QUEEN OF BROKEN HEARTS by Cassandra King
Cassandra King is an author who has commanded respect and attention with her novels THE SUNDAY WIFE and SAME SWEET GIRLS. She is at her best when creating believable characters and intriguing plots. The people who inhabit her stories are so enjoyable and so personable that you wish you could meet them in the flesh. So what happened with QUEEN OF BROKEN HEARTS? All that likeability just flew out the window.
For a male reader, such as myself, the flow of QUEEN OF BROKEN HEARTS is one long diatribe against the male sex. For example, the saintly Claire who is the heroine of the book was once married to Mack. Mack was an alcoholic loser who couldn't face up to the real problems of life and sapped his wife's strength as much as possible.
Or how about Rye, a southern gentleman who has been a playboy all his life and never settled on one woman. He is a good dancer, a good conversationalist, and a good friend - three marks of dullness as far as men are concerned. That is not what they want to be to the women in their lives.
Then there is Lex, another gentleman friend of Claire's. He can't seem to break free of his ex-wife. She calls the shots and reels him back to her side whenever she takes the notion to want him there again. He talks a good game of independence but never follows through.
These are three of the men King creates, and we haven't even discussed the wretched Austin who is such a scoundrel that he abandons his wife and children. Plus he is such a coward that he makes his wife feel it is all her fault. Wow, talk about losers.
Then there are the saintly women. Claire counsels women through the horrors of divorce. She is an earth mother as well as a total giver. She is there for her family and her friends whenever they need her. Plus she is so charming that she can string two men along indefinitely without ever going beyond a platonic relationship.
Or you can use Dory as an example. She is Claire's best friend and confidante. Her marriage has gone bad but she rises above it. She can see the greater good of life and will be independent even if it kills her marriage. She is woman hear her roar.
Women will probably love this book, but in the past King has provided enough dramatic happenings in her plots that men could read her stories and enjoy them too. But not this one. Nothing dramatic happens except the relationships and they are all so one sided that men won't last past the first one hundred pages.
I had been anticipating a good read from Cassandra King so I plunged into this book with high hopes. It didn't exactly break my heart but it did disappoint. Still I will be eagerly awaiting her next story and hoping that it will be more fair and balanced - and interesting.
QUEEN OF BROKEN HEARTS is published by Hyperion. It contains 412 pages and sells for $24.95.