Second Chances

Rating:
Summary: A talented writer but the book is too cluttered
Review: Following the engagement party of one of their daughters, Gilbert and Julie Kessler argue over who will drive. Julie is exhausted, but Gilbert is intoxicated. Julie wins the argument, but falls asleep at the wheel. The subsequent car crash leaves her without a scratch and Gilbert in a coma.

Julie is wracked with guilt, but her three daughters (Karen, Susanna, and Gaby) refuse to allow her to destroy herself. They manage to arrange for her to take Tango lessons, not even thinking their mom would begin to fall in love with her younger instructor. Gaby is torn between two lovers; Susanna struggles with her husband's refusal to have children; and Karen feels trapped in her marriage to a much older man. Happiness is not even an illusion for the four disconsolate female Kesslers.

SECOND CHANCE is an interesting relationship drama that would have had a better chance of success if Marlene Fanta Shyer broke the four subplots into a quartet of novels. At times, the story line engages the reader, but fans never feel compassion towards the emotional baggage of any one character because too many feelings overflow the story line. Although SECOND CHANCES isn't perfect, the author is very talented and just needs time to perfect her craft a bit better.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Pleasant Summer Reading
Review: If you are looking for a quick summer read that doesn't take a lot of thinking, this is your book. If, on the other hand, you are apt to lose patience and sympathy for a group of Scarsdale, NY, snobs--mother and three hateful daughters--skip it. There are times during this book where you want to strangle all or one of them with the strap of their oh-so-perfect Coach bags!

Nevertheless, it's a fun read for the most part. The plot is improbable, and often silly, but it moves along if one is willing to suspend belief. And what better time to do it than summertime?

Ms. Shyer is not a bad writer. She expresses herself well, she does not go off on tangents, the plot, while unbelievable in parts, has a beginning, a middle, and an end--and she sustains one's interest (at least mine) enough to keep the pages turning.

This is not a Nora Roberts gobble-it-up-like chocolate novel, but neither is it horrible. Take it to the beach, take it to the pool, read it in the bathtub while escaping the kids. If you don't expect too much, you will enjoy this book.