjoyed the little details and lady julia's sass...and her butler!

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oh yeah!

2010-07-11T09:55:00.001-04:00

The Likeness: A Novel by Tana French

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

i LOVE the way tana french writes...it's beautiful. her books are so much more than psychological thrillers. yet the likeness wasn't as good for me as In the Woods. i didn't buy the Fantastic Four thinking Cassie was actually Lexie, that seemed a huge stretch to me. and i missed Rob.

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not that compelling

2010-07-09T09:59:00.000-04:00

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

eh...kinda feel flat about this one. i really don't even know what to say about it. never really felt much for any of the characters, thought the whole notion of mercy killing was handled quite cavalierly. best part was the quilt being a book of spells. again...eh...

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no stomach for this one

2010-06-29T09:05:00.000-04:00

Blood Harvest by S.J. Bolton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
well, i can't say i enjoyed blood harvest, although i found it well written with really creepy moments, good characterization and an excellent plot. however, i just can't get past children being in danger and explicit descriptions of murder scenes involving them. totally ruined it for me. i'll give bolton another try but if kids are involved, i'm totally out.

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mind boggling bad parenting

2010-06-18T18:34:00.001-04:00

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
i'd like to say something profound about The Glass Castle, but other than liking it a lot...i don't have much else of an opinion. the parents were brutal...esp. the mom...it's almost impossible for me to wrap my head around her having access to tons of money and allowing her children to go hungry. WTF?

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mind boggling

2010-06-09T09:23:00.000-04:00

Triptych by Karin Slaughter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
my goodness. this book made my head spin. i read #2 will trent, fractured, before i picked up this one, and i must say, i preferred it. that's not to say i didn't enjoy triptych, i did. slaughter's one of the best crime novelists out there; the way she weaves multiple story lines is amazing. the novel opens with one character who turns out to be someone completely different by the novel's end. in fact, i may have to go back and read the first few chapters to see what i missed. overall, highly recommend. it was hard to put down.

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interesting twist on a detective

2010-05-16T16:58:00.002-04:00

Fractured by Karin Slaughter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
i do love a police procedural and "fractured" by karin slaughter is one of the better ones. i found it very interesting that her main detective, will trent, comes from a foster background and is basically illiterate. that makes for a very challenging day for mr. trent. "fractured" has all the good stuff...characters, red herrings, and something i personally enjoy for its realism, detectives who don't always get it right. look forward to reading more of ms. slaughter's writing.

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One of the best i've read in a long, long time....

2010-05-09T16:38:00.001-04:00

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Forgotten Garden is even better than Morton's first book, The House at Riverton. what a terrific story Morton tells. full of great characters and mystery...love both romantic and familial...i loved this book. i loved eliza's stories and i loved eliza. so many twists and turns to find out what happened to little nell. and in the end, although cassandra finds her way, what happened to little nell broke my heart.

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inCREDible

2010-04-11T21:13:00.002-04:00

The Passage by Justin Cronin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
wow...a five star read for sure...these don't come along often and i savored every line. this book is a behemoth, i never thought i could/would finish it, but i loved every page. everything about "the passage" is great...the story, the characters, i loved the way cronin made up an entirely new world with its own language...virals and smokes and flyers...littles and the sanctuary...it's about way more than vampires. cronin expertly evokes a sense of dread throughout much of the novel, but hope as well. for me, a novel is successful when i find myself thinking about the characters when i'm not reading, and itching to get back to it. a fine read in the vein of stephen king, who actually contributes a recommendation, this novel reminded me of his earlier works, no small feat. my only quibble, if i must, is how the novel feels like the screenplay for a film. i REALLY hope cronin didn't write it with that in mind...

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a whole lot of blarney

2010-03-07T15:52:00.002-05:00

Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show: A Novel by Frank Delaney

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
i wish i could say i enjoyed Venetia Kelly as much as others seem to have. it was my first delaney although i've seen his works and even have another one, ireland, on my shelf. i found his writing quite disjointed and irritating...too many semi-colons and LONG dashes (perhaps that's his point...his way of authentically trying to tell venetia's, and thus ireland's, story?) i didn't care for any of the characters, either, and the "digressions" drove me nuts. perhaps my distate was more towards the style than the narrative; nevertheless, only a 2-star read for me.

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what a waste

2010-02-28T17:55:00.002-05:00

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
let me begin by saying that The Historian ranks as one of my all-time favorites. i could not have been more excited when i learned about The Swan Thieves. sadly, i feel as though i've just wasted a month of my life, if not more, on this huge, meandering, boring, schlocky novel. UGH. so many times i shook my head, amazed that i had to finish it, amazed that i felt guilty NOT finishing it, but i felt a loyalty to kostova and The Historian. i just KNEW it would get better. how could someone write a novel as wonderful as The Historian follow up with this?? i kept thinking, hoping there would be a reward at the end, some revelation that would make up for reading it, but now that i'm done, i find that i just don't care.

the characters were hard to knowor like...it was difficult to believe that marlow would have fallen in love with BOTH of robert's loves (b/c believe me, if he'd spent more time with kate, he surely would have.) i didn't like any of them...and the women were just perfect. never a false moment from these two. the only parts of the book i enjoyed were those with beatrice and olivier. their quiet passion made up for the simpering of the others. and then at the end, robert just walks away.

