Irate this book as one of the best stories I have read for a long time
346243
a facinating story with plenty to think about leaving me with an incredible insight into the insight of children and the mixed messages they recieve from an adult world a cruel world . Irate this book as one of the best stories I have read for a long time.
  Ian Lawther. Healesville Australia.
4901561
(5++ stars)
Over the years I have written several reviews where I state that that particular story will stay with me for a long time. WYWH blew them all away as I have no doubt this story will stay with me FOREVER! I do not say that lightly. I mean that with everything I am. I cannot find the right words to do this book justice. These characters made me laugh out loud while simultaneously ripping my heart out. If you could only read one book this year make it Wish You Were Here.
3583933
I listened to this on audible and was enchanted and found myself driving the long way to places in order to hear the next bit of the story.

SYNOPSIS: this is a story about a 13 year old girl in a small town that was ordinary and back woods, until the night a space ship landed in a field near the girl's home.  Then for 3 years nothing happened.  So now, she's 16 and amid a wonderful story involving the most interesting characters, she saves the world.

What I liked: The story - I had to listen 2x to the ending because I was blown away by the cleverness of the author.  The story is charming and sad and funny and combines wonderfully colorful  militant lesbians with career military and die hard UFO geeks that are willing to sit in a stinky camper for 3 years  and poop in the woods in order to be near the space ship.

What I disliked: The author let their own prejudice against Christianity leak over too much into the book.  The main character takes God's name in vain multiple times.  She wouldn't curse like that using Mohammad or Buddha's name, so the author should show more courtesy to Christians too.

I couldn't decide if it was an adult or teen book.  If the author had removed the aforementioned insults, then I would recommend it to anyone, but as it stands, I say enjoy it but not if you're easily offended.
1105063
And the reason why?  Because this one left me feeling frustrated and angry.  Angry about the way it ended, not about the story as a whole.  I should have waited until I had them all, before reading the final volumes because waiting is going to be very frustrating.

One of the best stories I've read, and in 72 years of living, I've read a lot of stories.
Always on edge, always a new surprise around the bend.
3244094
This book is very well done and has a great story. I've seriously considered taking a star, though, because I so thoroughly detest books done in "episodes." For once, I'm letting that slide; I just liked the story too much.
1059506
One of the best stories i have read in a long time , instant classic for the the SFF genre.
382030
I'm fresh off of reading this book and the emotion is so raw in me, I can't even think straight. I had only read one review before purchasing the book and I had no idea what to expect. The story is great, the characters and relationships are fascinating, but the ending riped apart any love I had for the novel. (Spoiler alert) Sure, life doesn't always have a happy ending, but seriously? The author made this a long story, made you fall in love with the characters, and completely threw it in your face after. I've never been so infuriated with a story (and I've read a lot of these kinds of stories). I assume the author wanted the reader to think about the book for days after finishing, but now I will push it out of my mind instead of enjoying the hours I spent reading it (up until I was about 94% finished).
1148701
I loved this story.

  Forget about the movie, it basically took everything that made this story wonderful and threw it in the garbage. I won't explain too much as not to ruin anything, but its basically the last man on earth struggling to survive from day to day after all of humanity has become undead.

