What do You think about Paradise County (2001)?
I bought this for merely 25 pesos, and for its price, this surely was a very decent read. I wanted to read some romance and perhaps a bit of a thrill, and apparently Paradise County is the only romantic suspense that I have left. (I do need to start buying new books.)Let's start with the romance. The tension at the beginning was nice, and as a reader, it really made you want to go on reading to see how things would end up. With the way Joe and Alex disliked each other when they first met (or technically, their second meeting), you'd think they wouldn't plausibly have fallen in love with one another anytime soon. But somehow or another they did, and it was interesting to read about the things that happened in between that gap. Indeed, the tension was too thick, especially in that shower scene. Alex's sexual awakening and the way her thoughts went were suspenseful, since it made me curious the entire time whether she'd actually act out on her impulses. The way her desires and thoughts were presented then was quite realistic and forceful, and I really could feel what she was feeling. And, days later, when she actually walked to Joe and kissed him, I was shocked and at the same time impressed with her courage. However, when the two finally began to be aware of each other (primarily after the scene mentioned above), the tension had dropped immensely, and I didn't find the romance between them as interesting as before. This continued until the end of the novel.Now let's move to the suspense. Well, I was disappointed. Apart from the occasional scenes from the killer's point-of-view, there was hardly any thrill at all. I didn't get the sensation that I was seeking--that fingers-ramming-on-the-table and heart-hammering-against-the-chest kind of suspense. Too bad. It was mainly about Alex and her attraction to Joe, her paranoia in Whistledown, and so on. I was thoroughly disappointed that the romance and the suspense wasn't balanced, which should have been the case.The characters? I didn't like Alex most of the time. I think she was a bit dull in the head, especially in times of distress. Neely could be very annoying, definitely not the kind of person I wish I knew. Eli and Josh were too 2-dimensional for my taste, and there was little development on their part. I think I like Joe best.I have a few other comments. It was very predictable when Paul called her that the reason had something to do with their break-up. Or maybe that's just me, but I was able to guess it outright. Oh, and the way the universe just seems to favor Alex? It was plain annoying (as I've said, the break-up; and then the fact that they suddenly had to stay to the country for at least three weeks to develop her chemistry with Joe). I had some trouble with her prose, too. It was too flowery, and I believe Karen Robards could have done a great job eliminating those unnecessary description and adjectives. Which brings me, she has this tendency to spend a very lengthy paragraph just to describe the physical appearance of her characters. Okay. How many times did you think you have to mention about Alex being so gorgeous, beautiful, sexy, and Joe being so "mouthwateringly handsome," and "sex on a stick", before we understood? We got the gist already.But despite that, I think Paradise County is okay because in some instances it got me hooked, and perhaps a bit excited about the romance too. I just thought that the conclusion messed up the whole thing. Sure, it was nice that Neely had a time to prove herself and to showcase her courage, but...the ending could have been better. It was very anti-climactic, especially when the killer just suddenly decided to set his lair on fire and escape (which was pretty stupid for him, too, if he really were as evil and cunning as he appeared to be). Then, in the next chapter, everything was okay. All of a sudden, things were already back in place. I could do with more suspense, I suppose. And the ending was just too abrupt. I was expecting more, I was wishing she'd tie the loose knots in the conclusion, but Karen Robards didn't. Anyway, I think I've been torturing this little paperback way more than I should have, but well, I was just hoping that I would really, really like this one.
—Anne