WTF????

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T is for Terrific (albeit Terrifying)

2009-12-28T23:12:00.003-05:00

T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
my sister told me about bookmooch.com and i became a member almost 3 years ago. initially, i gave away a ton of books, and racked up so many points there was no way i would ever recoup them. i decided i might as well try to collect a few things...nancy drew books being the first. then i decided it might be cool to collect hard covers of the sue grafton alphabet series. i'd read almost all of them, and actually, i think kinsey was my first foray into detective fiction. to give credit where it's due, she is probably my adult nancy drew! anyway, i successfully "mooched" all of the sue grafton novels, through S. i think i bought T when it came out last year, but just shelved it along with the others.

i came down with a URI after christmas, and a kinsey tale seemed perfect for the recuperation period. and oh was it ever. T is for Trespass has got to be one of the best of grafton's series. there's not a false note anywhere. i was worried that grafton's writing from a perspective other than kinsey (solana) would be off putting, but once the story grabbed me, it didn't matter. i read T in less than 48 hours. i love kinsey for so many reasons...she's smart, funny, and down to earth...i find myself doing a lot of "oh yeah, i know EXACTLY what she means..." it doesn't matter that she's stuck in the 80s. you truly never notice it.

it becomes a bit personal in T. but kinsey handles it with her usual aplomb. love that girl, she's so awesome. and T is definitely a 5-star read. kudos, sue, kudos. i'll be devastated when you get to Z.

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True Fun

2009-12-04T09:45:00.000-05:00

Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
i gave "living dead" another try, and i'm glad i did. i like charlaine harris a lot...i like her style...the writing is quick and funny...and I think...has some substance...some thought provoking scenarios...moral dilemmas sookie is presented with...and the vampire world harris has created in bon temps is fascinating. of course, i do think it helps if you can suspend all belief, and if you're remotely interested in anything vampirish.

while i didn't enjoy it as much as "dead until dark," i liked it enough to continue with the series...and if i didn't know that "true blood" came AFTER, i'd have thought harris watched it before writing "living dead." it's pretty racy!!

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2 much in4mation

2009-11-23T09:52:00.001-05:00

The Information Officer by Mark Mills

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
i have slogged about halfway through this book, and i'm just giving up. i simply cannot get excited enough about it to find out whodunnit. i don't care about malta, i don't care about the war, i don't care about the characters. i really enjoyed mills' amagansett...loved the characters and thought he did a great job of evoking a sense of place. and the mystery was pretty darn good, too. clearly, mills has done extensive research, but it's not enough (or maybe it's too much) to save "the information officer." there's nothing thrilling about it. it's even difficult to distinguish when he switches characters...the first time he did it, i didn't even realize it until the second switch, and had to go back and read the first switch chapter again. B O R I N G.

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armand for president!

2009-10-30T14:04:00.000-04:00

Still Life by Louise Penny

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
ah, this book is SO good. so very good. a mystery wrapped in a character study with lots of good nuggets about human nature. i like my detectives sharp but not perfect, wise but not smug. my friend pw says she'd like to marry armand, and i would, too!

fortunately for me (or maybe not, depending on how you like your mysteries), i wasn't sharp enough to see past all the red herrings penny leaves...and there are a gracious plenty. so i enjoyed trying to figure this one out with every twist and turn. and how cool is it that her title actually gives away the ending...but not 'til the ending.

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endlessly boring

2009-10-22T09:00:00.003-04:00

Across the Endless River by Thaddeus Carhart

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
i very much enjoy LT's Early Reviewers program, and i received "across the endless river" through it. i've been in a reading slump for over a month, since finishing "the shadow of the wind." i was hopeful "river" could pull me out of it. unfortunately, it did not.

"river's" subject matter intrigued me, as i know little about sacagawea, other than her association with lewis and clark (and her appearance in the ben stiller flick, night at the museum - sad, i know!). anyway, i also adore historical fiction. while i found "river" to be well written in a technical sense...and apparently, well researched...it was SO boring. the characters were cardboard, one dimensional - they never come alive on the page, and there's little conflict, if any, between them. i just couldn't get excited about them or their lives. perhaps the story would have been more interesting if the author had focused on sacagawea, b/c she was clearly ahead of her time. i feel bad not giving it more than two stars, b/c it's perfectly...serviceable...and that's my problem with it. i want more than that. life's too short for perfectly serviceable!!

