Customer Reviews

Every Waking Moment

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2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

... That's the only way to explain how I feel after finishing Meryl Sawyer's latest romantic suspense novel. I've enjoyed many of her books in the past, especially Unforgettable, and was looking forward to this one. I was disappointed.

This soap opera of a romantic thriller is set in South Beach, FL, which is something the reader can never forget for a moment since Ms. Sawyer uses the local term for the area - "SoBe" - on almost every page. It is unnecessary, ultimately annoying, and it is attention to those kinds details at the expense of characterization that sink Every Waking Moment for me.

The plot. How to describe the plot? There is a family-owned company that the family members want to sell, but can't because they're having security issues they need to solve first. The matriarch of the family is dying of cancer and desperately wants to locate the daughter she gave up for adoption before she dies. The daughter she didn't give up, Taylor, is the heroine, and she's reeling from a series of "personal misfortunes" (as described on the back of the book), including the years-ago disappearance of her lover, who is referred to as Paul Ashford and Paul Ashton at various times in the novel. There's an uncle who married a really smart ex-stripper as a trophy wife then fell in love with her and is too afraid to tell her that they need to cut back on spending because they're up to their eyes in debt and won't recoup it until they can sell the company. Then there's Taylor's brother, who was married to Taylor's best friend until he decided he was gay and took up with a drug-addicted player who wants in on the family company. Oh, then there's the de facto hero, who is a security guy who happens to know who Taylor is because he once met the long-lost Paul many years ago in Colombia and he never forgot her face. And then there's best friend Lisa who is so close to Taylor that she disappeared for a year, came back to SoBe and never told her best friend until she'd been back for a month. Oh, but she was grieving from being dumped by Taylor's brother, so it's all OK, right? She's going to open a wildly successful sexy lingerie and sex toy shop because, hey, why not?! This is SoBe, after all.

Ay yi yi. What a mess. It's a shame too, because some of the characters show promise. Shane, the de facto hero, is actually a good one, and he deserves better than dishwater dull Taylor. Brianna the ex-stripper and Uncle Doyle have the most interesting relationship, and Brianna is actually a very interesting character. She has layers, and shows them to the reader without the reader having to be told about them.

That's the biggest problem with this book, actually. It's a classic example of the author telling the reader everything without showing them anything in particular. We get pages and pages of exposition, way too much foreshadowing, too much ANGST in general....

I recently picked up a copy of this book and there are better choices for romantic suspense. For the large part, the characters were downright annoying, they all deserved to remain alone. Though at times, the characters' revelations or actions had me laughing out loud because they were so stereotypical.

The story has merit, but for me the hodgepodge of characters and the predictibility of the villan's identity all detracted from the story's goal of being suspenseful.

I've enjoyed several of this author's books, enough so that this one made me wonder if it was written by an imposter. I finished it only because I was away from home and had nothing else to read.

None of the characters were believable, or even likeable, and the plot, while marginally possible, was without suspense.

I'd recommend giving this one a pass. Don't give up on Sawyer, though. Some of her other books are work the time and money: Thunder Island, Trust No one, Half Moon Bay, etc.

This was a very mediocre story with characters and plot that were totally unbelievable. Taylor did very little to make her appealing to anyone, let alone her new neighbor, Shane Donovan, 'the hunk'. At one point in the book, even Shane commented that Taylor hardly ever smiles. Is that supposed to make someone like you? There are other ridiculous circumstances in the book but to discuss these would divulge plot and I will not do that. There might be people who will enjoy this book. I am not one of them.

The editing in this book is terrible, just like in TRUST NO ONE. So many blatant errors it's just irritating.

Repetitive phrases and descriptions, just like in TRUST NO ONE.

Too many explanations points!!!!!

Nothing about this book works well or is believable. The 'hero' thinks about his hard core life before yet melts like a marshmallow and falls in love instantly with the 'heroine', who I found silly and weak. Her feelings and thoughts are repeated so often it's hard to tolerate her.

I usually keep the books I've read, but I'll sell this one because there is no chance I'll ever want to read it again.

I apologize for the harshness of this review, I usually find something positive to say about an author's work. I just can't do that in this case.

This is the second of Ms. Sawyer's books I've read. I have one more to go but hold out little hope of actually enjoying LADY KILLER.

Shelley Dawn, author of Dark Nights and Sweet, Sweet Jessie

While mourning the disappearance of her photographer boyfriend years earlier, Taylor is intrigued by her neighbor, but her heart still belongs to Paul, who went on assignment in South America never to return (and is presumed dead). Shane is an investigator, hired by her mother to not only find out who is sabotaging the family-operated cosmetics company, but also to find the missing daughter that matriarch Vanessa gave up for adoption as a teen.

She travels with Shane to New Orleans where she meets Caleb, a decidedly unfatherly man claiming to be the adoptive father of stripper/hooker Renata - someone her mother in healthier times would pay to be rid of. In fact, she has paid off lovers of both Taylor and her [...] brother Trent to keep the family's pristine reputation. But Vanessa is too happy to see her lost child to realize what a gold digger she is, and falls deeper under Renata's and Caleb's spell; so much so that she alters her will leaving her 50% of the company to her long-lost daughter.

When Renata turns up dead, Taylor and Trent wonder if someone in their midst murdered her for financial gain, and Caleb's hold on their mother is getting too creepy. When accidents start happening to Taylor and a note advising that she is next to die, Shane takes her under his wing. What she does not know is that Shane met Paul in Colombia years earlier in a drug sting operation. As he falls deeper in love with her, he fears that if she knows the truth, she will reject him. She, in turn, is afraid to open her heart and love again. One thing is for sure - all is not what it seems. Could the sabotage, murder, and attacks on Taylor all be the work of the same person?

This was very light on the suspense - you can predict the baddie a mile away; what is intriguing is the reason for his actions and how far-reaching his need for retribution is. Lack of character development also stalls this story - you never really get the feel beyond a selected few characters. Despite numerous references to South Beach (or SoBe as it is overly referred), Sawyer failed to bring this colorful and eclectic locale off the page and bring it to life.

I think the only enjoyment I got out of reading this book was that it took place in South Florida.

The characters were pretty flat and there wasn't much to like about them. But the biggest disappointment was that unlike Ms. Sawyer's other books, the identity of the murderer was easily figured out despite the lame attempts at trying to make you suspect others. A definite disappointment from an author I usually enjoy a lot.

Meryl Sawyer keeps getting better and better. I read this book in two days. All the characters of the book entertain and the suspense is maintained until the end. As usual, there is a dog in the story, which always makes Ms. Sawyer's book so heartwarming. You will thoroughly enjoy this book.

I haven't found any redeeming qualities yet, about 160 pages into the story. But off the top the premise that a dying woman would take the first person to present herself as her long lost daughter without any proof is far fetched. Guess she's not worried about fortune hunters and to heck with her kids that have built the business to what it is now. As for Shane, he doesn't seem to be too sharp at anything he is supposed to be an expert at. I have read 3 or 4 other books by Ms Sawyer and don't remember being so disappointed.

This book really had me turning the pages. I've read several of her books and I think she's among the best suspense writers out there. I've never been to South Beach, but I found the area fascinating. I was surprised when the killer was revealed. I didn't see it coming.