  Read this book! It isn't long but it is one of my favorite stories ever, and the ending is spectacular (and nothing like the movie).
3151619
This book is confusing for me to evaluate. While I was reading it, I found myself extraordinarily annoyed at the fact that every other chapter the author digressed into other stories and lives of other men, runners, athletes, scientists. It made me feel disconnected and irked. I'd get a little taste of something inspiring and then be pulled into backgrounds, science, studies and histories of things, races and men that didn't move the story forward. In fact, every time the story moved forward a chapter he'd take a chapter to step back into the history of the events that led to this epic unveiling. At the time it was annoying. It almost caused me to toss the book altogether. But there was something magical in there too. Something that kept drawing my attention back to it. You want to read it. You have to know how the story unfolds. And after it was all over; you can't help but be thankful for all those extra stories, those backgrounds of the men and women who led to this unique race. It's one of those things I couldn't fully appreciate while reading, but had tremendous thanks for when it was over. It really is an incredible and interesting story. I'm not a runner, marathoner or ultra dude and I was still enthralled. I'm just a regular guy who picked up a book about something I had no interest in and found that I couldn't put it down... and now I'll sign off and do something I haven't done in years; take a run.
2889255
I loved this book. Tears and pain and some joy at the end.  Intiguing story, read it in one day.  Thhe author connected things and tied the story uo nicely.  However, I really so think she could have blow this out into a massive story. The farm should have showed the hard ship she faced and why the aunt did what she did.  The heartbreaking  time at the nunnery should have been in it as well.
3214690
Being mad and angry is an understatement I'm beyond furious. Ok I love reading and love dark romance books so I get my good bottle of wine sit by the pool and read this incredible story. Ok, ok it had mispelled words and grammatical errors but hey we make mistakes and besides it wasn't that terrible. Anyway, I loved Estella ferocity and strength in living and being the fighter that she was and over came all odds. After that being said, that would be the only good thing I write.
Now what was stupid was that she never told Wes about how she knew him from her past. He never ran after her to explain or tried to get her when she ran out of his apartment. What kind of lover doesn't run after his true love? It took 7 days for her friends to realize she was missing 7 long torturous days. He never told her how much he loved her so she died not knowing. I have no clue no ffing clue how she suddenly realized that Preston was that little foster kid from her childhood since she remembered Wes who she lived with for like months but not Preston the one she lived with for like years (that makes sense to me).
Moving along, she ffing died a total of 8 times during surgery and was alive for the surgery, after the surgery, then for recovery, the twins she was carrying also lived and then all of a sudden she dies just like that. I have no idea what happened.
The last few chapters were rushed and it made no sense at all. I think someone else wrote the ending and submitted it to the publishing company. I don't know, I would've rather her die the first time and I would've been content you know things happen but she stinking died and came back to life not once or twice but 8 times oh yeah she also died and came back to life while Preston raped her repeatedly skinned her and shattered her bones.
Wait, hold up, thats not the end, the author has the audacity to write a short statement about why she had to end it the way she did, so she says its because she ffing struggled with it. Man-up to the mistake. I will not read any other books by Kimber S. Dawn no sir I will not.
This was not a love story at all it was not a dark story either because love and dark stories have a happy ending this was a wrong story a new genra of writing. I'm not just mad Im really really mad as my baby will say.
1525110
This is the kind of story that, as a writer, makes me want to take all my writer stuff, throw it in the trash, and go binge eat Big Macs.  This story is sick.  Its....very very good.  As another reviewer said, "You can practically smell the sagebrush and cordite coming off the pages."  Fantastic characters, stunning prose, and an ending that will make you want to throw something at the wall....because the story is over.  Pardners, Anspach, took this story down like Costner at the end of Open Range.
2245393
Hopefully if you are thinking about buying this book you've already read one or both of Pat's main books.  You know who Auri is, do you want more of that?  This is a lot of it.  She is just the same on the inside as she looks on the outside.

I like Auri, so I loved this story to death.

Pat's afterword says it all
"I told her I liked it too, but that didn't change the fact that people expect certain things from a story. If people read this story looking for those things, they wouldnt get them, theyd be dissatisfied. Disappointed.

And Vi said something I hope shell forgive me for paraphrasing here without asking her first. She said, F* those people. Those people get all the other stories in the world. Everyone writes stories for them. This story is for people like me. We deserve stories too."
2790674
There have been lots of reviews for this book and I did not intend to add my own two cents.  However, shortly after reading this book I read "The Best Man" by Kristan Higgins, and the similarities between the books were so striking (and yet The Best Man is sooo much better) that I could not hold my tongue.

Both books are "the first" in a romance series involving a large and complicated and quirky family (including several sisters) and their quirky friends and small community.  Both are contemporaries, both are written with equal parts humor and drama, and both contain love stories.  However, I literally slogged through The Inn At Eagle Point and found myself feeling stressed out by many of the interactions.  By the time I forced myself to finish it, I knew this would be the last time I read about the O'Brien family.  Why?  Because their family angst and drama and pettiness and carping and nagging overwhelms the love story.  Frankly, it is too realistic and I read romances to escape my own loving, happy yet dysfunctional family.  Why do I want to read about other brothers and sisters who bicker, or about their insecurities or their inferiority complexes or their feeling that "Dad" or "Mom" loves some kids better than others?

