Book Review: Maine

Okay, I will admit to borrowing this book to read simply because of the name. It's set in a nearby town which upped its appeal for me. It's set in Maine just after the Civil War. It's a Christian romance novel with three shorter stories inside with the same characters reappearing. A different main character for each story.

I've read books like this before. Montana is one that comes quickly to mind. I thought I'd enjoy it. I didn't. I'm not really sure why I even finished it. A few things just REALLY bugged me about how this author wrote. It may not be an issue for people who don't live in Maine but it certainly was for me.

The first issue I had - within the first ten pages - was the "accent" she gave the characters. Now granted, they are suppose to be rural folks set back in the 1800's, but I'm almost positive Maine STILL didn't sound like they came from the deep south even then. I know we certainly do not now. I asked hubby to read some random dialogue & then tell me where the book was set - he guessed "somewhere down south." That bugged me. Oh & it was hit or miss at times as well. Sometimes it was there & sometimes it wasn't. There also wasn't a single "Ayuh" in there anywhere & yes, I say it - although half the time I don't realize it. ::grin::

The other minor issue I had that just irked was how the author would say things like, "Yes, my cousin who lives in Portland, Maine" or "Let's go visit to Augusta, Maine." Okay, you know the title says it all doesn't it? The book is set in Maine, do we have to keep saying the state after the town??? Annoying.

As for the story line. I admitted before I like nice easy reads. This one was just a lot of the same old thing over & over again. Boy likes girl. Girl is spoiled rotten & young. Girl misunderstands something boy does. Girl gets mad at boy & breaks off engagement/love interest. Boy wallows in self-pity. Girl gets a talking to & some scripture told to her. Girl & boy make up & all ends "happily ever after." I generally LIKE that sort of story line - for the most part, but all the female characters (except the very young girl in the first story) were just so bad I wanted to slap them!

I felt the story was just thrown together & published under the title Maine in order to go along with all the other similar state books on the market for this publisher. I gave it a 2 in my book rating which says "If you have nothing better to read - doable. " I'm just really happy I didn't buy this one.