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Permanent Collection Entry

2009-09-07T16:14:00.000-04:00

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
this is one for the permanent collection. such a wonderful read, full of drama, passion, mystery, bad guys and most importantly, books! so well written. i loved the characters, even the villians! the plot kept me guessing until the end and provided all the things a great book should. i won't forget the shadow of the wind for a long time.

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SO confused....

2009-08-26T23:01:00.001-04:00

The Aviary Gate: A Novel by Katie Hickman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
sigh. i really wanted to like this book of two parallel love affairs - one from the 16th century and the other present day. it had all the right elements...meticulously researched, nicely written, desperate lovers, and a harem? wow...now maybe i could learn something! but it just didn't click for me. i never connected with celia, the young englishwoman sold into slavery after surviving a shipwreck, and paul, her merchantman betrothed, even less. never felt the love, esp. since they do not share one scene in the novel. i was confused by the many characters in the harem - who seemed to all be named the same; in fact, few of the characters in the book are fully realized, save elizabeth, our present day (and sad sack) graduate student. it was just a big "eh" for me. i spent a good part of the novel confused about who was who and who was spying on whom and i reached a point where i just didn't care. i feel guilty about that...but am not sure why. and for a book about a harem, i didn't get why 1) there was rarely any sex (not that there's anything wrong with that!); and 2) our heroine, celia, is only summoned once!

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another hangover...must be that kind of summer

2009-08-17T09:35:00.000-04:00

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
i TOTALLY get the hype about the secret history, even from 17 years ago...it's a terrific book...excellent writing, such brilliant characterizations. and these people drink and smoke so much, i spent the entire "time" feeling like i had a hangover. sufficiently creepy, with a pervading sense of dread...and it's not the south, it's vermont. while i often wanted to smack richard, he's a terrific narrarator, and i loved how tartt is able to evoke those feelings that we all experience when we are trying so hard to be a part of something, regardless of the dangers...

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in a word...

2009-08-04T08:37:00.001-04:00

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
BRILLIANT.

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like a (bad) hangover

2009-07-21T22:16:00.002-04:00

Best Friends Forever: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
it's formulaic, contrived, sophomoric and predictable. yet i finished in 2 days, couldn't put it down. i feel so cheap...i wonder if i'll hate myself in the morning...?

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not near as good as iced tea

2009-07-17T11:11:00.001-04:00

South of Broad by Pat Conroy

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
SIGH. do you hear that? a big old SIGH. i loved prince of tides but i did read it 20 years ago. i tried BEACH MUSIC but found the story, as well as the writing, immature and sophomoric. i gave up. so when i heard about SOUTH OF BROAD, i was ecstatic. previews were promising. a saga about family with a backdrop of the city conroy so clearly adores, charleston. and when it began, it was wonderful. no one can TELL a story and create such a sense of southern despair like conroy. but again, SIGH, perhaps my tastes have changed. when conroy starts writing dialogue, it all goes flat. seems conroy does not have an ear for dialogue. the characters are caricatures. all the women are beautiful and if not crazy, perfect and unappreciated. the men are either really, really good, or really, really bad. all the friends from the high school circle of misfits end up married to each other - paired off perfectly (in terms of ethnicity, i might add). all bases are covered in SOUTH OF BROAD, just not very well.

as an ode to the city of charleston, this book totally works. but not as or for much else.

SIGH.

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read it in a week

2009-07-11T21:35:00.000-04:00

2 Many Books 2 Read

Liked it

no one quite gets it like parker

Can't rate

Angels and Demons

sigh

Counting on Paretsky

Black Pat

the sad Sisters Blythe

FUN with a capital "f"

a "little" disappointed

B O R I N G

good but not great

nice, very nice....

SO insipid

good albeit gruesome

OMG...armand

single lady

"sleep is sweet"

oh yeah!

not that compelling

no stomach for this one

mind boggling bad parenting

mind boggling

interesting twist on a detective

One of the best i've read in a long, long time....

inCREDible

a whole lot of blarney

what a waste

T is for Terrific (albeit Terrifying)

True Fun

2 much in4mation

armand for president!

endlessly boring

Permanent Collection Entry

SO confused....

another hangover...must be that kind of summer

in a word...

like a (bad) hangover

not near as good as iced tea

read it in a week

My review

polish and personal revolutions

My review

good...but not as good as cover looks!

My review

it's all american

My review

speed read this one!

My review

a good solid story

My review

sophomore slump for sookie

My review

the ultimate price

My review

the risk of darkness

My review

Perfectly Perfect...and not in a good way

My review

WONDERFULLY creepy

My review

painful but good

My review

cutting is captivating

My review

SO not elementary

My review

a new swede to love

My review

what a destiny!

My review

wonder woman

My review

poor writing ruins plot

My review

VI Rocks!

My review

cheated...

My review