Disappointing and shallow
581372
I was so looking forward to this as I had just returned from my own solo vacation to Argentina and I thought this book would be a fun read and reminder of my trip. What a disappointment. Marina Palmer claims to have passion for the tango, but she only tells and not shows us this. She comes off as being a spoiled, narcissistic spoiled girl of 19, not a woman in her 30s. Her cliche-ridden prose merely describes her sexual conquests and illustrates her utter inability to form both friendships and relationships of substance. Argentina and tango have been done a real injustice by this shallow memoir.
538033
After finishing Kate's most recent book in the 'Maggie' series (of which I am very fond), I was hungry for more. Curious about this book, I hoped that I would be as charmed by it as I was by her other books. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. Flat characters and a predictable plot plagued this shallow book. I felt unattached to anything that happened and found myself hoping it would end.
3005756
Was very disappointed in this book and this author. There was no depth to the advice given, and the "exercises" were superficial at best. Basically, the book tells readers to snap out of it and stop getting pushed around, an idea that had surely already occurred to anyone who picked up the book hoping for fresh insights. Sadly, there was none, only trite platitudes, such as Lighten Up and Stop Being Afraid. Empty pages.
3438693
I've seen the good reviews for this book and I just have to wonder did we read the same book. Deli is the shallowest character you can imagine. Deli and her family are attacked by the evil snake people. Her parents are killed, her sister is dragged off screaming, and Deli is wounded to the point of death. Deli is saved and converted to an Evren.

After all this her main concerns are being popular in school, living somewhere where she can shop, and having everyone know Lucian is her boyfriend. No grief on the lost of her parents, no real concern that her sister, who is now in coma in the hands of the uncle who arranged for her family's death. Nothing. This is just a shallow book about a very shallow unreal girl. Don't waste you time.
1276253
This story was moderately well-written, but by the time I finished it, I was left unsatisfied. The story is supposed to be a romance, but there was very little actual romance within the story. I felt that the entire plot line was trying to lead us to an exciting conclusion, all the while misleading the reader as to where the plot was going. She was supposed to be falling in love, but her end-all "love interest" came off as boorish and even stuck up, all the way to the very end. The characters were pretty one-dimensional, even the main character; she was heavy, self-conscious to the point of self-debasing, extremely structured and simple; her sister was perfect, beautiful, and successful (though, obviously, shallow--from the main character's POV); the first man introduced in the story was comprised of "Scottish" colloquialisms, the occasional laugh (though I often missed why), and a great deal of seemingly self-centered absenteeism; the second man introduced seemed sweet (and was my dogged hope for her "love interest"), but again, not much else to the character. In addition to the poorly crafted story arc, there were numerous typos within every chapter, which made it difficult for me to dig into the text. This author's future stories could be much better if she were to take the time to think out each major player and make them more realistic, and also GET A NEW EDITOR!
1546434
Let me start off by saying I had high standards for this book: I have a degree in literature and Bioshock is my favorite video game series. Sadly, I was very disappointed by this book. The character descriptions were far more "tell" than "show," a problem which got worse when the author started making such liberal narrative use of the audio diaries (especially the ones he made up, i.e. that weren't quoted from the game). (I mean, seriously? You have both Lamb and Steinman literally muttering their secret plots to themselves under their breath while in conversation with others?) Bioshock's visual aspect is such a main part of its appeal, and the author seemed to make no effort to describe the environment beyond saying they were "Art Deco" (or, in one attempt at variance, describing something as "Art Decoratif"). Every now and then I'd find a phrase that I thought was well-turned, but a lot of the descriptions were kinda lazy (he described three different female characters in the book as "frowzy"). I know only marginally more about the characters' backstories with the exception of Ryan, McDonough, and Fontaine. We already know that Sander Cohen is crazy, effeminate, and obsessed with bunnies; we played the games. Give us a sense of WHY he's that way. What character descriptions were given, were shallow, off-target, or just didn't make sense (see e.g. Tenenbaum's bewildering relationship with Frank, or the unrealistic explanation of her experience in the concentration camp). The emotional spectrum was fairly limited. The dialogue was disappointing, and not just because McDonough's/Atlas's/Tenenbaum's/Suchong's accents/speech styles were unconvincing. There was so much missed opportunity here, and that made me sad. I feel this should've been an early draft, not a finished product. There was very little of it that actually added to what I knew from the games, and it detracted from the actual story's emotional depth for me.
739744
I have loved all the other Flower Shop Mysteries which is why it is hard to give this installment only two stars.  However, Kate Collins definitely veered from her excellent plotting and style when she came up with "Evil in Carnations".

