Review: Explicit sex and endless self-recriminations.
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 02 1, 2014
Rescue Me (a quirky romance novel about secrets, forgiveness and falling in love)The main characters of this book hate themselves. They treat others like bedbug riddled dirt. They manipulate and ignore the wants of others. They refuse to talk to each other so they can maintain grudges. And there is an ENDLESS repeat of self-recriminations while withholding details so it can be called a secret.  Only the peripheral characters are likable and we don't get to spend any time with them! Oh, and there are a couple of "animal rescues" absolutely devoid of methods, details, or follow-through. I think the title is an example of bait-and-switch.The almost accidental references to actual animal care was the biggest disappointment. It was the woman's singular passion and mission in life, for heavens sake!  We didn't even get the equivalent of a visit to the front desk of a county shelter (when people and animals were there). There was a desk and wooden floors. The only thing we know for sure is that in horrible conditions, cat urine makes your nose sting and it stinks. It seems to me that the least the author could have done...well, she did do the least she could have done, didn't she? (Too snide? All the main character communicated about her animal shelter was that it was a burden and she actually wanted to save unnamed marine animals. And build a facility for 200 thousand? Now I'm just being picky.)The "romance" is based on the instant electrical magnetic pull between two people (a trend for people in this book), and proximity. They fell in lust, but it was hardly-drunk lust and they regretted it but talked about it and decided not to regret it...sort of. The explicit description of sex was a surprise to me because nothing hinted of it, and there was no reason for it. I skipped over it as soon as I realized what was going on, but I still got way more information than I wanted about other people's intimacy. I remain puzzled about the reasons for writing and wanting to read about X-rated details of sex. I call it voyeurism, because that's what it is. The second time I skipped 8-10 pages and it didn't impact the story at all.The leading man had a brief conversation with himself about how he wanted to be a better person (or was one?) when he was with the woman but there was little evidence of it. He was supportive when she shared emotional memories though. Other than that, a couple of short sentences and cursory references made him a doctor.I know more about animal shelters and family medicine from watching reality tv than the author displays, and I am still confused about how the doctor spends so much time in the hospital, only schedules appointments on occasion, and takes days off in blocks without being on call when he is a junior in the practice. He rarely does work--to the point than when he walks down a hospital hallway, it is mentioned.And yes, the evil bad thing secret was underwhelming. (I, like other reviewers, expected murder or at least manslaughter. And when people didn't answer their cellphones I kept hoping for a disaster or death to break the monotony!) The relationship problems were resolved contrary to any in my experience, and there was never a maternal resolution for the woman. I guess it was inconvenient.In summary; the surprises were not good ones, the people were not worth the time, and somebody didn't bother to watch an episode or two on Discovery Channel or NatGeo as research. Plus the narrative was amiable but boring, and the "romance" was X-rated lust despite both character's "old-fashioned belief against living together."