Review: I liked it, but not a lot
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 1, 2014
Right of the bat I want to say I struggled with the rating.  I could just have easily gone with two stars, but I really can't say I disliked it, either.  Part of the problem with this one is the 'novella' format just does not allow for enough time to really develop any character in depth, and that is true for any author.The plot of two former lovers meeting up twenty years later has been done before, and better I'm afraid.Ok, what didn't I like :  the 'hero' a bit stalkerish, the 'heroine' was unreal.  All through the book she is depicted as self controlled, self isolated (because of her heartbreak)  and self sufficient.  In the end she falls  apart.  I am sure that does happen to real people, but the author just didn't make that transition very realistic with her writing  skills.  It just seemed to come out of nowhere.  Finally, the strange son is too much.  Then, throw in another man- potential love competition maybe? - without really developing that sideline much at all.  The ending tied everything up too neatly.  The potential problem the son's animosity may cause the newly united couple is dealt with in a leave-no-prisoners manner  and with (a really weird) finality.  Sorry, I'm not trying to be enigmatic, here, I just can't say what I want without a spoiler.  Again, I have to say there was too much in too little time.  To borrow an overused phrase, it was rushed.Usually I just toss aside a book like this without another thought.  Frankly I don't write many reviews.  I am only writing this review to say that I don't think the writing was bad.  Mostly it was boring.  Once in awhile, however, the author wrote a phrase or too that caught my attention.  It made me think that she has the potential to write better 'stuff' and I am not dismissing the notion of revisiting her in the future.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is a debut writing.  I hope she continues to write, evolve and develop into the kind of writer I got a few glimpses of in this book