Official Review: Sweet Poisoned Wine by Edita A. Petrick
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SharisseEM
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Official Review: Sweet Poisoned Wine by Edita A. Petrick
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Sweet Poisoned Wine" by Edita A. Petrick.]
1 out of 4 stars
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Kathryn “Kate” Quinn hadn’t exactly thought things through when she decided she needed to flee her abusive husband at four on Christmas morning. All she knew was she and her six-year old daughter, Austin, needed to get as far away from his reach as possible after overhearing that her husband and his lover were planning on murder and betraying their country. Sneaking to the car through the servant’s wing with her daughter in tow, Kate drove for hours with nowhere in mind, only ever stopping for gas and food once. It’s only when her eyelids tell her that she needs sleep that she realizes it. But by then, it’s a little too late since she’s on an empty highway. Predictably enough, Kate crashes the car. Good news is that there’s help and Kate is brought to a winery to be treated because it was closest with the nearest village being five miles away. Oh, and a blast from the past returns in the form of Ryan Cooper who, as it turns out, owns the winery. What are the odds, huh? Sweet Poisoned Wine is a romance by Edita A. Petrick. Warning: This book contains descriptive but non-graphic physical and sexual abuse, and adultery.
Ryan Cooper was a football star and the love of Kate’s life. Being with him was the best time of her life until it was all taken away from her and she was forcibly married to Duncan Clarke. All she has left is her daughter, Austin. Enduring the numerous affairs her husband had and the abuse he dealt her, Kate is unable to leave for fear of being committed to a sanatorium and leaving Austin in his clutches. This was how her father tried to control her mother up until the latter decided to take Kate and her brother away. A car accident killed her mother and brother but left Kate with survivor’s guilt, which is deepened due to her father believing the accident took the wrong child. Considering how much Kate’s life and her mother’s parallel each other, one would think she would have been more cautious of getting into a car accident but hey, at least she and Austin survive. Unbelievably enough, even though Kate should have been a little more timid after the abuse from her father and then her husband, she easily insulted and mocked her husband without a second thought or a hint of fear. That's definitely not how an abuse victim is supposed to act. I would know. I have years of experience under my belt thanks to my educators: Criminal Minds, Law & Order Special Victims Unit, CSI and plenty more.
Also, the relationship between Ryan and Kate was difficult to read and liking them as individuals was even harder. Their relationship is full of misunderstandings and lies. One moment they’re ignoring each other and the next, they’re kissing and soon enough, they’re sharing the same bed? Like what is this? The Twilight Zone? I mean, I'm staring at it and wondering what in the world just happened? I certainly didn’t feel that spark of attraction between them. They just go back and forth between arguing and making up but do not grow as characters or as a couple. Both characters seemed rather immature to me when they constantly jump to assume things based on what the other says and are in constant need of advice and guidance from secondary characters. I couldn’t help but find Ryan to be a weak hero and Kate to be completely immature. An example of the heroine’s immaturity is how she refuses to listen to advice especially from her confidant, Clothilde, who said her actions would frighten Austin but did Kate care? No! Definitely not in the running for the “Mother of the Year” award.
So many scenes had set the stage for great and impactful subplots but it turned out to be a letdown. I felt like Petrick couldn’t bear having her characters suffer for prolonged periods. Yes, Kate suffered under her father and then her husband but we were simply told how she suffered. We weren’t shown. Conflicts were resolved quickly and rather easily. In fact, the reason behind most of the conflicts between Ryan and Kate seemed overly petty to me. Such issues could be resolved within two pages or maybe three, if both characters bothered to communicate about it. Misunderstandings and assumptions play a heavy part in many, if not all the conflicts. And as for the reason why Kate decided to run away that day? Well, it started with some grand scheme that actually piqued my interest but then fell short after it was easily resolved without much of an issue. It went from mass murder to wondering whose marriage is legal. It's like the Blacklist meets Gossip Girl and not in a good way.
