I wish I could give it zero stars
596500
I purchased a large size, for dogs 60 to 130 pounds. It was woefully inadequate for my 120 pound German Shepherd.  I managed to get the headgear on him, but he absolutely would not tolerate it. He  pushed the nose gear off several times while I struggled to attach the leash.  At one point he had part of the nose strap in his mouth and was chewing mightily trying to break it. In the end, I took it off thinking that I would try again the next day.  But when I got back from my lonely walk, I saw that two of the plastic parts were lying on the floor near the scene of our struggle. It was bbroken before we got out the door the first time.
3834890
If I could give a book a ZERO this would be the one...UGH!!
4084853
The other reviewers definitely didn't exaggerate.  After the first chapter, I went to Amazon to read the reviews because it was hard to believe it was so bad.  I can't imagine how this managed to be published.  It's true that it really does come across as though it was written by a first grader. I've been reading Harlequin's for the last 30 years and have NEVER come across anything even remotely as horrid as this book.  I always finish books, even the bad ones, but I couldn't manage this one.  Save yourself some time and skip it.  If you really insist on reading it, then just skip to the epilogue where they get married and have eight children.  You'll get a chance to see how bad the writing is and it's all you really need to know.  Actually, all you need to know is to throw it in the recycle bin if you ever get your hands on it.
1955126
Amazon won't let you rate something with zero stars but that's what I'd give this book if I could.

I had hoped that this book would be humorous and fun to read while also somewhat informative or helpful to a new father.  It falls way short on both.  There's not a useful piece of information in it and the humor is awful - it's not funny at all.

This book is a huge was of time and money.  I cannot recommend strongly enough that you DO NOT BUY this piece of garbage.  Honestly, I can't believe that something of this quality is even in print.  The publisher should be ashamed (as should the author).
3141243
I would have given it zero stars if that was an option.  The plot was exhausted, the characters weren't likable or dislikable.  The end WAS ONE OF THE WORST ENDINGS I HAVE EVER READ.  The description of the book said that there is a 'mysterious past' of one of the main characters.  Guess what?  The author decides that its such a big mystery that you will never know what it is either.  This book was an ABSOLUTE waste of my time.  The writing was terrible, the flow was even worse, and like I said...the ending was one of the WORST I have ever read in my life.  I HATED this book.  Super upset that I wasted $18 when it wasn't even worth .99.  Highly advise not wasting your time or money.
2525115
This is simply an AWFUL book.  Take my word for it.  Those who review it favorably must have a political agenda.  But reading this book
I wanted to give it fair time.  I could not get through it.  All he needed to do is stick a copy of the Constitution in it, fill it with platitudes and publish a book.  Utterly ridiculous.  There will be those who purchase it because for some unknown ungodly reason they think this preposterous neurosurgeon can be president.  He is as far away from the presidency as I am from Timbuktu.  Save yourself time and money.  If you must take a look as I did get it from your library!  This book has ZERO substance. It's a joke as he is for the presidency of the United States.
3949533
I hated this book. HATED IT. Every single stereotypical cliche you can think of was thrown in. The story was slow, the characters unlikable. But the nail in the coffin for me? The dogs being mutilated. Not cool...I see enough animal abuse in the papers. I do not need, nor do I want to read about it in my fictional escapes. Two BIG thumbs down.
3527627
I got a copy of this book for Christmas.  It does not deserve even 1 star.  I tried to read it from the beginning but it was so bad I tried to find a chapter by skipping ahead to find something that would be interesting or entertaining or something other than boring.  Alas it was not to be. This has got to be one of the worst books I have ever read and I am including school textbooks.  Save your money and either go to a museum, planetarium or watch PBS.  I believe that you will be more likely to stay awake.  I find it interesting that if you try to browse throught the sample pages at Amazon.com all you see are the cover notes, table of contents and the index.  If this was any good I would think that a legitimate sample of the actual writing (if you can call it that) would be included.
137993
First off, I want to state that this is the first book I have EVER rated 1 star. I started reading this book and was utterly repulsed by the way the main character acted. The more I read, the more I wanted to punch her!!! Seriously I HATED everything about her, and the reactions she had to most things went WAY beyond stupid. Truth be told I stopped reading this garbage a little more than mid-way through and I'm still mad at myself for reading that far!!
3893535
This was a truly awful book. A profoundly boring, unoriginal, uninspired attempt at a story. I was embarrassed as I read it. Well, began to read it. It's a tiny book, but 1/2 thru, I couldn't take it anymore.

I don't know how this ever got published. It feels like watching Law & Order episodes from 1990. Dated and unnecessary.

It's such a shame. What a waste of resources on this Garbage.

Maybe 80 year olds shouldn't be encouraged to try new things.
It's just depressing to know an educated adult wrote this.

It deserves negative stars.
-5*
3786099
The Casual Vacancy had the most potential to be a great book, and if you read my review when I got this book and the future expectations I had on this book you would know that there was a lot of glaring problems I had with this book. And I would love to present my first abandoned book to everyone. I just couldn't get past the glaring problems with this book and how horrible it is. If you like slow moving dramas that really just involve a bunch of self-centered morons, this would be the perfect book for you.

