This is a fun book but if you worry about punctuations and the use of capitals don't read it. The book is written almost like a journal where as she straightens her life around the capitals and punctuations return. It didn't bother me. I took ggreat joy in reading this wonderful story and travel the road to new and fulfilling things with the character. ( )

Well those terms are a bit strong. She’s not high-powered, at least not enough to keep her job. While she’s in Jamaica her job is eliminated. But she’s pretty well set-up so she doesn’t have to work, at least not right away. So, she goes back to see Winston in Jamaica. With her kid and her niece. Then she decides she’s in love and so does he and she sends him a round trip ticket and he comes up and after a few weeks they supposedly live happily ever after.

It was a bit intensely distraught in between. Stella agonized to no end. I don’t know that I blame her. He was ½ her age. They clicked and they then had to explain everything to everyone and justify everything. I was wondering though, if she’s prepared to handle the stress of having to hold onto him through the coming years. I mean, when she’s 60, he’ll be 40 and will be eminently attractive to women ½ his age. Where will she be then? Maybe I’m too cynical.

Stella can do it all and has it all, except a good man. But her love prospects change for the better during her vacation. This is a good, easy going read; great for the beach or a lazy weekend. ( )

What a disappointment! I must have missed something in all the hype about it when it came out. I knew what the premise of the book was. The disappointment is that there is nothing beyond the premise that I can see.

McMillan writes in a very conversational, run-on sentence way. At first this annoyed me, but as I continued to read, I began to appreciate it. It drew me in and created the familiarity I needed to finish the book

McMillan creates good characters. By the end of the book you feel like you know these people, and generally like them. That's a good thing. My favorite character was Stella's son Quincy. There was no one to hate in this novel.

The books fulfills the requirement that a character must change. Stella has changed quite a bit by the end of the book. The whole book is about her obsessing about whether or not she should be falling for Winston, who's half her age. If you like romances and very light reading, I guess it works. I found it boring.

I take it back. There is a little more to it. McMillan also briefly talks about women taking charge of their lives, giving up the 'role' they've made for themselves for practical reasons. Had she developed this more, it could have been more interesting. But McMillan doesn't really develop this aspect. Stella was an investment analyst and learned from the job and a mentor, and she was very comfortable financially. She could afford time to figure out where her heart was professionally as well as romantically.

The best part of the book for me was when she first arrives in Jamaica (maybe the second day) and is going through the books she took with her, trying to decide what to read. She comments on all of them -- including Terry McMillan's Waiting to Exhale.

On a five point scale I'd give it a three. It's OK, but I didn't find anything to think about, really. ( )

The problem for me is that 75% of the book is her head-noise about whether it’s a good idea to be with Winston or not. My philosophy is do or do not. Test the waters a bit, then go for it or do not. But navel gazing? Hate it. I hate living in my own head. And Stella Payne has some serious ADD thoughts bouncing around her skull. That’s the whole novel.

And that’s not really my thing.

(Full review at my blog) ( )