Saturday, August 13, 2011

Wrong Turns by Jackie Calhoun


Publisher:           Bella Books


Callie Callahan is a divorced mother with two children and the part owner of a store that is failing.  She is vacationing at a lake that her family often visited in her childhood to try and think things through and decide where her life is heading.  Her life nearly ends when Vicki Browning nearly runs over her with her boat.  Can anything go right in her life?  After years of being single, Callie finds herself being drawn to Vicki in a way she never imagined.  In an effort to bring in some extra money, Callie rents the second floor of her farmhouse to Meg Klein, a quiet woman who excites Callie’s passions in a very real way.  Now Callie is involved with two women and she doesn’t want to be a lesbian.  She doesn’t know which way to turn, but both of them seem wrong in some way.



This is a difficult book to read because Callie is a really irritating character.  Her kids are out of control and getting into trouble, which she can’t see even though she’s a counselor.  Sometimes it’s hard to tell who is more spoiled, her or the kids.  She falls in love with a woman who is just trying to be nice to her and then turns to Vicki who is unbelievably pushy.  Callie is totally unaware of other people’s feelings or needs and all she seems to care about is the cabin on the lake. 



Jackie Calhoun is a more experienced writer than this book indicates.  The story jumps from one topic to another and changes direction before a scene is finished.  The characters aren’t fully developed and the clichés are plentiful.  For example, after sleeping with a woman one night, Callie is ready for the U-Haul the next day.  If the reader can get past Callie's annoying behavior, it's a fair story, but it could have been better.


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