Customer Reviews

Spinning Forward

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I read this book during the read-a-thon and it was a true joy to read. I enjoyed the character of Sydney. She's a fifty-something that has just lost her husband and her house and has to start over completely. Who wouldn't be floundering after all of that? Add to it that she was just going through the motions of life and doesn't really know what to do and you have a great character who struggles to grow and change through the book.

I was captivated by the small town of Cedar Key. I live on the coast myself and even though my area is growing, it once had that small-town feel, so I felt right at home. I adored the supporting characters. Allison, her best friend. Dora who ends up being a big help and even the eccentric characters in the story really make it. Everyone plays a role in Sydney's new life and they are all interesting characters themselves, who I look forward to reading more about.

There are several things that contribute to the storyline and I don't want to give away anything about the plot. But suffice it to say it's very engaging and interesting the whole way through. I couldn't put it down and I enjoyed every minute I read. Sometimes you get bogged down when reading a book straight through during a read-a-thon, but that did not happen with Spinning Forward. When I finished I immediately wanted to go back and hear more about the characters which since this is book one in the Cedar Key series, I guess I will get to and I look forward to it.

I do not read a lot of women's fiction but I am very glad I read this wonderful book! I would love to have a half dozen copies to give to family and friends!

Sydney has discovered that she is lost when her husband dies. As she learns the true extent of his gambling addiction she learns that even their house is gone in foreclosure. She discovers that not only did she never really know her husband but she doesn't really know herself. She is feeling defeated by fear and doubt.

The story proceeds to follow Sydney through the next year as she grows from a depressed, abandoned, helpless woman to a joyful and assured business woman! Her business has a uniqueness that is charming - I have to check to see if they really do use that source for yarn!

The story includes a group of really wonderful secondary characters who are instrumental in their own ways in making Sydney face reality and find her own inner strength. There is best friend and B&B owner, Alison; determined and independent daughter Monica; sweet, helpful friend Dora; the very strange and eccentric elderly Sybile; and the elderly and oh so sweet Saren Ghetti! And of course a sexy male friend, Nick!

The setting is a beautiful place, Cedar Keys, in Florida but it is background to this character driven story. Although the story includes the male and female romantic relationship, with ups and downs, I found this to be a romance of spirit. This book celebrates life and a woman finding her own center and contentment. The writing is easy and flows. I did not want to stop reading and kept wanting to find out what would happen to Sydney next - what she would uncover or learn about others or herself. Will Sydney learn to fully soar? Read this wonderful book to find out!

This book is a quick read, mostly due to lack of depth as far as character development or plot goes. It makes for a nice story, but oftentimes seems to be very fairy tale-ish in which there is the predictable plot twist, the heartbreak, and then the happy ending. Maybe it's because I've read too many books of this genre that I'm slightly disappointed in this debut. One HUGE editing mistake is near the end of the book, when something happens at the time of Sydney's birth: the time noted at the end is vastly different than the time mentioned earlier in the story.

If you're looking for a "fluff" read and a happy story, go for it. Personally, while I liked it ok, I'm still glad I got it when it was free for Kindle.

Plot/Storyline: 1 Star

If you enjoy a well-thought out plot with an intriguing or interesting storyline, I suggest that you skip over this tedious, predictable offering. I must admit that I was only able to get through about 70% of the novel. I didn't see any point in boring myself any longer to try to get to an ending I no longer cared anything about.

Even though the entire story was told from the viewpoint of the main character, Sydney, I was still able to ascertain every event prior to it happening, with the notable exception of some idiotic things that had no bearing in real life. For instance, Sydney, being adopted as a baby, decides to start searching for her birth mother. From her own observations and some dialogue with others, it is obvious who her mother is, yet she takes months to figure it out. I won't even go into the absurd coincidence of her finding her mother on a small island with minimal population that is nowhere near where she was born.

Sydney decides to start a rather intriguing business of weaving animal fur. Even though her business set up was unrealistic, even to the point of ending up with an unpaid employee, the concept was interesting. At one point, Sydney's brand new computer breaks down. It never seems to occur to her to call the company, or a computer repair person, or even to return it under warranty. She also rents a newly built building for her business, which seemed rather extravagant and unnecessary for a starter business of that type.

