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A review by mjsam
Sea Legs by KG MacGregor
3.0
This has been in my TBR pile for awhile, but I read another review for it so thought I’d give it a go. I’ve read multiple ‘groups of women take a trip together’ books and it’s not my favourite plot. I was ambivalent about the storyline here, but usually like MacGregor’s work, so wanted to give it a try. This was slightly below average in my opinion.
The basic premise is that six women are taking a cruise together, one stable couple (their names don’t matter), one newish couple (Didi and Pamela), and two women who’ve never met and are sharing a cabin (Kelly and Natalie). But the wrinkle is that Didi and Natalie own a business and used to be in a relationship. Natalie wants Didi back (God knows why, she’s a real bitch) and so she decides to use Kelly to make Didi jealous.
Did I mention that Kelly is butch? She is, and this is harked on (along with her fashion sense) by the other women relentlessly, because four of them are femmes, which as everyone knows is superior (sarcasm). There’s just so many problems with this group of women. Most of them aren’t likeable, Natalie’s desire to get back with Didi is unfathomable, Kelly is a bit of a doormat, and the other characters don’t add much to the story. I also didn’t really buy into the supposed chemistry between Kelly and Natalie, so the main romance did nothing for me.
Oh, and also, as an Aussie, I found the Australian character teeth-grittingly stereotypical. Yes, some Aussies refer to their friends as ‘Mate’, but not every time they address them, nor do we just address random strangers that way. I half expected Jo to start addressing Kelly as ‘Cobber’, but I guess KG didn’t get that far in the ‘Aussie Book of Slang’.
Anyway, I didn’t warm to any of the characters, and so couldn’t really get into this. I give it 2.5 stars but have rounded up to 3 because it’s KG, so it’s well-written from a technical standpoint, but I won’t be re-reading it.
The basic premise is that six women are taking a cruise together, one stable couple (their names don’t matter), one newish couple (Didi and Pamela), and two women who’ve never met and are sharing a cabin (Kelly and Natalie). But the wrinkle is that Didi and Natalie own a business and used to be in a relationship. Natalie wants Didi back (God knows why, she’s a real bitch) and so she decides to use Kelly to make Didi jealous.
Did I mention that Kelly is butch? She is, and this is harked on (along with her fashion sense) by the other women relentlessly, because four of them are femmes, which as everyone knows is superior (sarcasm). There’s just so many problems with this group of women. Most of them aren’t likeable, Natalie’s desire to get back with Didi is unfathomable, Kelly is a bit of a doormat, and the other characters don’t add much to the story. I also didn’t really buy into the supposed chemistry between Kelly and Natalie, so the main romance did nothing for me.
Oh, and also, as an Aussie, I found the Australian character teeth-grittingly stereotypical. Yes, some Aussies refer to their friends as ‘Mate’, but not every time they address them, nor do we just address random strangers that way. I half expected Jo to start addressing Kelly as ‘Cobber’, but I guess KG didn’t get that far in the ‘Aussie Book of Slang’.
Anyway, I didn’t warm to any of the characters, and so couldn’t really get into this. I give it 2.5 stars but have rounded up to 3 because it’s KG, so it’s well-written from a technical standpoint, but I won’t be re-reading it.