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O Jogo Do Acaso (2010)

by Penny Vincenzi(Favorite Author)

3.66 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Porto Editora

review 1: At first all of the switching characters confused me but eventually it was fine. I really loved some of the characters and would love to see them reunited in another book. I could totally hang with these people in real life. I'd love visiting Mary or grabbing a drink with "Mrs. Farmer" (Abi). :) I will be looking into more books by this author. I totally judge books by their covers and loved the cover my copy had but I couldn't figure out who it was suppose to be? I thought Georgia running away but the girl on the cover was obviously white, so I don't know.
review 2: Well, this book probably deserves better than the two stars I am giving it. I have just smacked into that wall in my life where I can no longer enjoy Chick Lit -- not that I was ever that into it... more. I should probably not even review books of this nature because they basically strike me as weird at this point in the game. I am not a fan of couples who fight constantly and toss out endless drama...but then reconcile over and over and over again only to repeat the same grating pattern ad nauseum. There was a couple like that in this book and I rooted against their relationship strenuously -- only to be disappointed by the inevitable romancey 'love conquers all' trope.So many couples here...being tested after a major car crash outside of London causes havoc in their lives. The description seemed intriguing. Various people are going about their commutes, in various states of dishonesty, stress, and potentially life-altering journeys. Then fate intervenes in the form of this pile up. People die. Others survive, but their lives are forever altered. If the book hadn't then quickly descended into Harlequin Paperback stuff, I think it would have held my interest much more. I wanted more restrained unfoldings of everyday lives and less about everyone getting the Love Connection. I didn't end up with the book I wanted to read and I can't blame the author for that.On the other hand, I disliked most of the characters and really felt like they deserved one another. In real life, not many of these relationships would stand a chance of making it beyond college. The usual romance novel fantasy that argumentative couples who fight a lot are 'passionate' and that good sex is all you need is just not as appealing when the reader is a worn out 40-something who has enough stress on her plate already. I adored Jane Eyre's Heathcliff as an 8th grader and I fell madly in love with Rebecca's Maxim De Winter at about the same time. But I swear to god that if I was married to one of those brooding prima donnas at the moment I would pop an artery. I love my husband because he is calm and easy to live with. He doesn't jump on every word I say and give me hassle. He has known me for twenty two years and deals well with me when I am passed out in front of the TV in my 10 year old sweat pants. The past two years have sucked for me and he has taken that 'for worse' part of our marriage vows in stride. At the threshold of fifty, THAT, my friends and fellow readers is ROMANCE.To be fair, there are story lines in The Best of Times that deal with long postponement of romance (the elderly couple who re-acquaint with one another some 60 years after a brief WWII affair) and there are a few married couples in mid life who are tested in one way or another. But it all felt like a soap opera. And, although my viewing has devolved into the least challenging TV imaginable (acres of bro-comedies and ME TV re-runs from my childhood) -- I guess I am past the period in my life when I can get much escapist entertainment out of romance-driven fiction. I would urge readers to refer to other reviewers here who are not as meh about this genre as I have apparently become. less

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