Helpful Score: 1
I put off reading this book because previous readers had left very unflattering reviews of this book. Fortunately every reader experiences a book differently, and I enjoyed this book. I found it intriguing and I buzzed right through it, eager to turn the page. It is a flawed book, not as good as her previous books, but I still found it an enjoyable piece of escapist literature. Try it, you might like it too...or maybe not, but it deserves a try.
This is the first book I have read by this author, but definitely, not the last!
Jane Williams is born during a Christmas blizzard and receives a rather unique gift - one that allows her to literally see true love. On the day of her 29th birthday, she learns about her gift from Colette Dubois. Anyway, in order for Jane to experience true love in her life she must identify the six types of love before the full moon following her 30th birthday - agape, eros, ludus, mania, pragma, and storge.
I enjoyed reading the six mini subplots that reminded me of short love stories. For example, "agape" - unconditional, altruistic love - Mary, Jane's friend, is in love with Luca, her Italian builder, he moves back to the USA to marry her and become the father of her unborn child. "Eros" - passionate love - Katie, Jane's friend, totally and completely loves her husband Josh no matter the obstacles. "Ludus" - playful, non-committal love - Lo, Jane's assistance, falls in love with Grant, a married man who has no plans of leaving his wife. "Mania" - obsessive love - Flynn, Jane's brother, is driven by compulsive love for Celeste, someone he has never met who happens to live in the next building over. "Pragma" - love driven by the head, not the heart - Elaine, Jane's friend, falls in love with her neighbor, Charles, but decides to stay with her husband, Matthew. "Storge" - love born from friendship - Mel, Jane's friend, falls in love with Vivian, a lady who frequently visits his newsstand.
This was a wonderful, heartwarming story that I definitely recommend.
Jane Williams is born during a Christmas blizzard and receives a rather unique gift - one that allows her to literally see true love. On the day of her 29th birthday, she learns about her gift from Colette Dubois. Anyway, in order for Jane to experience true love in her life she must identify the six types of love before the full moon following her 30th birthday - agape, eros, ludus, mania, pragma, and storge.
I enjoyed reading the six mini subplots that reminded me of short love stories. For example, "agape" - unconditional, altruistic love - Mary, Jane's friend, is in love with Luca, her Italian builder, he moves back to the USA to marry her and become the father of her unborn child. "Eros" - passionate love - Katie, Jane's friend, totally and completely loves her husband Josh no matter the obstacles. "Ludus" - playful, non-committal love - Lo, Jane's assistance, falls in love with Grant, a married man who has no plans of leaving his wife. "Mania" - obsessive love - Flynn, Jane's brother, is driven by compulsive love for Celeste, someone he has never met who happens to live in the next building over. "Pragma" - love driven by the head, not the heart - Elaine, Jane's friend, falls in love with her neighbor, Charles, but decides to stay with her husband, Matthew. "Storge" - love born from friendship - Mel, Jane's friend, falls in love with Vivian, a lady who frequently visits his newsstand.
This was a wonderful, heartwarming story that I definitely recommend.
Disappointed in this one. Doesn't sound like the same Sarah Jio's books I enjoyed. After the first three books I loved, each one has gone downhill.
What's happened to you Sarah Jio? Your first 3-4 books were so good! But since then, it's been a downward slide, and with this book, I think you've hit bottom.
I was happy to see that even though this book still had a magic/fantasy element to it, Ms. Jio finally deviated from her standard plot formula into something different. Unfortunately, she didn't do it well, and this book really is a hot mess.
From a plot with terrible pacing, to inconsistencies in characters and dialog, unrealistic coincidences, just plain stupid plot devices, and a love interest that was uninspiring, this book was just not good. It would take too long to describe all the things that bothered me about this book, so I'll just use one as an example.
Late in the book, the main character, Jane, has an interaction with Mel, one of the tertiary characters, that includes dialog. First, we see the interaction from Jane's first person point of view. 4-5 pages later, we see the exact same interaction from Mel's third-person point of view. Nothing wrong with that....except the dialog was COMPLETELY different between the two scenes! Poor writing, poor editing...in any event, it was sloppy and amateurish. Really, I expect better from a New York Times bestselling author.
However, the thing that bothered me the most about this book was the idea that infidelity and adultery was okay because you can't control who you love. More than one character was cheating on his/her spouse, but it was OK because they were so much in love with the other person. Sorry, but I totally do not agree.
Unfortunately, I think this is the last Sarah Jio book I'll read. I've just been too disappointed in her last few books, and have come to realize that, sadly, she'll likely never get back to the author she was when she first started writing.
I was happy to see that even though this book still had a magic/fantasy element to it, Ms. Jio finally deviated from her standard plot formula into something different. Unfortunately, she didn't do it well, and this book really is a hot mess.
From a plot with terrible pacing, to inconsistencies in characters and dialog, unrealistic coincidences, just plain stupid plot devices, and a love interest that was uninspiring, this book was just not good. It would take too long to describe all the things that bothered me about this book, so I'll just use one as an example.
Late in the book, the main character, Jane, has an interaction with Mel, one of the tertiary characters, that includes dialog. First, we see the interaction from Jane's first person point of view. 4-5 pages later, we see the exact same interaction from Mel's third-person point of view. Nothing wrong with that....except the dialog was COMPLETELY different between the two scenes! Poor writing, poor editing...in any event, it was sloppy and amateurish. Really, I expect better from a New York Times bestselling author.
However, the thing that bothered me the most about this book was the idea that infidelity and adultery was okay because you can't control who you love. More than one character was cheating on his/her spouse, but it was OK because they were so much in love with the other person. Sorry, but I totally do not agree.
Unfortunately, I think this is the last Sarah Jio book I'll read. I've just been too disappointed in her last few books, and have come to realize that, sadly, she'll likely never get back to the author she was when she first started writing.
