Review: Too far over the top
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 04 23, 2013
This book starts out believably. Juliet is a writer afflicted with something common to all authors at some stage - writer's block. After a highly successful first novel, Juliet is paid a one hundred thousand dollar advance to come up with the second. If she can't, then she has to pay back the advance or go bankrupt. However, completing the book appears to be impossible until her married younger sister, Sara, persuades her to take a break at a quiet holiday cottage, owned by Sara's husband's family.The girls arrive and discover that there is a cottage right nextdoor, but as this is empty, they are not concerned. Juliet actually starts writing again - but then, Romeo Boyd - bored, partying film star whose career is on the skids - arrives with a girlfriend and two other couples in tow. The house party starts, with heavy metal music set to top decibel. Understandably, Juliet and Sara are incensed - I would be too - and they set out to protest to their neighbours.Things go downhill from there - plot and writing-wise.I would question the age of the author, because the ongoing "teen" antics of Juliet become downright dangerous. They could be funny, but they are not well written enough for that. Time and again, this character plays revenge games on Romeo, even though each "game" ends up disastrously. To actually want - and try - to superglue his hand to his balls...does the author have any idea what the consequences of that would be? Her ultimate act just escapes being fatal which leads to Romeo retaliating.The parental background of the two sisters is presented as being one of Juliet's issues with a relationship, but this was not convincing. The character is supposed to be 27 and should have enough maturity to work out what is real and what not. Her constant lying would be enough to put off any man. Her desperation to finish her contracted book disappears after the main event (no spoilers) and she spends her time agonising over not having the advance to pay back to the publisher, but doesn't actually sit down and finish the book! (She does write one later though which is successful.)Juliet's decision-making goes from bad to worse (she knows what's best for everyone of course, especially for Romeo) until I was ready to chuck the book at the 3/4 mark.The main character's relationship was a train wreck in the making and I persevered only because I wondered how the author would get out of it.The writing in this novel was not tight enough or exciting enough to pull off the plot, so for me this book was a disappointment which is a great pity as Anna Mara's work is usually well up to scratch.