Monday, August 15, 2016

Siracusa by Delia Ephron- Book Review

Siracusa by Delia Ephron was a book that completely snuck up on me. I had heard about it from a few friends, the cover kept catching my eye, and then when I saw it was a Book of the Month pick, I knew I had to read it.

Plug Time- In the month of August, Book of the Month is doing a great deal. Use my link and the code "read5" to get one month of Book of the Month for just $5! You can get this book for just $5! 

Siracusa is the story of 4 friends- Michael and Lizzie (M is a famous writer and L is a non working journalist) and Finn and Taylor with their daughter Snow. The five travel to Siracusa to rekindle relationships, grow their friendship, and to see Italy.

Michael has a plan though. He is cheating on Lizzie with a young 20 year old waitress. His plan is to get Lizzie to sleep with Finn, as they were once young lovers, so he can divorce Lizzie and run off with his new woman. Finn and Taylor are having problems as Taylor is a high maintenance wife who has changed dramatically since having Snow. Finn is a laid back, hands off dad who thinks Taylor just needs to lighten up a bit.

Things get very interesting when Michael's plan goes awry when something unexpected happens while the group is in Siracusa.

When I started this book, I just was not into it at all. For some reason the story and the characters just were not grabbing me. I found the pace a bit slow, the idea a bit far fetched, and it just wasn't working for me. 

Boy was I wrong! About a quarter way through the book, even before the group hits Siracusa something clicked. I found myself tearing through the book and became resistant to finishing it even though I wanted to find out what happened. The ending was one that I did not see coming at all.

The whole book is told from alternating points of view immediately after another character finishes speaking. Dialog overlaps in each chapter as we get into the head of the other person. While one character may feel he/she has successfully tricked another character, we read in the very next chapter that it not only hasn't tricked, but has made the other more suspicious, for example. It was a great way to tell this story.

I really wound up loving this one as it is not only a great mystery, but also a look at what really happens within relationships. Ephron plays with the characters well, so they remain believable even as they bumble a bit. I will admit it is hard to like these four people as they are all flawed, but the story holds them together.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Siracusa by Delia Ephron

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