Official Review: Flirting with Disaster when Love and Nat...

Yoli García · Post by **Yoli García** » 21 Mar 2018, 08:13

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Flirting with Disaster when Love and Nature Collide" by Janet S. Kleinman.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Written by Janet S. Kleinman, Flirting With Disaster: When Love & Nature Collide is a romance novel about finding love during the golden years. Gloria Simon is an attractive and intelligent widow who lives in South Florida. Her husband died a few years ago. She took care of him during the last years of his life while he suffered from Alzheimer's. For that reason, her life has been lacking passion for a long time. Gloria's love life changes when her high school sweetheart, Mickey Green, contacts her. She reminisces fondly about their coming-of-age years. Mickey, however, is married. While having an affair with Mickey, Gloria meets Henri Betencourt, an immigrant who comes from an important political family in Haiti. A disastrous earthquake strikes Haiti, making Gloria go to the Caribbean island to help children in need. Gloria's love life takes another turn when she meets another man, former Senator Lance Carter, while doing humanitarian work in Haiti.

Gloria has to decide which of the three men is best for her future in the mist of a natural disaster and its subsequent turmoil. Who will she pick? Mickey, her high school sweetheart, is married and has a gambling addiction. Henri is an incredible lover with a macho attitude and political aspirations. Lance is a distinguished government official who travels a lot working for the president of the United States.

What I liked the most about this romance novel was that the main character, Gloria, finds love again during her golden years. She finds herself having to choose between three men. Whether they are good or bad for her is beyond the point. The important thing is that Gloria's character shows that love is ageless. I did not identify with Gloria because I am in my thirties. However, I think Flirting With Disaster is a good read for women and men in retirement age.

Another aspect I enjoyed about this book is that Kleinman depicted aptly the culture and history of Haiti, including the catastrophic earthquake that hit the island in 2010. The reader can tell Kleinman did a thorough research about the culture and history of Haiti. Henri Betencourt, Pierre Betencourt, Lucia, and Captain Duval are the characters who bring alive the culture and politics of Haiti. Kleinman also did a sound job in portraying the damage, health crisis, hunger, and political unrest the earthquake caused in Haiti.

What I did not like about this book is that it has several errors. It has typos, grammatical errors, additional words, incorrect use of style, and spacing issues. An example is that paragraphs that should not be italicized are italicized. In addition, I found that characters were referred to by the wrong name a couple of times. For example, Mickey refers to his wife as Joanne, which is a mistake because her name is Judith. These numerous errors were distracting. In short, this book needs another editorial revision.

I rate Flirting With Disaster by Janet S. Kleinman 3 out of 4 stars. I deducted a star because the book has numerous errors, which I mentioned above. Overall, I enjoyed reading this story because a woman in her golden years finds love again. Reading this book was also a learning experience about Haiti. Note that this book has sexual and violent content. I recommend it to those who enjoy reading about romance and other cultures. I also think is a good read for people in their retirement years.

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Flirting with Disaster when Love and Nature Collide
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Post by **Sanju Lali** » 11 Aug 2018, 05:14

Splendid review of this somewhat different story book which give some good insights about the book. Authors nicely shows how time changes circumstances and flow of ones life when one comes across different people at different places.

Sunnyroyish · Post by **Sunnyroyish** » 11 Aug 2018, 11:49

I liked the story. Since I'm not a fan of love stories, I'll pass this one. But you did a very good job with your review. The writing was really good.

Mee_maw · Post by **Mee_maw** » 12 Aug 2018, 01:34

Based on the review, I would love to read this book.

Post by **kandscreeley** » 12 Aug 2018, 17:34

I haven't read many books in Haiti. I would enjoy that setting and learning more about it. It does get on my nerves when the author changes the characters names! Thanks for the review.

Yoli García · Post by **Yoli García** » 13 Aug 2018, 12:40

sanjus wrote: ↑11 Aug 2018, 05:14 Splendid review of this somewhat different story book which give some good insights about the book. Authors nicely shows how time changes circumstances and flow of ones life when one comes across different people at different places.

I thought it was a different kind of story because it is about love during the golden years.

Thanks for stopping by!

Yoli García · Post by **Yoli García** » 13 Aug 2018, 12:44

Sunnyroyish wrote: ↑11 Aug 2018, 11:49 I liked the story. Since I'm not a fan of love stories, I'll pass this one. But you did a very good job with your review. The writing was really good.

Thanks for your kind words!

Sahani Nimandra · Post by **Sahani Nimandra** » 18 Aug 2018, 06:51

Neat review! So she has interests in 3 men? In my opinion, the married guy is out of options (don't want to go to hell by breaking a person's marriage). This leads to the macho guy and the guy running for presidency, I wonder whom did she chose. I don't like macho guys for their attitude, and I don't like guys running for presidency, too much attention. So none of them are for me but I wonder why is Gloria finding it difficult to make a choice?

Post by **bookowlie** » 18 Aug 2018, 09:30

Thanks for a well-written, thorough review! The plot sounds interesting and it's a nice bonus that the author included info about the culture and history of Haiti.

LV2R · Post by **LV2R** » 23 Aug 2018, 21:26

I like to hear that love is ageless. Gloria is in love with three men and has to choose which one is best for her. Hopefully, she chooses wisely. It is interesting that the book includes facts about Haiti, an island which has had its share of disasters.

Espie · Post by **Espie** » 24 Aug 2018, 09:39

Thank you for your honest yet well-backed and insightful review. Its errors and some of its themes may not be what I'd look forward to as well, but you've done the piece ample justice.

Spath · Post by **Spath** » 25 Aug 2018, 02:48

Age is a number that the spirit (heart), is not included in. Growing old does not impact our ability to love. very nice review.

melissy370 · Post by **melissy370** » 25 Aug 2018, 16:18

Wow. Gloria is juggling three men? I am sure this story would appeal to some, but just not for me. The sexual content is not something I would want to read about. Glad you enjoyed it though and thanks for your review.

stacie k · Post by **stacie k** » 25 Aug 2018, 21:44

I would enjoy learning about the culture and history of Haiti. I’m not sure about the trio of love interests, and I would definitely be distracted by the numerous errors. I’m glad to have read your review to make an informed decision about this book. Thanks!

Dolor · Post by **Dolor** » 26 Aug 2018, 09:31

A woman in her golden years finds love again? Yay! You must have the longest hair. (just kidding)

She finds herself having to choose among three men. Wow! Share your secret my dear. (giggles)

Gloria Simon could vouch that love is really ageless!

Thanks for the great review.