Julie and Romeo Get Lucky by Jeanne Ray
Contemporary Fiction
Finished on 1/?/06
Rating: B (6/10 So-so)
Regardless of genre, book or film, most sequels lack the pizzazz of the original. I found this to be the case in Jeanne Ray’s follow-up to Julie and Romeo, although I can’t quite put my finger on what was lacking. It may be a combination of the lack of humor and the fact that Romeo, supposedly one of the main characters, rarely appears. The family dynamics and silly plot wore on my patience and more than once I was tempted to skim ahead to the ending. A bit disappointing, but then that’s almost inevitable when you let the hype and excitement of a sequel get the better of you.
Ray remains one of my favorite authors and I won’t let this unsatisfactory sequel tarnish my opinion of her ability to entertain. And I highly recommend Step-Ball-Change and Eat Cake to those who are new to Jeanne Ray’s novels.
Favorite Passage:
“Love is passion and commitment, tenderness and endurance, but love is also memory. It is important to make a beautiful gesture from time to time, not only for the moment, but as something to hold on to in the future – so that when we were old, really old, I’d be able to hold his hand between our twin beds in the nursing home and think, When you were merely sixty-three you carried me up a staircase.”
The new format is wonderful, Les.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you on J&R Get Lucky...I was a perfectly satisfied reader at the end of the first book. Didn't need to get bogged down in the quotidian details of their life thereafter.
Marcia
Thanks, Marcia.
ReplyDeleteDid you find the whole Willie Wonka subplot as tiresome as I?
Les
Sorry for the time lapse...I haven't been able to keep caught up on personal email and reading very much lately.
ReplyDeleteAs to Willie, I've never been a fan and so the reference was not only tiresome but irksome as well. Like the obnoxious tune you can't get out of your head, mine was filled with movie clips!
I'm now off to catch up on your blog updates!
Marcia
I agree with you Les. I read this this summer and found it to be an unsatisfactory sequel too. Not sorry I read it, but disappointed that it wasn't as enjoyable as her others had been
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SuziQ- Nice review! Yep, I'll never be able to think of Willy Wonka without feeling a sense of irritation!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite of Jeanne Ray's is probably Step-Ball-Change. Eat Cake was good, too! Wonder if she has a new one in the works.
Oh my goodness! If I had known this post was here...I don't think I would have listened to it. Oh well. It's interesting to read that we all had the same opinion.
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