Now, it’s great if characters keep secrets from each other because each reveal fuels the plot and helps characters to grow but Ryan deceived and betrayed her in a way that I find was unforgivable for a romance novel. Not because of what he did but why he did and for what reason. No matter how Petrick tries to reason with the readers that what Ryan did was something forgivable, I just can’t see how it is. Okay, so refusal could have cost him his life but accepting it and making a future out of it while Kate suffered is just not appealing to me.
The secondary characters seemed to steal the limelight and are far stronger and more mature than the hero and heroine. They are the ones fighting for them. In fact, it is a secondary character who has to point things out for the heroine to realize it. And when things get closer to the end of the major conflict, where is the hero? Non-existent apparently. Oddly enough, it is another secondary character who resolves the conflict.
Also, this book is in need of editing. Paragraphs and dialogue are far too long for a novel. Punctuation is missing, although I’m not one to say since it’s one of my weaknesses. The jump in timelines made it rather confusing in the beginning. I can’t help but feel as though the characters are telling me the entire story instead of allowing me to read it for myself. Plenty of telling, hardly any showing.
I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. As someone who enjoys reading romance novels of all genres and time periods, I can appreciate the different conflicts present in this book although how it came about and quickly it was resolved wasn’t appealing. This book had the potential to become something interesting had the author not so easily resolved the issue of Duncan planning to betray his country. My main struggle with this book is the chemistry between Ryan and Kate. One moment Kate is trying to stay away from Ryan mostly due to a misunderstanding and the next, she’s jumping into his arms and kissing him. Both Kate and Ryan’s personalities are just inconsistent throughout the book. Kate is depicted as an abuse victim but how she acts and behaves don’t show that at all especially not when she’s able to backtalk her abuser with a mocking tone…at the beginning. She didn’t even need to grow as a character to do that. And Ryan felt like a weak background character who is just hiding in his winery while Kate has her showdown with Duncan. There were just so many things missing in this book and I couldn’t connect with anything or anyone. And having the main characters take a backseat while the secondary characters steal the show? That’s just a huge no.
******
Sweet Poisoned Wine
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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1 out of 4 stars
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Kathryn “Kate” Quinn hadn’t exactly thought things through when she decided she needed to flee her abusive husband at four on Christmas morning. All she knew was she and her six-year old daughter, Austin, needed to get as far away from his reach as possible after overhearing that her husband and his lover were planning on murder and betraying their country. Sneaking to the car through the servant’s wing with her daughter in tow, Kate drove for hours with nowhere in mind, only ever stopping for gas and food once. It’s only when her eyelids tell her that she needs sleep that she realizes it. But by then, it’s a little too late since she’s on an empty highway. Predictably enough, Kate crashes the car. Good news is that there’s help and Kate is brought to a winery to be treated because it was closest with the nearest village being five miles away. Oh, and a blast from the past returns in the form of Ryan Cooper who, as it turns out, owns the winery. What are the odds, huh? Sweet Poisoned Wine is a romance by Edita A. Petrick. Warning: This book contains descriptive but non-graphic physical and sexual abuse, and adultery.
Ryan Cooper was a football star and the love of Kate’s life. Being with him was the best time of her life until it was all taken away from her and she was forcibly married to Duncan Clarke. All she has left is her daughter, Austin. Enduring the numerous affairs her husband had and the abuse he dealt her, Kate is unable to leave for fear of being committed to a sanatorium and leaving Austin in his clutches. This was how her father tried to control her mother up until the latter decided to take Kate and her brother away. A car accident killed her mother and brother but left Kate with survivor’s guilt, which is deepened due to her father believing the accident took the wrong child. Considering how much Kate’s life and her mother’s parallel each other, one would think she would have been more cautious of getting into a car accident but hey, at least she and Austin survive. Unbelievably enough, even though Kate should have been a little more timid after the abuse from her father and then her husband, she easily insulted and mocked her husband without a second thought or a hint of fear. That's definitely not how an abuse victim is supposed to act. I would know. I have years of experience under my belt thanks to my educators: Criminal Minds, Law & Order Special Victims Unit, CSI and plenty more.
