Monday, July 19, 2010

Fairy Tale Blues (Tina Welling)

Summary:
Forty-something (or fifty-something) AnnieLaurie is married to a sweet, funny man named Jess. He's self-absorbed and careless, and for their anniversary, he gets her the same pair of blue topaz earrings that he got her for Valentine's Day. This brings Annie to the realization that she needs a break. A break from her life with him, from the store they own together, from everything about their life in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She leaves the anniversary dinner abruptly, and hops a flight to Florida, nothing with her but the clothes on her back and her purse. She decides she's taking a "marriage sabbatical."

Thoughts:
The book feels like it's Welling's way of working through her own issues with her marriage. The main female character even is named like a fanfic "MarySue." It's written alternatively from Annie's and Jess's points of view. While Annie describes her world and her "awakening" and all that, I kind of wanted to reach into the pages and smack her around. Yes, Jess has issues. But you're not without them either. I wanted to put it down so badly because it just wasn't GOOD to me, but I hate stopping a book in the middle, so I usually tough out even the worst books. (Case in point: Raiders of the Low Forehead. Worst book I've ever read, bar none, but I actually finished that flaming pile of- ugh. Awful.)

What makes me sad about this book is that Jess works on himself, yes, and so does Annie, but the only real actions that go on during the book are when Annie meets Daniel, a former drug runner, on the run from his former boss and the cartel they work (or worked, in Daniel's case) for. That's the only real fun in this book. It was wholly depressing, and a waste of a week or more of my reading time. And this was one of the books from Paperback Swap that I had been waitlisted for. And I didn't even like it. Waste of time and a PBS credit.

31 down, 19 to go!

Pages: 312
Genre: Chick-lit, self help
Grade: D
Would I Recommend?: Not unless you're a 50+ with serious marriage issues.

No comments: