If this book is 'historical fiction' then I am the love child of Ernest Hemingway and Doris Kearns Goodwin. This book was really, really bad on almost every level. The characters were cookie-cutter in the extreme, the writing was grade school level, the dialogue was stilted and the plot (?) was goofy enough to make even the most ardent soap opera fan blush with embarrassment. This was only my second free-Kindle book so I felt obliged to see it through to the end. I kept waiting for it to get better as I went along, and it in fact did improve in spots ( I thought the 'birth' section was surprisingly well-written ) but not enough to salvage the story. The book had nothing of the feel of the Great Depression about it. I am amazed at some of the glowing reviews this book received in Goodreads, which is why I took a chance on it to begin with. Next time I try a free Kindle book I will remember this experience, and if I'm not impressed after 50 pages or so, I'll just move on. I thoroughly enjoyed this well-developed story of three couples devastated by the stock market crash and struggling to restore normalcy to their lives. I found their plot lines to be very realistic, given the extreme effect of the economic collapse. While the story sometimes reads like a soap opera, the situation in which these couples find themselves is one likely experienced by many real couples as a result of the crash; their reactions are completely understandable.Some readers may feel that the additional personal tragedies in the story are contrived. However, these plot points are indicative of real life, which went on as it would have, even if the main characters had not gone through their financial losses. The six main characters are, for the most part, very likeable. The men are childhood friends who have worked together as adults. Their wives are all very distinct personalities that somehow manage to get along. Having been accustomed to their lavish lifestyle, their struggles to adapt to the new economic reality are understandable. Even spoiled Arianna becomes a likeable character long before the end of the book.All in all, this is a good read for fans of historical fiction!
What do You think about Jonathan's Cross (2011)?
Great story of about lasting friendships. 3 men, boyhood friends ride out the crash of 1929.
—Alice
Exciting story of three couples who lose everything in the crash of '29. It really grabs you.
—blahblahblah
Good story with great characters. Can't wait to read the rest of the series.
—Hebah
