Reviewer: Holly Compromising Positions by Dara Edmondson
Publisher: Triskelion Publishing, The Wild Rose Press
Publication Date: February 1st 2007
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Meet Crystal, Patsy and Maureen - three friends in their forties trying to run the obstacle course of mid-life.
Crystal thinks she has the perfect marriage until she starts fantasizing about a handsome coworker. But when she suspects her husband is having more than fantasies about another woman, she digs in her heels and fights for what's hers.
Patsy discovers her Neanderthal husband Bud having sex with his bowling buddy and wearing women's underwear. When Bud tries to take more than his fair share in the divorce, Patsy sets out to humiliate him into submission.
Maureen has enough trouble trying to survive life with her rebellious tennaged daughter Rhianna. When she starts dating the teacher Rhianna has a secret crush on, the fur flies.
This review was originally posted at Sanctuary’s Finest, our old book blog. Since today is the digital release date, I decided to unearth it and re-post it here. I didn’t do a full re-read, but skimmed through my copy, and felt pretty much exactly the same way about it after just shy of a year since it’s original release. Oh, and I really like the new cover!
I truly enjoyed watching these three women struggle and grow through everyday life. The characters were believable and winning, and had me rooting for them right from the beginning. When I first started reading, I was dismayed to realize the women were all in their 40’s. Not that I have anything against older woman in romance novels, but it’s not my preferred reading choice. Before long, however, I was wrapped up in the story and anxious to see how it ended.
Compromising Positions is engaging and heartwarming. I found myself emotionally invested in Crystal’s marriage, Patsy’s fight for her self-confidence and Maureen’s struggle to connect with her daughter. To be honest, I was sorry it ended. I wanted just a bit more from each story, just a bit longer with each character. That doesn’t happen often to me these days, so it’s something for DE to be proud of.
There was quite a bit of humor wrapped up in the story as well. I found myself laughing out loud more than once. And though I realize it was devastating for Patsy, the image I had in my head of her husband in a peach teddy with his best friend in front of him will have me snickering for a week. Not that it was funny at the time, but looking back on it….you get what I mean.
Though the story itself turned out to be good, and I found myself enjoying it, there were times when I was pulled out of it, because something seemed off. I’m not sure if it was the writing style, or the pacing itself, but I had a hard time focusing on it, especially in the beginning.
There were a few other things that bothered me, but they’re of a more personal nature. For example, the characters had a habit of saying, “Alright? Okay.” Who does that? No one says, “Alright? Okay.” Without waiting for a response from the other party. Unless their confirming something, which wasn’t the case. And Maureen’s nickname was Mo, something else I didn’t like. But again, these are personal issues and not a reflection of the story. Just my personal pet peeves.
Overall, I enjoyed the characters and storyline very much. I’ll definitely be looking for more work from DE in the future.
3.75 out of 5 (mostly for the pacing)
You can buy it here in eBook format for the Kindle.
That “Alright? Okay.” thing is sort of funny. I bet you the author herself says that, though.
This was a fun review. It sounds like a really character-rich book.