Customer Reviews

Around We Go

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Ms. Chatelain is a great storyteller; she's the one that kept us spellbound around the camp fire or during school recesses. She has more plot per page than any other lesbian romance I've ever read; and that is good. BUT. The editing of this book is egregiously bad. The grammar, punctuation and spelling are atrocious. There are elementary mistakes on every page, or so it seems, that are distracting and make the book hard to read. Ms. Chatelain has a good ear for dialog, but somebody thought that people do not use contractions when speaking. The result is that none of the characters say "don't" or "can't" or "you're" or any other common contraction. After a while, this makes the dialog sound stilted and strange, as though translated from some foreign language by someone whose native language was not English. There were several times when I almost put the book down in disgust, but I'll admit I wanted to find out what happened next. This is all a shame, because with a strong editor, this book could be very good. **There are other problems with the book, like character development (non-existent), but I won't dwell on them because they are common to lesbian romances, alas. ** One last pet peeve. I hate books whose cover is so cheap that it curls the minute you pick it up. This book has one of those covers. ** I'm adding this because I just read that someone defends the poor grammar, spelling and punctuation on the grounds that it's the way "country" people speak. Trust me, this is not dialect; this is poor English, period.

"Around We Go" was one of the worst purchases I have ever made. I must not have read the reviews...when one has to fight with an Author's gramatical errors and unsure story lines, why bother? After I finished this book, I threw it away (into the recycling bin).

I did read the entire book...I think out of amazement that a book of this caliber could be not only published, but sold for $18.95(approximately).

The only other use I can think for this book is very expensive firewood.

Mixed reviews, indeed! If you come here to look for a lesbian romance book, taking the genre for what it is, I would advise you to first scan all reviews on several titles, and determine which kind of reader you are. There seem to be two types of readers visiting these pages. This book may be the best example to categorize yourself: you will either love it or put it away after 50 pages.
Much of what can be said about this book has already been covered by other reviewers, so I won't repeat their comments. Personally I classify this book as the single worst I have ever read. So bad in fact that it fascinated me - I wanted to expound what sets it apart from what I think is a good book. During reading I am usually not consciously aware of technical elements like grammar and spelling, character development, dialogue structure, and transitions from one scene to another. But in this book they were so out of order they completely diverted my attention from the story itself.
Because such an evaluation is inherently personal, below are some excerpts I find quite indicative of what you can expect in this book. If you think there is something wrong, don't buy the book. If you can't see any problem, by all means do!

"I understand Tiffany. I will not lie to you and say I am not hurt as I had hoped our love would help you except it at least a little bit as we grew closer and that you would want others to know, but I do understand. I will not say anything to them or anyone else."

Susan knew Tiffany struggled with them as a couple a great deal but she didn't realized how much until now. "Stop it," Susan interrupted. "I don't want to think about it. We still have Christmas and then six more months after that to be together (Also for me to change your mind, Susan thought) now lets not talk about it anymore right now, ok? Please."

Susan didn't stop; she drove straight to Stephanie's house. She had to see her, things could not have gone worse at Tiffany's. It was slow going and she still didn't have the hang of driving on this stuff, and everything kept running through her head. Tiffany and Stephanie and the past and the now, she was so lost. Was what she had with Tiffany (which she now knew was only one sided all along) real and still there enough, she doubted it and was what she had started to feel with Stephanie real and not just rebound and enough to last? She kept asking herself how could it be rebound? It had been several years after all.

I am very fond of new writers and love to watch them make their rise to the top, but I cannot recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a great read. I had to stop reading this book because the writing style struck me as very juvenile. The grammar and spelling mistakes are plentiful, which I am sure is as much the editor's fault as the writer's. I could not keep myself interested in the characters or the plot because of these (and a few other) flaws. I believe, from skipping through and checking out the end of the book (because I was curious) that the writer's style somewhat improves over the span of the book, but the beginning should have been edited to match the style at the end. A good effort, to be sure, but not ready for press. If you still want to read this book, due to all the other wonderful comments in its favor, I would recommend getting it second hand or borrowing it from a friend. It isn't worth the money and shipping costs. I wish the author good luck on her next novel--I know that style comes with time and practice. I have faith, Ms. Chatelain, keep trying!

I should have known not to trust all the reviews written here. They raved so much about the book I thought I'd take a chance. No wonder there is no book description, no professional reviews and no excerpt. Don't go on the reviews only. The book is not badly written, but it's not well-written either. Most of the time the characters are like cardboard. There are some good parts, and the plot is all right for a romance, but it tends to be overwritten and full of flowery purple prose. The sex scenes are not erotica but are over the top. Some people like that alot I guess, but I prefer the solid clear writing of authors like Karin Kallmaker, Frankie Jones, LJ Maas, and Saxon Bennett. Sorry to say, there's a good chance you'll be wasting $$ plus postage if you buy this book.

