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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't start reading Rice with this one!, January 29, 2002
This is Ms. Rice's first novel written in 1985. Meet Una Caven, by day a successful soap opera actress, by night, 80's woman ordinaire. This story introduces us to the Caven clan, primarily the story of 3 sisters.
Una, evidently pronounced Oooh-nah, not You-nah, is the oldest of the 3 sisters, and the single one, who is searching for Mr. Right. Always inseparable, the sisters relationships change when the younger ones take on spouses, much to Una's dismay and frustration. Her quest for the right soul-mate takes the reader through a lot of mundane dialogue.
Una's sexual escapades are described rather crudely, which I found surprising, after reading some of Ms. Rice's most recent novels. Obviously, Luanne Rice has much improved since this first novel of hers. Her recent novels have much more substance, and the love/sexual sequences are now written with emotional impact that enrapture and captivate the reader, unlike this first attempt.
If you have not read her before, don't start with this one - try "Follow the Stars Home," "Home Fires" or "Summer Light"... she is a great writer, one of my favorites.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
3 1/2 stars for her first writing effort, February 25, 2004
While this is not my favorite Luanne Rice book, I enjoyed the story all the same. And knowing this was her first published effort at writing (1985), I did figure it wouldn't be as polished as her later works that are my favorites, such as Home Fires, The Secret Hour and Cloud Nine. Angels All Over Town is about three sisters, Una, Lily and Margot and their relationships with each other and with the men in their lives. The story was told from Una's point of view, who's the oldest and an actress on a soap opera. I found the sisters very endearing. And I loved the interpersonal things going on between them, their discussions, arguments etc. There are some things that I think could have used improvement, such as the book didn't feature their mother much. We didn't get her point of view at all, or learn why she was the way she was. Also, I would have liked to see more of a resolution with some of the stories, particularly with Lily and her husband Henk. The ending would could have been improved as well, I felt like it was a kind of odd place to chose to end the book. Overall there were some flaws, but I still found myself enjoying this book and it's characters. Like all of her later books, the story of family and of relationships is prominent and it engages the reader. I think if you go in reading this knowing some of these things (especially that this is her first book), you won't be disappointed. However, I would recommend reading her newer books first (Dream Country, Firefly Beach and Follow the Stars Home) and her older books second- but I do think the older books (Blue Moon, Stone Heart) are worth the reading time.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great read from Luanne Rice, February 5, 2007
Luanne rice's first novel; this one begins a bit slowly, but by the time you are a third through the book, you don't want to put it down. this is the story of three sisters who grew up on the northeast coast. Each chose a different path to follow, and yet they maintained a very close relationship. If you don't have a sister, it makes you mourn the fact.
Ms. Rice's books make me want to travel to the scene of so many of her stories. She paints a picture of beaches and lighthouses, summer sun and fresh breezes, a feeling of ghosts and sea captain wives looking out to sea. You invest in her characters and want to know what will happen to them.
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