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A review by jedore
Dovetail by Karen McQuestion
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book will go down in my literary history as the one that brought me to Storygraph.
Because of my own assumptions, I got a little snookered on this one. The cover art and the name (which apparently called forth memories of Lonesome Dove) had me believing this was a hearty saga. Nope.
I'm baffled that Dovetail has a 4.18 star rating on Goodreads. This is NOT a 4+ star book! The characters and the plot are very simplistic and totally predictable. And, the internal and external dialogue was borderline cheesy at times.
Storygraph's 3.35 rating (at the time I wrote this review) is much more on point.
I'm just growing weary of reading books where I know exactly what is going to happen. If the writing isn't outstanding, what's the point?
I can forgive a book for being predictable if it brings something else to my table...like outstanding writing. But, while this book was entertaining enough to stop me from tossing it into my virtual DNF pile, it definitely didn't bring me unique or fascinating characters or dialogue that was a pleasure to read.
After 45+ years of reading, I expect more. It's highly likely that I would have rated this much higher in my 20's when a light "beach read" did it for me. So, if you're into light, and you don't mind a dark slant, just ignore me! If you're a bit of a book snob like me, you might want to keep looking.
Because of my own assumptions, I got a little snookered on this one. The cover art and the name (which apparently called forth memories of Lonesome Dove) had me believing this was a hearty saga. Nope.
I'm baffled that Dovetail has a 4.18 star rating on Goodreads. This is NOT a 4+ star book! The characters and the plot are very simplistic and totally predictable. And, the internal and external dialogue was borderline cheesy at times.
Storygraph's 3.35 rating (at the time I wrote this review) is much more on point.
I'm just growing weary of reading books where I know exactly what is going to happen. If the writing isn't outstanding, what's the point?
I can forgive a book for being predictable if it brings something else to my table...like outstanding writing. But, while this book was entertaining enough to stop me from tossing it into my virtual DNF pile, it definitely didn't bring me unique or fascinating characters or dialogue that was a pleasure to read.
After 45+ years of reading, I expect more. It's highly likely that I would have rated this much higher in my 20's when a light "beach read" did it for me. So, if you're into light, and you don't mind a dark slant, just ignore me! If you're a bit of a book snob like me, you might want to keep looking.