Customer Reviews

Tangerine Dream

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

I've never written a review before but have been an avid reader for my entire life. I know my books and I've only come across a very few which are so poorly written that they make me want to throw them in the trash. I was tempted to do just that with this book, but it was so laughably, improbably done that I decided to finish it. In order to keep myself sane, however, I set another precedent by taking a red pen to the book and wrote my thoughts in the margins as the action took place.

Words like "Sweet!", and "what fun, I wish I were them", "ooooooopppps!", "why?", and "What a surprise! Now someone will find her naked!"....kept recurring. This book was obviously written by two adolescent men. There is NO depth. NO character analysis. NO plot explored. From my margins on page 149, "My they move along swiftly and recover quickly! The plot must go on!!! Let's get to the lesbian thing guys!! Hooray Hooter guys everywhere!"

But then again, maybe it's just me, and I'm not being a sport and going along for the romp, romp, romp. But I know better; and I bet this one will be a dog-eared favorite in all of America's finer prisons.

These other reviewers must be in 3rd grade, perverts or have never read a good book. This is the most poorly written book I have picked up in years. Now, I am a cruising sailor and understand all of the sailing "jargon" very well - and seriously, that is about the only believeable text in this book. The rest is a bunch of bunk. Totally undeveloped and thus unbelieveable charaters (and I don't mean unbelievable in a good way - I mean - there's no way you believe their actions). Basically, if you're a weirdo single handler with absolutely no social skills who gets off on lesbian twins and their lesbian friend getting off - then this might be a good book to take into bed with you and a bottle of hand lotion. If you have a brain and like to read good books - you will HATE this book. Here's the sad part - I wanted to love this book, I want these sailor guys to be successful, I wanted to support their writing and cruising. I love to cruise and wish I were doing it right now - but, this book just stinks. I guarrantee the other reveiws that gave it good marks are friends of the family or something - that's the only explanation. By the way - I've been an Amazon customer for over 5 years and probably buy 3 books a month and this is the first time I ever felt compelled to say anything.

The only thing I find more astonishing than how awful this book was, is the number of rave reviews it has received. The plot jumps in every direction; there is no plausibility in any of the characters or their actions. It was one of the rare books that I felt was a disaster from the first page but I kept reading hoping that at some point the authors would produce a shred of reality. The family reunions must be crazy in their world, since any family member by birth or marriage is a sexual opportunity. I couldn't wait to throw this garbage into the trash and then wash my hands, twice.

The first time our book club came to a unanimous opinion on book - we all hated it. We were taken in by the 5 star reviews, but you don't have to. Gratuitous sex that has no relevance to the plot, storylines that are illogical, and writing that is too cliched and meandering - was this book even edited? Just plain awful and not worth your time or money.

I have seen the other "I used a whole box of kleenex on this book" quotes and all I can say is: you had a sinus condition? Dumb plot with characters designed to titillate; incest between girl twins; black and white lovers; lesbians! All that and sailing jargon, too. How can this book be so popular? Bleech.

I like my books with...well...a feasible plot to begin with. And that just for starters. I like books where there is a character that is not only realistic but likable. I like books that have a plot, and books that seem like an editor actually read it. But, most of all, I like books that aren't...HORRIBLE. This is probably the worst book I've ever read. It's insultingly mindless, boring, packed with foreshadowing that is so obvious you'll be rolling your eyes more than reading the book. Save your money...unless you are a huge fan of the B-movie genre of course. For the rest of you, DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT believe the other ratings as I did and waste your money. There are so many great books out there, and this is NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT of them. It's TERRIBLE!

I had seen some wonderful reader reviews for this book here, and I love a tightly written thriller as much as anyone, so I thought I'd give this a whirl. I was expecting, at the least, a page-turning, gripping read, and instead I found a book that is pretty much unreadable.

Make no mistake--this book is trash. And it's not even good, fun trash. It's a sophomoric, pedestrian, shallow piece of crap with characters who bear little or no resemblance to thinking, feeling human beings and an idiotic plot. The authors never venture beyond simple, declarative sentences and pretty much reserve their limited descriptive powers for the female body. It makes the Da Vinci Code look like Shakespeare and Sidney Shelton look like Chekov.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

On the surface, the Sterling family is a model for all to aspire to . . . in keeping with the meaning of their name. Three brothers are leading successful, meaningful lives. Dr. Sanford Sterling is a caring psychiatrist. His brother, Senator Stacy Sterling, is a leading candidate for president. Stacy's wife, Gayle, is a well-regarded on-air newsperson in California. They have delightful twin daughters, Dylan and Taylor. The other brother, Simon, runs the family business which includes luxury hotels. Then tragedy rips the facade away from the family's respectability to reveal shocking sexual secrets. In the aftermath of the tragedy, each member of the family finds himself or herself shaken to the core . . . and fighting for survival. Some succeed while others do not. Their story unfolds against the drama of a presidential campaign, new-found love and tempests at sea.

The strength of Tangerine Dream is that the book's action is very fast. If you don't like one aspect of the story, you'll soon be on to another. The story line is very visual, and I could imagine each scene clearly in my mind. For those who are interested in love stories, Tangerine Dream provides a beautiful, touching look at how women may find love with one another.

I found the backdrop of sexual misbehavior by the Sterlings to be overdone. If there had been less of this aspect to the story, I would have rated the book higher. As a result, those who like a good titillating look at the perversions of the rich and powerful may rate the book higher than I did.

Although the action at sea was very exciting and interesting, I must admit that I don't know enough about sailing to really understand what was going on. If you know sailing, you will probably be very impressed by the graphic details.

My enjoyment of novels mostly relates to how sympathetic I feel towards the characters and how interesting I find their circumstances. In Tangerine Dream, I felt sympathy to those who were bereaved (as anyone would). Without that bereavement, I don't think I would have found the characters to be particularly sympathetic or interesting. As a result, I found myself detached from much of what happened in the book.

As I finished, I found myself thinking about the need to set a good example for my children. I hope I will succeed in accomplishing that important role for them.

I was very disappointed in the quality of the writing. The plot is weak. The authors try to use foreshadowing and do not pull it off. That may be part of the problem - two authors who don't write as one. The whole story is sadly not worth the read. Save your money. Read the authors' note at the back of the book if you are thinking of buying it. I am sending my copy back to the publisher with a note,it is that bad. I would have given a zero if it was an option.

A relatively average, and somewhat entertaining book. I didn't find the sex or perversion all that appalling or even graphic, but it's in there. My main complaint with the book is some of the situations and dialog are a bit far fetched. It's pretty much the equivalent of a B movie or something you'd see late at night on Cinemax. If you saw it acted out on screen, there'd be several points in the story worthy of groans, and probably a few laughs from the unintentional comedy. It is a quick easy read that's perfect filler until you find the next must read book.