Full of stereotypes and generalilzations
921367
First, it's clear that Myers considers the binary gender of male/female to be a constant. He sees the movement away from the ruggedness of men to a more feminine version. It's very American genderstereotypical, Men are feminized by men social expectations of contributing to housework, co-parenting kids, share equal roles and responsibilities in the workplace with women, not harassing women about their appearance, and not joking about sexual violence. The truth is far more nuanced than what readers will find in the book. Gender roles have never fully been black and white, and countries with equal treatment of gender tend to have the most stable economies and happiest citizens. As a parent, it's offensive to find that expecting a partner to co-parent is considered a degradation of his maleness.
4421316
I cannot get past the first chapter, with the whining and complaining about how awful it must be to live in this world as an introvert. Extroverts are loud-mouthed, non-thinkers, who take big risks and are more likely to commit adultry. Really? The author's ego gets involved early and this is a biased book. I'm not a victim and this was written by an educated crybaby.
2710351
I got this book from the library, attracted by the title.  I have sisters and the two protagonists bore a passing similarity to me and one of my siblings.  I hesitated upon spotting a grammatical error on the first page ("a few years younger than her") but continued on.  I shouldn't have. Both sisters were overly drawn stereotypes - the smart sister is impossibly prudish, buttoned-up, and insecure.  The pretty sister is a ditsy compulsive shopper, fashion-crazed, a free spirit, and insecure.  Getting at the heart of these insecurities through a closer examination of their relationship with their emotionally remote and impossible-to-please father might have gone far to redeem this book.  Instead, the main characters seemed emotionally shallow.  And I'm not the first reader to find creepy Russell's insistence on buying Ava more flattering clothes and shoes.

If you need some fluff to get you through some air travel, there are better choices.
2.5 stars.
3220033
I found this book appalling. It serves only to reinforce age old gender stereotypes and further corner Christian women into a confining shell by which they must define themselves at the expense of their own personalities.
453293
I had to go back and read the description and some reviews before I totally remembered most of this book. I don't remember the nuances. This is what I get for writing these things after the fact.

What I found about this book is that it was stereotypical. You have the ultra sexy lead male rescuing the down and out lead female. I agree with another reviewer that she was not wholly likable. And then all the family turmoil on top of it... I don't know. She was just kind of annoying with her indecision.
3513415
Read it for a book club. Didn't find it particularly interesting as I am not into softcore porn, and it was full of stereotypes. The white women were all frigid and the black women represented sexual desire. The slave women did not have love affairs with their slave owners, they were beaten and raped. This book also perpetuates the myth that black men will riot and kill all the white people, which the basis of all white racist thinking.
3113551
The story line for this book is good but the characters are unlikeable, shallow stereotypes. The main character, Ella, comes across as a tottering old fool at the age of 73. Ella and her family look down their nose at people different than they are. They are very disrespectful to everyone including each other. The whole family treats Goldie, Ella's Cherokee helper, as though she is a child. In one scene when Goldie is telling a story about Cherokee beliefs, Tyler basically rolls his eyes and says "whatever". This from a man who has traveled the world and is highly educated? In the end I didn't feel that any of the characters learned anything or changed in any way.

One of the editorial reviews says "When you are from the South, as I am, these are the characters you wish were in your family." I am from the South and very glad these characters are not part of my family, except for maybe Goldie.

As mentioned in some reviews, the sex scenes are graphic. They could have been less graphic and still told the same story.
4553238
I came across this book in the library: I am so glad I didn't buy it.  I am tempted to report this book at the library so it is taken off the shelf because it smacks of stereotyping, warped opinions and resentfulness masquerading as facts.  Here are some honest questions: is it acceptable to blame cheating etc on the women themselves in this day and age, i.e., victim blaming whilst conveniently taking no responsibility whatsoever when there are no excuses for cheating?  How many women who suffer in their relationships and maladjusted guys who might have grown from reading something will come across this?  You have depicted your version of the terrible state of those single black women but there is likely to be some mirroring between them and the black men who have raised and grown up with them, so, what does it say about yours? What's 'with' the sad black woman looking on as other people are together?  The cover image is telling. Is the idea that black women are unhappy and alienated something the author finds enjoyable?  If so, perhaps they should look inside themself and ask why... I do not know any black women who have the caricature of a character the authors describe and before I am accused of being an example for the apparent crime of voicing an opinion, I happen to be an introverted MA student: one who has no problems in this area but also one who has had enough of abuse and untruths.  This book is a huge, great big personal rant with little, if anything, to back it up.  Factors such as the self-hatred of some black men which may be taken out on women, historical 'divide and rule'  tactics, other damaging effects of slavery and what the related ideologies did to those communities were not considered or any data which suggests the problem is not as severe as the authors suggest.  The contributors could do with educating themselves in these areas and bear in mind what these women have already been through as the most marginalised in society and how we are at the bottom of 'the pile'. The book is an attack in a public context, further humiliating black women before others in an acceptable way, in a sense kicking those who are 'down' and making money doing so instead of bringing constructive awareness and healing.  We have already experienced the worst of it all; anyone informed should know better.
3520245
The author(s) have a good storyline, but are very bigoted.  They manage to negatively stereotype farmers, conservatives, Southern men, NASCAR, etc., all in the matter of a few pages.  Apparently there are enough readers that alienating a good majority with bigotry is not a problem.  This makes the main character very unlikable.
428061
I was reading this book outloud to kids in the library today and I was shocked at how blatantly racist and stereotypical this book was.

