I didn't really like this book. I didn't even finish. I got about 100 pages in before I stopped reading and I thought about stopping earlier a couple of times but was going to give myself time till when they finally met.I found the book was slow moving. McKenzie and Zach only met 100 pages into the book and there wasn't a whole lot happening in the pages leading up to it. It was mainly just flashbacks and having them worry about sending letters to each other. Their correspondence was written in a lot more detail than events. I think the flashbacks were supposed to make me get to know the characters better but I found they detracted from the story and made the story move along even slower.Some things I wanted to know how they played out were only referred to in passing and other things I didn't care to know about were drawn out. I found there were also POV errors and made me question which character was the POV character in the section. I also thought there was a lot of telling and not very much showing in the book. I'm a fairly new novelist and have researched writing novels and they often talk about showing rather than telling. I could see the evidence of too much telling in this book as they made me kind of stand-offish as information was just dumped into the story and didn't really add anything or could have been shown through dialogue and actions. I do enjoy mail order bride stories, and while the main concept and story of the book was good, I found the dialogue a bit campy and much of the thoughts and feelings (of McKenzie in particular) way overwritten. I also thought there was too much backstory with the supporting characters. The worst little bit? Davey not knowing what a BALL was. Really? The best: Asa and Zach's conversations. Those were solid, and Asa reminds me of a few wise, wisecracking guys I know.Summary: A good read, but I've read better.
Do You like book McKenzie (2010)?
good book; of course the author gives a little teaser at the end so you will want to read book 2;
—jim
Enjoyed the book very much, could get boring at times. Overall a good read.
—Morganna
