Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Audio Review of Stay by Allie Larkin

 
Synopsis: "Something Borrowed meets Must Love Dogs in this big- hearted debut about friendship, love, and a German Shepherd named Joe.

Savannah "Van" Leone has been in love with Peter Clarke ever since she literally fell head over heels in front of him on the first day of college. Now, six years later, instead of standing across from him at the altar, Van's standing behind her best friend Janie as maid of honor, trying to mask her heartache and guilt as Janie marries the only man Van's ever loved. Before, Van's mother died, she told Van never to let Peter go, but as the couple exchanges vows, Van wonders if her fairy tale ending will ever come true.

After the wedding, Van drowns her sorrows in Kool-Aid-vodka cocktails and reruns of Rin Tin Tin, and does what any heartbroken woman in her situation would do: She impulsively buys a German Shepherd over the Internet. The pocket-size puppy Van is expecting turns out to be a clumsy, hundred-pound beast who only responds to commands in Slovak, and Van is at the end of her rope... until she realizes that this quirky giant may be the only living being who will always be loyal to her, no matter what.

Van affectionately names her dog Joe, and together, they work to mend the pieces of Van's shattered heart. And it certainly doesn't hurt that Joe's vet is a rugged sweetheart with floppy blond hair and a winning smile. But when the newlyweds return from their honeymoon, Van is forced to decide just how much she's willing to sacrifice in order to have everything she ever wanted, proving that sometimes life needs to get more complicated before it can get better.

Warm and witty, poignant and funny, Stay is an unforgettable debut that illuminates the boundlessness of love and marks the arrival of an irresistible new voice."


My Review: I had a little bit of a hard time getting into this one, I listened to the audio version. The narrator really slipped in and out of a hard core NY accent so that threw me off. Also the first almost three hours were nothing but the main character bitching. It took quite a while to get to the part about the dog, which is the whole reason I downloaded this one. It then bounced back and forth with all the negativity and was a real downer. The one really standout thing in the book was two of the sub-characters, Agnes and Louis, both of those characters were so rich and unique I would have liked so much more of them.
 
My Rating: This was a little bit of eh book for me. I enjoyed parts of it but was really thrown off by all the negativity.  I give it a rating of Two Paws.

No comments:

Post a Comment