Yes ... You can find out from reading the blurbs for it and the others in the series, or visiting the author's web site. Oh, and you can glance through the many 5-star reviews, noting the similar wording, identical spelling mistakes and generaly sketchy grasp of grammar. Ask yourself if someone who doesn't know how to spell "coming" or the correct use of "there" vs. "their" is capable of saying the book has no flaws.

Why oh why did I buy this book? The positive reviews alone should have tipped me off about its dismal quality.

Missing punctuation, misused words, lack of clarity about who is speaking (or thinking!), point of view shifts mid-sentence, lapsing into thought in the middle of speech -- the list is long. A more frustrating book I have never encountered!

I really don't care how nice a writer is or how heartfelt her stories may be, I need to be able to *READ* the story and Ms. Chatelain's woeful lack of basic grammar and punctuation made that impossible. This book was *very* expensive, too.

I should have known better, so while I'm peeved at the other reviewers who called this book great, I'm really upset with myself for having bought it.

Around We Go

Tonya L. Chatelain presented "Around We Go" to us last year as her first
[explicit] lesbian novel. [Explicit] indeed! It had me blushing. But [explicit] falls
short of the depth of the character experiences in AWG; their travels,
travails, sense of adventure, their generosity, their lust AND their need to
connect and build meaningful lives with another human being.

Tiffany struggles for years not accepting her true identity. She even
carries on a sleep together relationship with her college roommate, Susan,
because that was just the thing to do. Boy! I was sure naive in college.

And maybe Tiffany's roommate was naive, too, because she thought something
more fundamental than college fun was going on. Tiffany went on to date a
man for years while Susan licked her wounds.

This college-thing-do-phase represented something deeper that Tiffany
finally admitted to herself, her mother and her fiance. That she loves
women, and more precisely Susan.

What inspired me about the characters was their growth in facing difficult
challenges. Face it. It's not easy telling you're mother you're a lesbian.
And gay men and women risk their lives for simply holding hands as is
portrayed in a grizzly scene in Australia which leaves Tiffany paralyzed and
her partner dead. The final moments of her partner's life are beautifully
written and I almost felt as if I were perishing with her.

Can love overcome years, disability and the miles. Tiffany's mom comes

through, travelling thousands of miles to bring her daughter home. But can
Tiffany repair her relationship with Susan. I think we have to read Around
We Go Again to find that out.

I enjoyed this book and recommend it.

Art Hansen
for Alison's Read and Trade

Around We Go is without a doubt the best book that I have read in years. The characters are vibrantly alive in my mind and heart. Ms.Chatelaine has a gift for drawing you into the lives of her characters. The emotions were such that I could relate and actually feel right along with the story. I laughed and cried.....I even cursed the author for the many unexpected twists and turns. I await the second novel with impatient, but eager anticipation. More, More, More!!!!! Look out Hollywood! This could be your hottest television series ever!!!!!

Intrigued after reading the mixed reviews and several quotes, I decided this was a book I had to purchase. I thought, surely those passages can't be representable for the rest of the book?! Boy, was I wrong! The reported problems with spelling (my favorite: Tim buck two ... better known as Timbuktu), grammar and punctuation turned out to be just the tip of the ice berg.

The dialogue was stilted and lengthy, with a lot of unnecessary repetitions often using the exact same words as in the previous sentence. Combined with the lack of punctuation and the mid-sentence shifts in the point of view (not to mention the spelling and grammar), this made for a very, very confusing read.

The characters were so poorly developed, that the only way for me to tell them apart was by name. In addition, the main characters all seemed to have the emotional lability and maturity of a five-year old, paired with a complete lack of impulse control. At no point, did I care what happened to them one way, or the other.

As for the plot, or better said, the lack thereof, it would be more accurate to describe it as a rapid succession of poorly executed scenes, leading to more of same (if you feel so inclined to buy the next installment in the series).

Research clearly was wasted on the author. From a medical perspective this book makes about as much sense selling life insurance at a funeral home. Also, a colt is still a young MALE horse in my book. Poor little Courtney must be a bit gender confused.

In short; terrible style, spelling, grammar ... you name it. I won't even go into show vs. tell, run-on sentences and ghetto slang. Would not recommend for the serious reader, but if you are like me and you get a kick out of the ridiculousness of it all then by all means, go for it! You'll be crying with laughter before you've made it through the first five pages. Time to get those tissues out, girls!

I loved this book! It does have some spelling and grammatical errors, but what book doesn't? I was so glad to find that the series continues, I have purchased the next two in the series and hope they will be as great as the first. I couldn't put this book down for a second, took me on and a half days to read it. Sometimes I cried, others I laughed. Was so glad that I bought it. Keep up the good work. I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys reading.