Review: Nothing really happens
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 29, 2013
Holly is forced to move in with her estranged Dad in Arizona after her Mom remarries and movies to Sicily. Even though she thinks it's the lesser of two evils, moving in with the Dad (and brother and step-mom) she hasn't seen in 5 years, when she meets hot-shot baseball player, Doan, her move soon turns out to be the best thing that could have happened (on many levels.)Characters in the story are interesting enough, though the name "Doan" is AWFUL. Sounds like the name of a chewing tobacco. IS IT the name of a chewing tobacco?Anyway, the characters are ok but they have almost nothing to do!! Mostly everyone just TALKS a lot--about the past, feelings...the book is like one family's long group therapy session. That is, interesting only to the people involved. And, as the reader, I never felt connected or invested in anyone in the book, let alone the outcome.The story was predictable and plodding. The only person surprised was the main character when she learned Doan's "secret" toward the end of the book. Though how this was a secret is beyond me. At one point, Doan says to Holly, "How did you not know?" And I thought--YES! HOW did you not know??? It was so obvious, it hit the reader over the head--MANY times!But none of these revelations were in any way, exciting or interesting or mysterious or frightening or romantic or...choose your own adjective. Boring--they WERE boring. So there's that.Sorry to be so caustic but I read a lot and I am getting tired of authors just phoning it in. Writing is hard work. And you have to know where you're going when you start. You can't just write "Chapter One" and hope it goes somewhere. But that seems to be how many people write these days. Maybe editors don't challenge writers anymore. Maybe it doesn't matter if a book is good for it to sell in the digital age when initial costs are low and profit margins are high.Well, anyway, that's my review. Don't bother with this book.I'm addicted to books so I'll keep searching for a good one. They're out there, I've found quite a few, but this isn't one of them.