I could barely believe it when I saw broken english being written out phonetically while a parathesis states "in a spanish accent".  Yes, let us learn how to properly imitate or mock those who speak english in a different manner.  I am very angry that such garbage would be given out to children who simply do not need this extra incentive to learn the stereotypes of society.
4572675
This book only contains a few personality types and references everything on how you would deal with people at Church!

It is trite and ignorant enough to make me wonder how this person can possibly view themselves as an authority, or how this book got published. My guess is its her 6th or 7th book and they gave it to her cause she sells books. This is most likely her first venture on this particular subject. Her views of depression and depressed people are particularly offensive.
2376339
Far too biased with many generalizations taken as facts.  In their zeal to promote their beliefs, the authors have gone to extremes to make their case.  This only convinces those whose minds are made up or just not thoughtful readers.  Citing one example as representative of a complex issue will never make converts of those who can think.
142407
The opening chapters set up a good murder mystery. Unfortunately, all characters turn into stereotypes it's impossible to care about, and all of them believe they know whodunit, and each one decides to protect a killer who viciously slashed the throat of a helpless invalid. Add to this the kind of complacent racism that believed blacks were happiest when they served whites. Blech. A novel deserving to be neglected.
1980411
Once again....a ton of 5 star reviews that I am totally confused about but, I am going to be perfectly frank right from the start, I thought the book was filled with very unflattering stereotypes, if I were from the South, I would be very offended. The book painted the characters as uneducated, ignorant, gullible and into the "good ol' boy" attitudes about women. The main character "Drew" was a doormat, at times the writer tried to imbue her with Southern manners and charm and it came off unbelievable and basically out of character, how can you be a lady one second and calling yourself derogatory names in the next? Blah, I didn't care for any of the characters to be honest, and without having much a physical description of Drew I have zero idea of why a hot younger guy would be so interested in her, not to mention her being absolutely a doormat. Pushing the theme that education wasn't a big deal also rankled, being from the South does not mean that automatically that people are uneducated. Seriously, don't bother with this one, the inclusion of graphic sex scenes and a few snide comments do not make a good story it was just lame.
3785879
I think this author is too black and white for me and make broad generalizations about women and men that really turn me off to the book.
4558732
I know that a lot of people really like this book, but I have to say I  found it disturbing.  After reading an interview with the author, I decided to take a look at the book for myself.  Stereotypes, even when they're supposedly positive or said in jest, can be hurtful.  They reduce one's humanity to a list of characteristics.  I, for one, I'm not a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer.  I do not find Jewish women to be overbearing, and I find this characterization particularly offensive.  For that matter, I doubt I could pick pastrami out of a lineup, trimmed or not.  Saying that Jewish men are all funny,  career-driven, and respectful of women may seem different from saying that they are greedy, dirty, and materialistic, but both characterizations come from the same source.  That source is bigotry, and bigotry, no matter how couched it finds itself in lighthearted anecdotes or ostensible admiration, just isn't that funny.

Finally, a comment about the title.  If there's one thing that I did learn from my Jewish mother (and grandmother, and great-grandmother for that matter), it's that the term "Shiksa" is totally unacceptable.  I married a non-Jewish woman, who has since converted, and I can't imagine anyone ever referring to her by this defamatory word.
3379030
Read this for a historical fiction class (a MOOC through Coursera/Univ. of Virginia). Some of the reviewers were annoyed by the main character's (Connie's) immaturity. It was painful. The stereotypes abound in this book. Connie was a giggling schoolgirl, all the librarians were rigid unhelpful curmudgeons, the professors were either "nutty", or obsessed.

There was some tension when she was on the verge of finding the shadow book in the special collections library, only to come across her creepy advisor in the stacks. Then when she found it, that wasn't even described in the book. Next thing you know you realize she's reading from it and making notes. Hey! Did I miss something? Had to page back to see if I skipped it by accident. This is the crux of this part of the story and it was left to assumption.

The best parts were the Interludes from Deliverance's time. Frankly, I thought the whole book would be set back then. It does seem that the Connie's (1991) days should have been the Interlude and Deliverance should have been the main story.

Most times I read historical fiction I learn something about the historic topic, whether it's about people, events, or vocabulary. Also, they leave me wanting to learn more about the time period or people portrayed. This book had none of that. This was an opportunity to portray smart, powerful women both historic and modern but all we got was tired stereotypes.

If you want to read amazing historical fiction about a strong woman dealing with adversity in a dangerous and confusing time, read Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.