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The Side of the Angels

The Side of the Angels

List Price: $12.95
Your Price: $9.71
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: entertaining contemporary romance
Review: Five years ago public relations expert Nicky Malone and union organizer Tony Boltanski ended their torrid relationship when he failed to arrive at her relative's wedding having been tied up by an urgent union matter that could not wait for a couple of hours. Though she rebounded with the philandering Jeremy for three years, Nicky knows that she never got over Tony, the one that got away. Meanwhile, Nicky's widowed practicing Catholic mother prays that her daughter get married.

The nurses of St. Francis Hospital in Winsack, Rhode Island are on strike over working conditions and patient safety. Coventry, Inc sees the bottom line as money not care; they demand changes such as nurse-patient ratio going from 1:3 to 1:8. The hospital administration has made the nurses look like the bad guys to the public; Nicky begins a PR campaign to counteract that impression. However, she works with Tony, who believes in inside fastballs that would knock his grandmother down while Nicky thinks a soft sell is needed. Adding to the charged atmosphere is the unfinished business between two driven people who still love one another.

This entertaining contemporary romance focuses on a serious social issue yet contains amusing sarcastic asides. The story line provides a deep look at media spinning in which both sides spend time painting a negative position of their opponents (sounds familiar). That is where Nicky and Tony differ as she believes their side can sell the nurses' argument of deteriorating patient care while he believes you foster the image that management are scrooges. Though the strike resolution seems hasty, fans will enjoy this labor dispute romance.

Harriet Klausner


Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Tiresome, a union rant, not a fun read
Review: I couldn't finish this. This is a tirade, replete with axe grinding. Sophomore jinx? Or is this writer tired, too old for Cosmo, too young for Social Security? I think the latter ...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good lighthearted read, but could have been tighter
Review: I really admired Cupid & Diana, this author's previous novel. Here she delivers on the same formula of offering an interesting portrayal of a woman's efforts to get her personal and work life in order as she struggles between the choice of two men. Here the main character, Nicky, works for a PR firm, that is hired to help a union negotiate a strike at a hospital in Winsock (read: Woonsocket) Rhode Island. Meanwhile, she's trying to deal with a recent boyfriend who cheated on her and a more-distant ex, whom she's suddenly reunited with because he's working with the nurse's union as well. Bartolomeo populates the novel with a lot of characters and offers some very intersting behind the scenes details of managing a strike. Her bio on the back sleeve mentions she did similar work as Nicky for a teacher's group. I have three complaints about this novel, however, that made it less enjoyable than Cupid & Diana. First, the first third of the novel reads like a series of character sketches written for an intro to creative writing class. We're introduced to an endless series of people -- some of them seem indistinguishable -- and the story grinds to a halt as we get a long, detailed description of each character. And some of these details seem to make the characters come across as merely cute novel creations and not real people -- e.g. the sneaky sycophant who also has a passion for contra dancing and children's toys, the saintly friend who takes care of everyone but herself, and oh by the way also has wacky ideas about religion. Second, much of the dialogue reads like bad TV or movie scripts, in which a lot of narrative exposition about the character's past is stuffed into the dialogue. People who know each other well don't communicate with long details about what happened in their shared history. Third, and perhaps most annoying is Nicky's jaded view of nearly everyone and everything she encounters. At times, it becomes almost laughable. Even minor characters -- a pizza delivery boy, a hotel clerk, even a pair of dogs -- have to get Nicky's petulant observations about how bored, unhappy or bothersome they are. A character this cynical needs a little awareness or sense of humor about her pessisimism to be tolerable, and this character has neither. Still the story carries itself along. And the author has a considerable talent for capturing specific details of how people dress and populate their living and work spaces. I look forward to Bartolomeo's future efforts, but this story was not as tight or well written as Cupid and Diana. Anyone who likes these tales of woman balancing their work and career demands should also take a look at Sara Lewis's novels. They're very good and fun, easy reads.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This is a fun book -- you should check it out.
Review: I really enjoyed Bartolomeo's second novel, "The Side of the Angels." Yeah, there was a fair amount of romance (for the ladies), but the strike plot was very interesting, and Bartolomeo makes a lot of funny and interesting observations. Honestly, I never understood what Nicky (the female lead) sees in Tony (her lughead love interest), but as I said, I wasn't reading the book for the romance as much as for the plot. I did like the Louise character though, maybe because I once dated a gal like that. Anyway, I never would have read this book if my girlfriend hadn't recommended it, but I'm not sorry I did. It was a fun read, and I'd highly recommend it.


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