Also, the relationship between Ryan and Kate was difficult to read and liking them as individuals was even harder. Their relationship is full of misunderstandings and lies. One moment they’re ignoring each other and the next, they’re kissing and soon enough, they’re sharing the same bed? Like what is this? The Twilight Zone? I mean, I'm staring at it and wondering what in the world just happened? I certainly didn’t feel that spark of attraction between them. They just go back and forth between arguing and making up but do not grow as characters or as a couple. Both characters seemed rather immature to me when they constantly jump to assume things based on what the other says and are in constant need of advice and guidance from secondary characters. I couldn’t help but find Ryan to be a weak hero and Kate to be completely immature. An example of the heroine’s immaturity is how she refuses to listen to advice especially from her confidant, Clothilde, who said her actions would frighten Austin but did Kate care? No! Definitely not in the running for the “Mother of the Year” award.
So many scenes had set the stage for great and impactful subplots but it turned out to be a letdown. I felt like Petrick couldn’t bear having her characters suffer for prolonged periods. Yes, Kate suffered under her father and then her husband but we were simply told how she suffered. We weren’t shown. Conflicts were resolved quickly and rather easily. In fact, the reason behind most of the conflicts between Ryan and Kate seemed overly petty to me. Such issues could be resolved within two pages or maybe three, if both characters bothered to communicate about it. Misunderstandings and assumptions play a heavy part in many, if not all the conflicts. And as for the reason why Kate decided to run away that day? Well, it started with some grand scheme that actually piqued my interest but then fell short after it was easily resolved without much of an issue. It went from mass murder to wondering whose marriage is legal. It's like the Blacklist meets Gossip Girl and not in a good way.
Now, it’s great if characters keep secrets from each other because each reveal fuels the plot and helps characters to grow but Ryan deceived and betrayed her in a way that I find was unforgivable for a romance novel. Not because of what he did but why he did and for what reason. No matter how Petrick tries to reason with the readers that what Ryan did was something forgivable, I just can’t see how it is. Okay, so refusal could have cost him his life but accepting it and making a future out of it while Kate suffered is just not appealing to me.
The secondary characters seemed to steal the limelight and are far stronger and more mature than the hero and heroine. They are the ones fighting for them. In fact, it is a secondary character who has to point things out for the heroine to realize it. And when things get closer to the end of the major conflict, where is the hero? Non-existent apparently. Oddly enough, it is another secondary character who resolves the conflict.
Also, this book is in need of editing. Paragraphs and dialogue are far too long for a novel. Punctuation is missing, although I’m not one to say since it’s one of my weaknesses. The jump in timelines made it rather confusing in the beginning. I can’t help but feel as though the characters are telling me the entire story instead of allowing me to read it for myself. Plenty of telling, hardly any showing.
I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. As someone who enjoys reading romance novels of all genres and time periods, I can appreciate the different conflicts present in this book although how it came about and quickly it was resolved wasn’t appealing. This book had the potential to become something interesting had the author not so easily resolved the issue of Duncan planning to betray his country. My main struggle with this book is the chemistry between Ryan and Kate. One moment Kate is trying to stay away from Ryan mostly due to a misunderstanding and the next, she’s jumping into his arms and kissing him. Both Kate and Ryan’s personalities are just inconsistent throughout the book. Kate is depicted as an abuse victim but how she acts and behaves don’t show that at all especially not when she’s able to backtalk her abuser with a mocking tone…at the beginning. She didn’t even need to grow as a character to do that. And Ryan felt like a weak background character who is just hiding in his winery while Kate has her showdown with Duncan. There were just so many things missing in this book and I couldn’t connect with anything or anyone. And having the main characters take a backseat while the secondary characters steal the show? That’s just a huge no.
******
Sweet Poisoned Wine
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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