"Dangled Carat" by Hilary Grossman - 3 Stars (***SPOILERS***)

Book description available via Amazon.

I didn't realize Grossman's "Dangled Carat" was a memoir until I was about 80% of the way through the book, so that had a major impact on my feelings as I was reading. To be honest, if it had been fiction, I would have given it a lower rating. The story itself was okay, except for the fact that Marc came across as a jerk in a number of instances and I couldn't figure out why Hilary would put herself through the stress and pain of staying in the relationship. Yes, they did end up married in the end, but was the ring really worth all of the pain he put her through in the years leading up to the wedding? There were also Marc's family and friends to contend with, who may have meant well with their advice to Hilary to break things off and efforts to force Marc to propose, but they just seemed interfering and almost cruel to me. I would not have been able to handle that kind of pressure from so many people and probably would have broken things off for that reason alone. I have to admire Hilary for knowing what she wanted and being strong enough to resist the pressure from those around her to walk away.

My biggest frustration with the book was the author's writing style. I had a hard time keeping track of the timeline because of the way the author randomly inserted flashbacks into the middle of whatever part of the story she happened to be telling. She also tended to go off on tangents a lot, and spent too much time describing irrelevant details like what their vacation condo in Islamorada looked like. Some details are welcome and necessary, but three pages seemed excessive to me. Overall, though, it was an okay read. I was definitely engaged in the story and wanted to know how things would turn out in the end.

NOTE: This review is also posted on Goodreads and Amazon.              

Anybody interested in joining a romance book club?

I keep promising to get better about posting on this blog, but haven't been successful at keeping that promise so far.  I'll try to do better this time (even if I'm the only one reading it! LOL).  It's been a ridiculous time at work - my boss retired, I'm working on a major project, etc.  I'm still reading as much as ever, but by the time I get home at night my brain is mush. I'm sure if I actually tried writing a review, it would be completely nonsensical!

Anyway, I've been thinking recently about how much I would like to start (or join, if one already exists) a local book club for lovers of romance novels.  I'm not big on paranormals (other than time travel - LOVE time travel, particularly Lynn Kurland), but I'd be open to historicals, contemporaries, romantic suspense, new adult, and who knows what other subgenres.  Maybe I'll discover something new to enjoy!  If anyone in the DC metro area (particularly Northern Virginia) happens across this blog and is interested in joining such a book club, please let me know!  I've met a couple of people who would be interested, but we need a few more to really call ourselves a club and be able to have engaging discussions of the reading material.

I've thought about visiting Lady Jane's Salon in Silver Spring (well, really Bethesda) to see if I could find a few like-minded individuals to join this hypothetical romance book club, but somehow life always seems to get in the way and I never make it.  Also: it's in BETHESDA.  I'd have to take I-495 to get there. Who wants to be on the Beltway on a Saturday night?  (Okay, I'll stop whining now.  I bet Lady Jane's is awesome and I'm really missing out by not going.)

If we can't get enough locals interested, maybe we could do a "virtual" book club like the ones on Goodreads instead.  I've tried to break into some of those groups in the past, but either they're too large to allow for everyone to contribute to the discussion, or they're not interested in adding new members.

I would love to hear feedback on this idea.  If any of you are already in successful book clubs, what makes them successful?  How do you help to structure/guide the discussion to make sure it keeps flowing and everyone feels comfortable contributing?  Any other tips you'd like to share would be appreciated.