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lauriereadslohf's review
2.0
Hmmm, is it fair to rate a book when I didn't finish it? Probably not but I'm doing it anyway. This 2 stars is for the first 90 excruciatingly boring pages. I quit after that, as I couldn't take yet another detailed description of a white trash woman getting blasted and cursing out her ex or the endless jabbering on about lame-ass, pitiful sex blinded Ronnie working double shifts to pay the mortgage, the utilities, and the car payment while his new girlfriend sits on her lazy ass, refusing to work and ignoring the kids. She gives good sex though, apparently. I read to escape this tedious real life crap. Also, the setup of this story could have easily been cut by half because the author repeats the same info. until you're bleary eyed with boredom. Things may get better but I couldn't chance tormenting myself for another 300 or so pages and I have too many other things to read/watch. It wasn't scary or suspenseful and the characters were dullards. It amazes me that this book was written by the same guy who wrote Survivor.
holleeban's review
3.0
The writing? Weak and repetitive. The characters? Flatter than the page on which they're printed. And yet? I somehow enjoyed it. Guess it goes to show that a halfway decent plot can carry a lot of weight.
mikekaz's review
4.0
After a couple of books that I couldn't quite get sucked into completely, THE BELOVED was just what I needed. Something that pulled me in and wouldn't let go until I finished it. It took me a couple of extended marathon reading sessions to devour it but I was very pleased and satisfied.
The story follows a Ronnie Baker and his sister Elizabeth. Ronnie is out of a divorce and relatively new to the dating scene when he meets Diana via an online dating site. The two hits things off and he ends up quickly moving her and her two children, along with his own daughter, to a house in his hometown. However, Elizabeth doesn't like her brother's new girlfriend and senses that something is wrong. The story alternates between the two characters until suddenly there is more evidence as to what is really going on.
As I mentioned at the start, I was immersed into the novel and could hardly put it down. As a reader, I knew what was really happening but it was still engrossing to watch it unfold and affect all the characters. The richness of the characters really helped to keep me involved with what was happening and kept the pages turning. My only complaint was that Gregg, Elizabeth's husband, was a bit two-dimensional in the first half of the novel. Considering what an important character he was during the second half, I would have liked for him to be fleshed out a bit earlier. A minor complaint really. Considering the emotions that the novel invoked and the uneasiness that it left, Gonzalez did a great job!
The story follows a Ronnie Baker and his sister Elizabeth. Ronnie is out of a divorce and relatively new to the dating scene when he meets Diana via an online dating site. The two hits things off and he ends up quickly moving her and her two children, along with his own daughter, to a house in his hometown. However, Elizabeth doesn't like her brother's new girlfriend and senses that something is wrong. The story alternates between the two characters until suddenly there is more evidence as to what is really going on.
As I mentioned at the start, I was immersed into the novel and could hardly put it down. As a reader, I knew what was really happening but it was still engrossing to watch it unfold and affect all the characters. The richness of the characters really helped to keep me involved with what was happening and kept the pages turning. My only complaint was that Gregg, Elizabeth's husband, was a bit two-dimensional in the first half of the novel. Considering what an important character he was during the second half, I would have liked for him to be fleshed out a bit earlier. A minor complaint really. Considering the emotions that the novel invoked and the uneasiness that it left, Gonzalez did a great job!
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