  This book is just horrible. It involves an empty seat for the town council, I can only assume. But everyone seems too stupid to realize that the seat is up for reelection now. It isn't until halfway through the book that someone realizes, "HEY! we can fight over this seat and an all-out war will ensue and ..." You get the drift I image. It just moved way way too slow for me and I couldn't find a reason to pick it up anymore and finish it. Maybe later, but no.

  The characters, oh the characters are horrible. There wasn't one general character that I enjoyed of felt that I would enjoy when I put the book down. It was just a cluster of horrible and even worse they all are so self-centered and delusional it's sickening. All of the characters really just use each other to position themselves better politically or to better their standing with the community. The lot of shallow characters in this book is far from what I expected out of J.K. Rowling. C'mon you can do a lot better, than this.

  As well, this is labeled as Adult, and realistically this is no where near an adult book. Its more of a young adult book, with a few mentions of sex and condoms that look like those white grubs you can use for fishing. I hated the labeling of this book, it's not at all what I was expecting. If I could have claimed to be an adult when I was 12 by simply mentioning condoms and sex, than I believe the world would have a lot less teenagers and more immature bastard children running around. This book isn't even close to the label it had.

  The environment was confusing as well, it focuses around Pagford and some suburbs. I spent most of my time re-reading the paragraphs trying to understand what was being conveyed. I felt that I missed most of the setting or it just wasn't described in a manner that I could visualize. As well when I finally understood the setting for the character that was speaking for the moment; the character changes. There is no chapters, there is days and in one day nearly every character has a section in which they give their perspective on the days happenings. Its very disruptive to the story and I was left with a complete emptiness when the character swapped. It just isn't something I enjoy seeing in a book, there was no reason to swap that way.

  Now when I picked up this book I looked around at fellow other bloggers and reviewers to see what they thought, and generally it's a mixed review. Some love the book and some utterly hate it. I would view my stance on this book less than neutral. I don't hate this completely, it more or less just isn't my style of book and I couldn't get past those issues, and it's generally not just me who has those issues but most of those who dislike this book share the issues.
2402189
This book is awful, just awful. I hated nearly everything about it. This isn't a D/s relationship, it's a slave & rapist. I hated the forced feminism of Nicky. It was more of an insult to subs & women than anything sexy or kinky. I hated all of Marcos numerous endearments which I felt weakened him as a dominant character. The climax of the book was actually leading up to something I found somewhat interesting, and then the author just yanks the rug from out of under you, contradicting everything she was leading up to. I would not recommend this book in any way, shape, or form. How it got so many good review just baffles me.
217528
I will be honest with you, if I could have given this a negative star...I would have. I would like to state that I am an avid reader and I do go through at least a book a week, sometimes two. This is the first book in about ten years that I could literally not finish. Everything about it is awful. The only thing I am grateful for; that I have waited to get the book from the library and did not have to pay for it. Do yourself a favor and save your money and time!
3582921
If only I could give it zero stars.  Read my review of Episode I, if you want more info.
1785832
I picked up this book because it was left at our house by a visitor. I lived in Charlotte, NC for several years, so I was curious as to how this city was represented. Honestly, this book was so bad that I couldn't even finish it. I read more than half way and was so startled and confused by how bad it was I am truly convinced that this book is in fact an experiment by Ms. Cornwell to see if she can make money without having to actually write a novel.
I am a huge fan of the police procedural genre and mysteries in general. But, this "book" is neither. It is rather a large description of mainly three very pitiful human beings who live totally fabricated lives that are founded upon thier own beauty and desirability. They are two dimensional and trite and I was actually hoping at least one of them would die, but I couldn't withstand the punishment any longer and decided my time was more valuable doing something else - like cleaning out my gutters!
This is the kind of writing that gives women authors a bad name. Cornwell is so wrapped up in how these people look in their uniforms that we never even come close to getting wrapped up in something as minor as a plot. If this book was written to be a romance or even a human interest story, it is still horrible, but at least I would see what she was shooting for. But it isn't. It's supposed to be a mystery based on a senseless string of serial killings. Agghhhh!! Do not buy this book. For the love of all that is worth reading, do not buy it. Unless of course you want to read 300+ pages about two beautiful people who've been hurt before and don't want anything to do with the opposite sex, who happen to be chasing a serial killer between their visits to the firing range, after one of them writes 3 articles for the paper and helps his drunk of a mother into bed. Ridiculous.
The only reason I chose to write this review is to help others not make the mistake I made. If this book is sitting anywhere near you unread, run as fast as you can and throw it into the trash, better yet, burn it. That way not even the sanitation workers would be at risk of reading this horrible novel.
1483369
If I could have given it a negative 4 stars I would have. So stupid! I'm embarrassed to say that I wasted my time reading it.
2527054
I had the release date marked on my calendar for several months, I anxiously awaited the day when I would receive it in the mail, and this afternoon I finished it and wanted to throw it in the garbage. This book was a complete mess from start to finish. The novel was a waste of money and a waste of time. I'm not saying not to buy it, I know that you're going to want to see what happens for yourself, but you're going to be severely disappointed.