Feb 05
Product Description
The show American Megastar is the hottest thing on television but its associate producer, Mandalay Florentino, is worried. She’s just arrived in the tiny town of Daily, Texas, to arrange a surprise “reunion concert” for hometown finalist Amber Amberson. Only it turns out everyone in town seems to know the secret. And paparazzi are arriving. Word from Hollywood is that Amber has disappeared with a “bad boy” actor. Can anything go right in this tumbleweed town? Im… More >>
February 5th, 2010 at 9:09 am
The main reason I bought this book was the reviews from other Christian fiction authors- who have written some of my favorite books- particularly Susan May Warren- saying it was “engaging” with “small town charm” and “hard to put down”. After reading Talk of the Town, I’m having trouble understanding why there were so many rave reviews. It doesn’t feel like I read the same book that they’re talking about… The plot was predictable. Each chapter switches point of view from Mandalay Florentino to Imagene Doll. At first this was an efficient way to see the story and to see the characters from a different perspective. But it’s not as seamless as it should be- there are some overlapping events and the story doesn’t flow very well chapter to chapter. You don’t feel as connected with the heroine because she’s not telling her own story- you can only pick up bits from her and then the chapter ends and Imogene starts up with something else unrelated. It makes for a very choppy read. And since there are two narrators, some scenes are repeated but from the other person’s point of view. That’s annoying- you don’t need to know where someone was when something insignificant happened. There were many times where I wanted to stop reading because I really didn’t like the story, the characters, or the author’s writing style (she likes to give people nicknames- more than one per person. Imagene= Majee, GiGi; Donetta= DeDe, Netta; Mandalay= Manda, Amanda-Lee. On one page they’re called one name and another it’s something different.) You’re supposed to care what happens to the heroine and I really didn’t. It was too obvious how everything would work out and who Mandalay would end up with.
The story takes place in Daily, Texas. I understand that Texans have a different way of talking but particularly in Imogene’s chapters, it’s hard to understand – “don’t worry `bout a tha-ang…Yey-us, we shore do…” It’s written the way they would say it but it’s confusing to try and read it. The author works very hard writing dialogue phonetically- you have to talk parts out loud to get the full meaning of some lines. I can just imagine how much talking to herself she had to do…
For a Christian fiction story there was really very little comments regarding faith, prayer or beliefs. Overall a disappointing read. I guess I can’t trust other author’s opinions of each other- there are probably ulterior motives involved (i.e. same publishing house, agent, editor, etc.) I forced myself to read until the end hoping that I would see why someone thought this was so good… but I never saw why…
Rating: 2 / 5
February 5th, 2010 at 10:29 am
I have this book because it was free on Kindle and now I see why. I was completely bored and unimpressed with the first chapter. The author seemed to focus on details that had little importance. I was quickly bored. I started skimming by the second chapter and eventually gave up. The characters were neither realistic or likable. I’ve read some pretty rough books but I just couldn’t force myself through this one.
Rating: 1 / 5
February 5th, 2010 at 11:42 am
I didn’t have a lot of expectations for this book, but was pleasantly surprised. It was quirky, funny and romantic. The storytelling was a seamless switch off between two main characters. It dealt with a lot of issues in an uplifting way, but didn’t get mired down with trying to be preachy. It was really just a lot of fun but provides room for introspection while you read. It was a pretty quick read, and I was sucked into the story. I liked the characters a lot. Not a classic, but definitely one I would recommend to my friends!
Rating: 5 / 5
February 5th, 2010 at 11:59 am
I loved this book! I am so excited to find an author who’s books cause me to laugh out loud. I plan to buy the rest of her books that are available on kindle and can’t wait to start reading them. Anyone who likes Janet Evanovich should try this book!
Rating: 5 / 5
February 5th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
The setting is a small town in Texas where a hometown girl is a contestant on an American Idol style reality show. The two narrators, who trade off each chapter, are a 70 year old widow struggling with finding the joy in life one year after her husbands death and a 34 year old Assistant Producer who is feeling unfullfilled in her job and her personal life. I agree with one of the negative reviewers that our heroines leave a lot to be desired in the initial chapters. Nevertheless, the story of their growth from self-centered fearful women to confident women through the pages of the book is well worth the read. There are some wonderful bits of wisdom sprinkled throughout the book and I found myself highlighting several quotes I wanted to go back to read again. Its the type of book I want to pass on to friends and discuss with them. The characters are a bit stereotypical and the plot a bit contrived but the story is inspiring. It is also a ‘clean’ romance (no sex) that promotes Christian values without having the characters mention prayer or God every other page.
Rating: 5 / 5