If you're planning to read one new Jude Deveraux this year - she has released two in 2008 - you should make it Return to Summerhouse.
Secrets suffers from several faults, of which I'll list flat characters, a doormat heroine, a strange plot (that in itself had great possibilities but was lost somewhere in the execution - like having a 7.70 starting value on the uneven bars but then falling on every other skill), a scene in the middle that actually made me say "WTF?" out loud (except I didn't abbreviate: said scene involved the previously doormatesque heroine suddenly at a party with other twenty-somethings, dancing on a kitchen counter and stripping to hot pants and camisole - which she was wearing under her sweatsuit, mind), and the fact that the doormat heroine finally hitched up an iota of self-respect to leave the uninspiring hero who was dishonest with her only to completely cave back into him in the second half (I call it doormat part one and doormat part two) but only after she got backed by her millionaire mother and went to gym to get skinny. Yes, she had to get some self-respect, get skinny, and then become doormat part two to get her HEA, but the HEA only happened after she got skinny. Seems unnecessary, as did the random party scene.
Stick to Return to Summerhouse if you want a new Deveraux to read; otherwise I'll only direct you back to The Duchess or Remembrance.
A Tribute to Bellairs
5 hours ago
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5 comments:
Your review made me laugh. I won't read this one. :)
Sometimes there's a great book that you really want to share with people, but I think reviewers are doing just as much a service when you are keeping people away from truly bad books!
Glad you read it and not me.
You know, there's going to be a lot of people who will like this book. Despite its many problems - or at least, the problems that I found with it - it's not terrible. It's a light, easy read with nonmemorable characters, which was it's main fault. Oh, and the poor execution on the plot. But a lot of people won't like it - myself included. And knowing what wonderful things Jude Deveraux is capable of, I just couldn't give it a glowing review.
I just finished reading it and I'll agree, I was very disappointed. I am a huge JD fan, but this one didn't even seem like her's.
I agree, Deborah! She's written some amazing books over the years and I've always been so very in love with her historicals, but this one in particular just didn't seem like her former quality. I wonder if she's given up the historicals entirely? I don't believe she's written one in recent years.
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