Monday, December 10, 2012

Book Review: Once More With Feeling

By Melissa Amster

It hasn't snowed this winter and the holidays are quickly approaching.(Well, for me they're already here!) What's a girl to do but get wrapped up in a novel that takes place during the winter holiday season and actually features...wait for it...SNOW! Megan Crane brings the winter wonderland to a rather balmy December, thanks to her latest novel, Once More With Feeling.

When Sarah comes home early from work one afternoon, she doesn't expect to find her husband in bed with another woman....especially not one she's known her whole life. Soon, she's pulled in different directions with a pending divorce and trying to prove she's the one who has been wronged, when other people she's been close with think she's the one with the problem. In order to figure out who she was before her marriage, she has to re-evaluate her life, which means revisiting some "ghosts" from her past. Will it be enough to help her get back on her feet, even when more surprises are tossed in her path?

I'll be honest here (not like I never am) and start by saying that I wasn't sure where this story was going. It started out with a powerful punch and I could easily sympathize with Sarah when people she trusted were giving her grief, even though she was the injured party, so to speak. (Think of it like being the victim in a car accident, but everyone sides with the drunk driver who hit your car, even when they say they're not really siding with them.) Then it reached this point where it stagnated a bit, but I think that was due to an abundance of introspection on Sarah's part and a lot of rehashed fights from her past (and present). However, it picked up steam, and I don't just mean that in a metaphorical sense. (And there were some really "steamy" scenes, but I won't say with whom.) It kept me engrossed and I just had to find out what would happen next for Sarah and what choices she'd make for her life.

The dialogue was genuine throughout the story and it was easy to know who to love or hate. The descriptions were fabulous, without having to be too flowery or over the top. They set the mood and made me really feel like I was outside on a blustery winter day. I wanted to put on a hat, scarf and gloves by the end! (Or sit in front of a roaring fire, drinking hot cocoa.) Sarah was easy to relate to, even when she was becoming too introspective for her own good. Her "voice" stood out loud and clear and Megan made her out to be a strong protagonist, even when there were times when she was actually in the wrong. Megan is really good at writing tension between characters, as also evidenced in her previous novels.

Whether you're looking for a story to get you into a wintery mood or a novel that will warm you at the end of a cold day, Once More With Feeling fits the bill either way.

Thanks to Megan for the e-book in exchange for an honest review. She's giving away a paperback copy over at her interview. (Worldwide. Ends December 11th at midnight EST.)

More by Megan Crane:

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does the book have a release date? I didn't see one on amazon

Melissa said...

It's been released in the UK already. Not sure if it will get published in the US, but try to win it from our giveaway. :)

Anonymous said...

I am hoping to read this in February when it is still cold and I get in that end of the winter funk. Thanks for the great informative review.