“Seriously?
Okay, first off, I got this one free. I got it as a free ebook on Amazon. Now, when I see books for free, normally I read their synopsis and if it sounds like something I might like, I get it. I don't normally read reviews for those.
So, this is Christian Fiction. It's not labeled as such or mentioned in the description, but it is. And it's awful. Now, before you think I'm just over-reacting, I don't mind the characters in the books I'm reading believing in God or going to church or whatever. Don't care. But I can do without the constant lecturing from really annoying characters who pray every 5 seconds for stupid stuff like not being able to find something to wear. Really?
So, this one started out okay. Bricker's very readable, though not skilled at story development and fleshing out characters. Emma's a diabetic pastry chef. Haha. Her diabetes is referred to constantly and incorrectly and offers no point at all as far as the story goes. Jackson lost his wife I don't know how many years ago and hasn't moved on and is being plagued by one of his sister's kid's husbands, who's a preacher..or a priest. I can't remember, but it was annoying. He's the token Latino in the book, though he's only got an Hispanic name so at least there's no annoying cliches. He's constantly trying to get Jackson to talk to him, talking about how it's all God's plan that Jackson's wife died, blah blah blah. Jackson doesn't want to talk to him, but the guy won't take the hint. The preacher's constantly asking if he can pray for someone or with someone and it's really freaking annoying.
Speaking of token minorities, later in the book, Jackson and Emma go to a football game with his friends where you get the token black character. Much is made of how beautiful she is, but how different she is from Emma. It was like Bricker got to the end of the book and though, "Oh shoot! I don't have any black characters!"
The story takes place in the Atlanta area. Yet when the first couple to marry at Tanglewood wants a baseball themed wedding and talks about Tomahawks in the centerpieces, Emma, a native of Atlanta, has no clue what she's talking about. Really? I'm not a sports fan at all and even I know that.
The drawn out dropped "r"s of Jackson's sisters got really old after a while. Especially since most everyone in this book is all from the same area. Jackson's sisters came across as being a lot older than Jackson and maybe he was the younger brother, but Emma, I think was being being described as early 20s and at least 1 of Jackson's sisters is old enough to have a daughter who's married.
The entrance of the French chef was stupid and contrived. You knew who the wedding was going to be for in the end the moment they announced it and you also knew where that relationship was going the first time they were in the room together.
I think if I were these characters, I'd be a bit more worried about the fact that Aunt Sophie KEEPS getting away from her assisted living community and I couldn't understand why it was such a big revelation that she took a taxi there. Did they think she walked?
This book was just awful. I'd also d/l another book by Bricker, but I deleted it off my Kindle. This was just too horrible. It was filled with one note characters with no substance. The story was dumb and the actions of all the characters were extremely contrived. I gave it 2 stars because I did manage to finish it. Don't read this book.”
Jennifer J wrote this review Tuesday, February 14, 2012.
(
reply |
permalink )
