Swear on This Life

Points for getting me out of a reading funk and having some spark that made me want to continue reading it. The writing felt stilted and clich??d with occasional phrases that would take me out of the reading experience with their glibness. The characters lacked any real depth, for me, and the book scene flashbacks lost their novelty after a few chapters.

I honestly don't think I would have finished this book if it hadn't been for book club. The premise was interesting at first – a 20-something woman picks up a hit novel, only to discover it's about her and her life, written by her childhood friend and first love. It was interesting, until it turned into a totally cliche romance. The “chance” meetings were much too perfect, the dialogue was cheesy, and the characters were annoying. My favorite characters were actually the lesbian aunt and her partner, and they had a regrettably small part in the book! I'm giving this on 2 stars. It would be one if it wasn't for the interesting premise.

Find my full review at http://www.literaryquicksand.com/2017/04/mini-reviews/

3.75

I don't really know how this book is so well rated. I'll start off by saying something positive though- it is a quick read and I did not find it boring in a large sense. The premise is interesting. I guess I was just expecting something different.

However, for a book full were many of the characters are writers, how are they all so dreadfully dull? The book inside of the book is very elementary and just lackluster. The bones of this story could have been interesting, but the execution just was not there for me. The dialogue was very robotic to me, and contrived. The characters (especially the present day ones) are very surface-y and have such little depth that it makes it hard to illicit any real emotional response to a book trying to be very emotional.