The `romance' portion of the storyline was unrealistic and without any real spark. It especially surprised me when Sydney was showing interest in men only two months after her husband passed away. It's not as if they had a bad marriage, or her husband had been abusive. As a matter of fact, it appeared that her husband went to great lengths to keep up her in the lifestyle she was accustomed to by hiding his gambling addiction. Now, I'm not saying that he should be commended for that by any means, just that she seemed to have wiped out twenty years of a good marriage in her mind because of the gambling problem she discovered after he died. Had he died in the arms of another woman or something like that, it would have been more believable.

Overall, the storyline dragged out interminably, with very little of interest occuring.

Character Development: 1 Star

Sydney was not just naive, but she was also rather stupid. She left everything up to her husband before he died, which cost her everything. After his death, she doesn't seem capable of even taking care of herself. She makes bad decisions on the spur-of-the moment and, at times, is just plain rude to the man she is attracted to, for no apparent reason. She was unlikeable and unbelievable, earning no empathy at all.

The other characters are just cardboard cut-outs with no depth or dimensions.

Writing Style: 3 Stars

The writing style was simplistic to the point of almost making this book sound like a Young Adult novel. The dialogue was stilted and too formal for the setting. The descritpions were good, though.

Editing/Formatting: 5 Stars

Both were of professional quality.

Rating: PG for Adult References

This debut novel is fun, sentimental chick lit for hens. The plots are a cross between a Dorthea Benton island novel and a Debbie Macomber knitting shop novel, and major characters' ages range from newly-widowed Sydney's 52 years up to three decades older. Sydney is not only widowed, but she's broke, homeless, has no job skills, would like to find her birth mother (She was adopted as a newborn.), and has a terrible relationship with her adult daughter. Of course everything ends well, after a few snags along the way. This is a quick, enjoyable read with a cast of lovable and quirky characters.

This book is poorly written. The characters are unlikeable and implausible. The main character is an absolute idiot. I recommend that you avoid wasting your time and your money and skip this book.

I downloaded this book for free onto my Kindle. I'm related to a lot of knitters and I thought I'd enjoy a story developed around knitting. Nope, didn't happen. The main character was whiney, immature and spiteful. The "plot" was contrived and completely unbelievable. I finally quit reading the book when Sydney (the main character) discovers that her birth mother is living on the very same remote island that she moved to when her husband died! Even though the story led me to that conclusion, I still couldn't believe it when it did, it was just too contrived. Read the back cover, predict the lamest resolutions possible to Sydney's consequences and there you have it. No need to buy the book and waste good reading time. I'm glad I didn't pay for this book.

I got tired of this book about a third of the way through. The main character has no sense of humor and says "How dare he" to the point of annoyance.

I loved reading this book. The subject appealed to me, a 50 year old woman all of a sudden alone and having to start all over again. She ends up in Cedar Key, Florida which is one of my favorite places and I enjoyed reading about all the familiar places mentioned in the book about Cedar Key. It is full of life and the author's description of the characters almost makes you wonder: is she describing some real people of Cedar Key?

I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to know what would happen next and how it would all end. In fact, I didn't want it to end. I loved this book so much I bought one for my daughter and all my friends.

Anyone who has ever lost at love, or felt alone in the world and at their wit's end, will easily relate to the main character, Sydney Webster. Widowed at an age when life should have begun to be fun again, Sydney discovers that the man she married was not the knight in shining armor she had always pictured him to be. Her late husband's propensity for gambling has left her homeless and bitter. Accepting the kind offer of a friend, she takes refuge on the small island of Cedar Key. Soon the island's magic is working its spell. New friends are made, old mysteries are solved and the possibility of romance blossoms. Sydney's new existence isn't all sunshine and rainbows though, and she soon finds herself facing some of the hardest decisions of her life.

The author has expertly woven real life drama into this work of fiction, touching on subjects often relegated to the shadows - sexuality after age fifty, the dignity of choice when facing eminent demise, and the special bond between a mother and her child. She speaks about the deep friendships of women. How they can sustain a woman in her darkest hour, give her hope and help her heal from tragedy. Maybe that's what made me connect so easily with her writing - it's like being with an old friend - comfortable and easy.