In this book, Abby's roommate has degenerated to a whiny, pathetic creature who starts off in deep depression because she is "without a man"--what is this, 1940?  She progresses to a seeker of the shallow--going crazy over the egotistical, rich speed dater instead of the solid good guy.  And ends up a sad "please, please help me; you just don't understand" murder suspect.  At times I was hoping she HAD committed the murder just to shut her up.

If that's not bad enough, our heroine, Abby, can't get a spine to stand up to Marco's sister, Gina, and Abby's cousin, Jillian, both of whom (in separate scenes) walk all over her and, in the case of Jillian, almost ruin Abby's business.

The plot itself was lacking--Collins commits a mortal sin (at least in mystery book circles) by not supplying enough clues (or even a fleshed out killer) to the whodunit.

Unfortunately, this is the worst of the series and I can only hope it is nothing but a bridge to the next set of books that, it seems, will include a deeper relationship between Abby and Marco.

Read it, if you must, but don't expect too much.
4046050
Disappointingly brief and shallow in content. I know the book is only $2.99, about the price of a cup of coffee, but if ordering a cup of coffee and presented with a cup of water, you'd be disappointed too. I get the impression that the $2.99 a pop for each book in the series is more of a marketing strategy on how to extract the most revenue for the least content. This is the second and last purchase of the books in this series. If I want this level of information I'll Google it.
402654
I was looking forward to reading this book to my 4yo daughter, because I thought it was such a great idea for talking about history.  We were both quite disappointed.  The child in the book asks who came down that road, and the mother's answers are just too vague and short.  We wanted to know much more about who came down that road, for example, not just that they were pioneers, but where they were from and where were they going and why.  The book goes all the way back to the creation of the universe, attempting to address so much history that the result is that anything gleaned is very superficial and unsatisfying.
2151878
What a disappointment this book was. Granted, I had  not read a Bushnell book and my only knowledge of her is the very wonderful Sex and the City on HBO, but I do know books and this was like a glossy depiction of shallow people in an unbelievable social setting.  I finished the book only out of curiosity to see how she would wind things up, and ended up thinking, Who Cares? I'd never want to get to know these people and couldn't care less about what happened to them. It read like a corny nighttime soap on Lifetime. I'm not impressed with Bushnell's writing at all and cannot recommend this book.
1774426
I found this book hidden in my basement.  The book started badly and ended even worse.  As I was reading, I kept wishing that it would get better but it never did.  However, this is a good book for quick reading on the subway or bus.  It is extremely shallow and does not require much thinking.  It reminds me of a poorly written Harlequin.  In fact, some Harlequins may even be better.
The author attempts to tackle modern day issues but failed miserably.  Her views in life is limited and unrealistic.  The characters lacked depth - every character was vain and sex crazed.  Her constant description of how beautiful the heroin was and the tight clothing she wore got annoying.  The sex scenes are repetitive to an extent where it appears that the same words are used.  The setting of Shanghai appears to be irrelevant and misrepresented in many ways.
I give this book 2 stars.  Why?  I made it through the book and got a party idea from it.
4428196
I bought this book to get inspired and motivated, to feel better about myself and about the world. This book wasn't helpful at all; it lacked depth and insight. The stories came off shallow and superficial. It may be a good book for teenagers, but not for grown ups.  I'm sorry but I was disappointed.
3511165
I am a painter and a writer, so I was intially drawn into this story, but ultimately I was disappointed.  In the end, this story is mostly about setting up the sequel, and the characters are too shallow.
366379
When I read the reviews of Erica Jong's "Fear of Dying" I was interested in how this author would address the sexual yearnings of a mature woman--like Jane Juska did so well in "Round Heeled Woman." Instead I found a shallow, vapid narrator more focused on her $1000 shoes than on facing the realities of her aging parents' imminent deaths or her ailing billionaire husband (she keeps reminding us of his financial status). This disappointing book is filled with sophomoric insights passing for wisdom about end of life issues for the 1%.
1060478
I greatly enjoyed some of Varley's later work, so I decided to back up and try this series.  I am relieved I only bought the first book.  Its shallow characters and predictable plotline left me unwilling to read very far in it.  Worse, to my unpleasant surprise, it has line drawing illustrations clearly aimed at the fantasy life of adolescent males - don't read this in an airport where a child and her outraged mother might catch a glimpse of the illustrations.  Sorry I bought it but I give it 2 stars rather than 1 because there is at least some effort at a plot.
3228853
shallow characterization, predictable plot, one third of the way into it and just can't read anymore... wish I had not bought it
3272184
Saccharine and shallow. How these books have achieved such a readership is beyond comprehension.