Truly, Madly - Heather Webber
St. Martin's Paperbacks, February 2010ISBN: 978-0-312-94613-5, ISBN10: 0-312-94613-9,
320 pages
Truly Madly arrived in my mailbox about a month ago. I had a few other books that were priority, so it took its place in line for reading. Last week, I picked it up and ran though it cover to cover in my free time. it is a fast but enjoyable read..
The basis for the story is a family whose business it is to match-make. they locate people to fill that empty hole in the hearts of their clientele. The Author is a little bit heavy handed by giving the fam a sur-name of “Valentine”.
Lucy Valentine, after receiving an electrical shock at the age of 14, loses the ability to see people’s auras. auras are the bread and butter of the family business, it runs in the bloodline and is the root of a generations long legacy of great matches.
Lucy’s power is now geared around touch. she can shake someones hand and find something they have lost.
Lucy bombs from job to job, becoming a jack of all trades. in the first couple pages, she gets suckered into the match-making world as a favor to her father. on her first day, as a particularly complex client prepares to leave, she shakes his hand and sees a corpse.
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my thoughts on the book are a bit conflicted. the characters were awesome. i will gladly pick up the next one in the series when it comes out.
it does seem however, as if the author was rushed to finish. the book never really ‘peaks”. the story builds nicely through the first half of the book, then it levels off till 10 pages to the end, then it resolves itself. i get the feeling that this will be like many other good series where the first book is not a dud, but not stellar. later, as the author settles into the characters and plot, the depth will arrive. at least this is how i will hope it turns out.
if not, oh well, the book is fun. fun to read, and fun to tell others about.
Truly, Madly was a pretty decent book. I think that the book would have been better represented in a trade paperback format. with nicer paper and better print, a 200 page trade paperback with glossy cover and less pulp would really shine.
Check Heather Webber’s website for more info on the author.
http://www.heatherwebber.com/
This review is based on a book kindly provided for free by the publisher or author. Please check my FTC Douche-claimer for details regarding this disclaimer’s existence.
This sounds like a "jenn" book to me! Pass it on over to the wife!
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