When you hear the name Susan Wiggs, what automatically comes to your mind? If you are a lover of reading books, then you know that she is a well-known author. I have read several of her novels. Some I enjoyed, some I didn’t really get into that much. Mostly they were all better than fair.
When I started reading “Fireside” I was thinking, "hummmmmm!" This is going to be one of her good novels! Far be it from me to take anything away from any author. Of course I kept reading because I was hooked and wanted to see what was coming. There was the romance that you look for in her novels. There was the intrigue that you look for. Characters were pretty good. We had Kim Van Dorn, that worked for sports clients. We also had Bo Crutcher, the baseball player with women loving his look, and last but not least, we had Bo’s son, Angel, who has never been seen until now. Angel's mother gets deported because she cannot prove she is an American Citizen. Bo gets a call from Angel’s teacher saying that she is sending him on a plane because he has nowhere else to go. We are talking about a big, strong manly athlete, lives above a bar in a tiny apartment, and is in no way shape or form, ready to take care of a child, except money wise.
So I bet you are saying that this sounds like a great novel right? It’s not great, it’s good. The beginning starts off strong, but the novel lacks something in the middle. It's almost as if the story comes to a standstill. Then at the end, it sort of picks of again. And then the novel is done.
I was really disappointed in "Fireside." As I read, it dragged on and when that happens to a book that I am reading, I tend to put it down a lot. That’s what I did in this case. However I did finish the novel and as I said the ending was okay. It’s not the way I would have ended that particular story though.
As always, this is my opinion and only mine. If you are an avid Susan Wiggs reader, then you may enjoy it but it wasn't a book for me. I would recommend "Fireside" to young adults and adults, possibly even teens. I will still continue to read Susan Wiggs novels, as I never judge an author by one book that I don’t enjoy.
Fireside
Susan Wiggs
Mira Books (2009)
ISBN 9780778326175
Reviewed by Gina Holland for RebeccasReads (04/09)
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