On the other hand, The Best Man also has some whopper emotional issues, some very hilarious sibling interactions and family interactions, and some very painful and sad moments, but they serve as accents to the developing love story.  It makes it fun to read and relatable without being a complete turn off.  I was exhausted and tense while I read The Inn at Eagle Point while I was riveted reading The Best Man, and could barely put it down even though some of it was very sad.  On the other hand, I can't wait to see happens in the next installment of the Blue Heron series and with the Holland family and all their friends who live in Manningsport, NY.  So I highly recommend The Best Man to anyone who had trouble finishing this story.
3514480
I cried towards the end. I mean the whole time you are reading it, you are wondering what her excuse is and then about half-way you start to kind of put it together, but it is sad when it is told at the end. I adored their relationship but felt bad about their circumstances. I wanted to hit him and strangle her and yell "just talk already", but of course they did not until the end. It was well worth the time and money to get to read this story.
3753069
I LOVED THIS STORY.....I LOVED IT SO MUCH I READ IT TWICE, BACK TO BACK, AND FOUND THINGS I MISSED THE FIRST TIME.  WHEN I READ A STORY I DON'T WANT TO THINK, I WANT TO FEEL.  THIS STORY DID EVERYTHING FOR ME IT WAS SUPPOSE TO DO.  I LAUGHED, I CRIED, I WAS SURPRISED SOMETIMES. I WANT TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE PEOPLE IN THE STORY, I WANT TO FEEL THEIR LOVE, I WANT TO FEEL THEIR HAPPINESS AND JOY. THEIR SADNESS AND PAIN ARE PART OF THE STORY, BUT I TAKE IT TO HEART, I CRY FOR THESE PEOPLE, I CAN FEEL THEIR PAIN. SOME TIMES I CRY SO HARD I SOB.  I WANT A HAPPY ENDING, I NEED A HAPPY ENDING, BECAUSE READING FOR ME IS ABOUT ESCAPE AND LIVING SOMEONE ELSE'S LIFE FOR A SHORT WHILE. I LOVED THIS STORY SO MUCH, I HAVE PURCHASED THE REST OF THE SERIES AND WHEN I'M FINISHED WITH THE OKLAHOMA BRANDS, I'M MOVING ON THE THE TEXAS BRANDS.
3657666
I did really like the story telling and the funky and weird characters. I got completely captured by the story and could not put the book away. It is well told and beautiful in a way. Often in the book you feel disappointed that a certain phase in the protagonist's life finishes and another one opens but then it turns out that the new one is a lot of fun and interesting in a different way. I also liked the fact that the characters are not at all black and white and give you a lot of meat to chew on. I don't agree with some of the reviewers that the book seems to consist of parts that are too independent and I liked it that the book was so long (so it did not end so early ;). A lot of the fun of the book is to detect the fundamental strands tying the experiences together and think about some of the underlying points to enjoy and learn from.

However, this is also related to my big beef with the book: The last one or two sub-chapters are a long and boring explanation about what the readers have just read, about what the reader ought to have learned from the story, and about what the official moral of the story is.

I can not describe how angry and disappointed that made me feel.

First of all it seems to be a sign of incredible insecurity on the  author's side. You feel like telling her "if you wrote a good book, it will speak for itself, if not, no explanation will help - so why the heck to you feel you need to spend two chapters to tell the reader what he/she was supposed to have learned?". The second - even worse feeling is the fact that I was feeling extremely patronized by that. If the author gives me a story, I feel it is my right to create my own world of imagination around it, my own judgement of the people and my own understanding of the morality. If the author than says "no, you got that wrong, this is what you are supposed to feel and think" I feel cheated out of my experience. It is like the stereotypical bad high school teacher that believes that there is only one correct interpretation of art and/or literature and it is not your right to feel what you want.

I have a hard time to even give it 4 stars because that was so annoying but everything other than these two last sub-chapters was excellent. So my advice:

- read the book it is great!
- once the actual plot is winding down and kind of resolved and there are only a couple of sub-chapters left, be on guard to the onset of reflection on the book / i.e. the onset of the protagonist reflecting on his life
- STOP reading there! I promise you there are no plot twists anymore (in fact there is no more plot)
- bask in that great feeling that you just read a truly captivating book that transported you into a quirky and interesting world
- reflect for yourself
- Write a 5 star review ...