As I've mentioned in several posts, I am a runner, and I like to read books about running. Usually these are nonfiction, but recently I did a search of the library system, and turned up an audiobook called While My Sister Sleeps under "Marathon Running Fiction" and gave it a try.
It was definitely nothing like what I am used to. Lots of drama, and a little romance, with running only a side note. But I found myself being drawn into the story, and really involved with the characters. I thought it was a bit rough in places, but overall a good story, and I liked it enough to borrow a second audiobook, Suddenly.
Both audiobooks had a recent copyright, but only after I got it did I realize it was actually written much earlier, in 1993. I have to admit it really helped that the story began with Paige running with her cross country team! I now think Delinsky herself must be a runner.
I thought the second book was a bit rougher than the first. It still had a good plot, and I was definitely drawn in by the characters again...but the "romance" aspect was a bit much. Now, as an avid reader of science fiction - a genre long on the forefront of sexual liberation - sex scenes are nothing new to me. On the other hand, I am not used to bits of prose such as "his eyes pierced the dark with a hardness that matched his body." Maybe this kind of thing flies in a romance novel, but I have to admit I laughed out loud at the corniness of some of the lines. Yes, it's a good book, and there was a good plot, but I think Delinsky couldn't resist going a little overboard witht he sex scenes, and it made the rest of the book suffer a little.
On to some other nitpicking. In While My Sister Sleeps, the one sister is a marathon runner. I was fine with her being an "elite." I was fine with her having won several marathons...but I thought it lacked believeability when it said she had a shot to win the Olympic marathon. If she were that good, there would be a lot more national attention. A medium-large marathon in the U.S. might be won with a time of 2:50 to 3:00 hours. A big international marathon would likely be under 2:30, with Deena Kastor the only American with a shot at winning. Sad, but true. If and when another American woman climbs the ranks to International elite, believe me, I will know her name!
OK, that's enough running talk. I am on the lookout for mre Delinsky books. All complaining aside, I'm hooked on the drama.
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1 comments:
Yeah, Delinsky can be a little schlocky when it comes to the "romance." Her core audience is women though, and most over 40 women prefer their sex hot, but couched in less than direct terms. Hey, its what sells, and likely Delinsky gets edited, you know...for the market.
I read Delinsky to know what sells. My stories are aimed at the same market as hers.
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