Rating: Summary: Not a good book Review: Although Garcia-Aguilera captured the funkiness and steaminess of Miami in her story, this book was full of characters that I could not like. In fact, I loathed Margarita -- she is spoiled, boring, and to borrow a term from another reviewer, a "ninny!" I didn't care what happened to her or any other of the characters, except perhaps her husband and her son (though we don't really know much about either of them). Miami itself was the most interesting part of a boring book.
Rating: Summary: New Genre NOT a Success Review: As a BIG fan of this author, having read ALL of her earlier works, I was greatly disappointed in this book. The plot was thin to non-existant. It was a struggle to continue reading, but I persisted hoping it would get interesting with the next turn of the page. As I read I had the feeling that the author had struggled as much in writing as I was in reading. In her future books I hope she will go back to the themes she has had so much success with in the past. They all were interesting and fun to read.
Rating: Summary: one hot summer is HOT HOT HOT! Review: As with all of Ms. Garcia-Aguilera's books, I think this is a MUST READ, impossible to put down. Successful deviation from past Lupe Solano series-captures the very essence of the excitement, local color and diverse fabric of MIAMI. Sensual and culturally enlightened!
Rating: Summary: Not what I expected... Review: At first, I was like the reader from Albuquerque. Margarita bored me and at times, I would roll my eyes at her descriptions or things she would say. She came across as such a snob, but I forced myself to forge ahead. Boy, am I ever glad I did that! Without giving away too much, let's just say, I didn't hate her in the end. Garcia-Aguilera's investigative skills really shone through in what turned out to be a great read! I'm now hooked on her writing. She's earned a new fan with this book and I can't wait to read all of her mystery novels.
Rating: Summary: One Hot Book Review: Carolina Garcia Aguilera has done it again. She's written another highly enjoyable book and infused it with the right amount of Cuban-American tidbits. My family and I cannot put her books down once we start and this one was not a let down.
Rating: Summary: No Lupe Solano Book Here Review: Carolina Garcia- Aguilera's newest book,One Hot Summer is luke warm. It does not have the rich , loveable characters that her Lupe Solano books offer. There is no likeable or interesting character in ther book to cheer for.Margarita, the main character, is not really believeable as a old rich Cuban, well placed successful lawyer. She has two dippy friends that are not really well developed in the story. Margarite hates her mother and has little use for anyone else.She is self centered. Her lover Luther, a New York lawyer, is supposed to have learned Spainsh as an adult and now is in Cuban Miami speaking Spanish without any accent, get real. The only good guy in the book is her husband, but he is a rather bland person, a hard working lawyer working so many hours on his no win, no money case that he doesn't notice his wife's fooling around.The ending is as if the author discovered she had written the required number of pages, being also so bored with this book that she just ended the book as quickly as possible without much thought.If Margarite's husband was truely a self made man, hot shot lawyer, macho Cuban husband, he would never have accepted Carolinas ending. The book appears to be a rushed work with little research or planning and developement of it's characters. I feel that Carolina Garcia-Aguilera is too good of an author to turn out this kind of "beach reading" book. I was dissapointed!
Rating: Summary: A fanatica from Manhattan Review: Carolina Garcia-Aguilera does it again! The first female Latina mystery writer switches genres, and not surprisingly, she succeeds. She gives us a first-rate work of fiction that is a sure page turner. You won't be able to put it down until you find out how the protagonist solves her emotional quandary. Again, Miami becomes more than a setting. The city and the Cuban-american community are wonderfully detailed and described. Can't wait for the next one from Garcia-Aguilera!
Rating: Summary: Not worth the hype Review: I had "One Hot Summer" on my Books to Read list for so long, I bought it ready to enjoy a quick beach read while on vacation. I don't know what I was thinking when I included this book on my list because it wasn't a good beach read. It wasn't a good book for anything.To summarize, Margarita Solana is a successful lawyer and loving mother that has to decide if she's going back to work after her year of absence ends or if she'll remain a stay-at-home mom to her 3-year-old son. First of all, this woman was rarely at home. She employed a woman that worled as maid, cook and nanny. Margarita drove around Miami in her too-big SUV dining with friends as shallow as her, exploring an affiar with her college boyfriend, and grappling with her overbearing mother and sexist husband. In short, she is a spoiled woman that uses her parents exile from Cuba and her family background as an excuse for every unlikeable quality she has. The story is supposed to be about Margarita and her life during three months. Instead of sticking to that, the author gets preachy with Cuban American issues, reviews Miami's hot spots, and tries a subplot involving one of Margarita's friends that comes about suddenly, then ends with no explanation. Summer can't end fast enough. I didn't hate the book. I didn't like it, but I didn't hate it either. It took me until Vivian, Margarita's friend, broke her news to actually like the book and care how things turned out, but was dissappointed with how the author handled that story. I view it as "poor little rich girl" and had no empathy for anyone except Marti, Margarita's son. He's a little boy that's paid attention to only when his parents feel guilty. How wonderful (typed with great sarcasm).
Rating: Summary: Not tooooo hot.................. Review: I just finished reading this book. As classic fiction goes--it just doesnt measure up. However, this author does show great promise in her portrayal of the people she knows best...........Cuban-Americans. Her humorous depictions often made me laugh out loud, and her vivid depiction of the area and the ocean was actually intoxicating! The book is a portrayal of a woman at a crossroads--career as a yuppie attorney vs cuban culture of her family, Cuban spouse vs. nor'eastern WASP college lover from her past, childhood friendships vs complex adult relationships. In my opinion, the book and her characters merely lacked depth. The author knows how to weave a story. It lacked only the substance found in authors with more experience in this sort of novel. This is an author to watch in the future.
Rating: Summary: The Hottest Book! Review: I loved this book, from the moment that I started reading it to the end, I couldn't put the book down. The ending made sick, what they did to margarita was just out of this world! GREAT BOOK.
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