Take a photo of a barcode or cover
beckymmoe 's review for:
Exclusively Yours
by Shannon Stacey
( 3 to 3.5 stars for Joe and Keri - but I loved the family - especially kids and Kevin, so I'll be generous.)
I went back and forth on this one. Parts were great - anyone who's been on a family camping trip will definitely relate to parts of this book, and anyone who's been "invited" to go on a family camping trip that isn't their family (and especially those whose family wouldn't dream of taking a camping trip, ever) will relate too. The Kowalski family is a riot. There was a six-page teaser to book two - Kevin's story - at the end that bumped it up my "to read" list fast.
Parts I wasn't so crazy about: first, Keri just didn't "do" it for me. I guess I got her reasons for leaving in the first place, but I didn't really see her change in the end; it felt more like a cave in on her part...one I hope will last, but I'm not convinced of that by her actions and lack of personal growth. Second, the language bothered me a bit, both spoken and internal. Way too much casual profanity for my taste, and I (if any of my students are reading this, stop now. Mrs. Moe never uses this language and you shouldn't either - for a good 10-20 years) am normally not adverse to a bit of language. There was just way too much and much of it seemed wholly unnecessary. Third, Joe was way too (seriously, anyone who calls me Mrs. Moe regularly needs to stop reading RIGHT NOW) ahem, excited - throughout most of the book. Honestly, he needed to be doused with ice cold water. Every other page, at least. Fourth - Terry, sucky personal life or no, was way too witchy throughout most of the book. She needed a good slap. Or several. Maybe a hundred.
In the end, I did enjoy the book - more for the family than for the main characters, sadly; but it will definitely have me coming back for book two.
I went back and forth on this one. Parts were great - anyone who's been on a family camping trip will definitely relate to parts of this book, and anyone who's been "invited" to go on a family camping trip that isn't their family (and especially those whose family wouldn't dream of taking a camping trip, ever) will relate too. The Kowalski family is a riot. There was a six-page teaser to book two - Kevin's story - at the end that bumped it up my "to read" list fast.
Parts I wasn't so crazy about: first, Keri just didn't "do" it for me. I guess I got her reasons for leaving in the first place, but I didn't really see her change in the end; it felt more like a cave in on her part...one I hope will last, but I'm not convinced of that by her actions and lack of personal growth. Second, the language bothered me a bit, both spoken and internal. Way too much casual profanity for my taste, and I (if any of my students are reading this, stop now. Mrs. Moe never uses this language and you shouldn't either - for a good 10-20 years) am normally not adverse to a bit of language. There was just way too much and much of it seemed wholly unnecessary. Third, Joe was way too (seriously, anyone who calls me Mrs. Moe regularly needs to stop reading RIGHT NOW) ahem, excited - throughout most of the book. Honestly, he needed to be doused with ice cold water. Every other page, at least. Fourth - Terry, sucky personal life or no, was way too witchy throughout most of the book. She needed a good slap. Or several. Maybe a hundred.
In the end, I did enjoy the book - more for the family than for the main characters, sadly; but it will definitely have me coming back for book two.