Book Review: Remembrance by Jude Deveraux

Pages: 432
Released: 1994
Publisher: Pocket Books
Received: Library
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
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Well, it's no Knight in Shining Armor. I had to start with that, because that's what I wanted from this book. I wanted a book that gripped me in that way that makes everything in life come second to reading this book. Like, yeah, yeah, I know eating, sleeping, that's important sure, but reading this book comes first. That's what I wanted.

I also wanted a swoony romance and a good historical setting. I wanted a plot that kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen next and how the problem/mystery would get solved.

That's what I wanted. And, I've learned that it's best to not put so many expectations on books and just accept and enjoy them for what they are. But, that's apparently a lesson I'm still learning.

So, what did I get? Disappointed, that's what I got. I picked this up on a total spur of the moment whim, downloaded a copy, put it right on my e-reader, decided to just try a few pages, and found myself sucked into the book entirely. Expectation number one? CHECK.

The story starts out in the present day (or, well, 1994 present day, when the book was written) where we're introduced to the main character as she's obsessively exploring the concept of past lives and discovering that her past lives are wreaking havoc on her current life. Ok, I'm on board.

Then we travel back in time and I'm still totally on board. This is great! It's everything I love about time travel books. It's funny, there's a hate-to-be-turned-love romance, and I'm emotionally invested. CHECK, CHECK, CHECK.

And then we suddenly travel back in time again. And this is where everything fell apart for me. Even the writing tanked. The main characters, ack, awful. Poorly drawn, absolute caricatures, boring, and simple...in every sense of the word. So many pages were spent just retreading and reiterating how much the two characters loved one another and couldn't be separated, and yet of course they were separated and the method of this separation was so contrived and stupid. I ended up hating the main characters (especially the man) by the time this section was over. I was actually hoping the villain would win.

Which is a shame because the "bones" of this part of the story were actually pretty good. This whole section reminded me of a fairy tale, which is a very good thing. The side characters were interesting and the villain's story was a great "reverse fairy tale" story.

I wavered with a 2.5 stars, but ultimately a 3 seems more accurate. It was fast, compulsively readable, and despite all my frustrations, this was still fun. Even the bad section told a story I liked...I just wish it had been written differently.

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