Review: It was good but...
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 25, 2013
I admit to being wary of While You're Away when it showed up in my email because it's a serial novel. I'm a very impatient person and I don't like waiting for books so I can't imagine enjoy a book where I'm given just a piece of it (with probably killer cliffhanger after each one)over a six-week period. But as the old saying goes, "you can't knock it til you try it."Right in the description of While You're Away are the words "cheater" and "love triangle" and that's a big Uh-oh! already. I'm not a fan of either in my reads, but I gave it a chance since I was more interested in how the whole "serial novel" concept than anything else.Well... I was able to read While You're Away was pretty good. Sarah was likable. She's an introverted musician who was in band with her boyfriend Dave. With his all-American good looks, Dave was a flirt. After their gigs, he likes to go around to bask in the compliments and admiration of their audience (usually girls) while Sarah disappeared in the background. Besides his penchant of flirting, Dave seemed like a good guy.One night, while Dave was doing his usual mingling after a performance, Sarah bumped into Will. They'd gone to the same school since kindergarten but haven't spoken to each other. Will was the school's bad boy and has a near-mythical reputation of hooking up a lot of girls, but he currently has a girlfriend. But once Sarah and Will started talking, the spark between them was undeniable. Sarah couldn't stay away and it seemed like Will was equally as affected.Like I said, While You're Away was good. I liked it--if I was inclined to give stars, I'd give it 3/5. However, I've seen these characters before and there's nothing that really stood out about them to me. The story didn't capture me enough and I'm invested in the characters enough that I'm dying to read more. I think for a serial novel to work for me (who has a towering to-be-read pile already) I really have to be really captured and gripped by the first "episode." I wasn't with this one, but if the second part comes my way and I have a pocket of time to read, I'll probably pick it up since the parts are very short (I read While You're Away in one sitting).(Originally posted on Michelle & Leslie's Book Picks book blog.)