Zane's The Other Side Of The Pillow (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
I wavered between giving this a 2 or a 3, but had to go with the lower rating. There was just too much scoffing and eye rolling happening as I was reading. And anytime I find myself editing rather than just enjoying the story is a bad sign. Don't get me wrong. Somewhere in there is a good story, it's just mired by unnecessary and mundane details that didn't develop character or plot, and so much telling rather than showing that it read like a how-to, after school special rather than a novel. Seriously, I think your target audience knows who Joe Clarke is. Ironic, considering the notes at the end that said it ended up being a fictionalized tutorial rather than nonfiction. If you have to spell out that Jemistry has daddy issues rather than let the character's actions show it, that's a problem. This might've worked better as nonfiction. Much of the storytelling was disjointed. One example that comes to mind is when Jemistry (God awful name) and Tevin were supposed to talk about his patient that died, but Jemistry ended up going on about her job. And that happened over and over again. I expected a big blow up with Tevin and Floyd after Floyd's dirt was revealed and again, got pages of exposition that had nothing or little to do with the confrontation. There were so many soapbox preaching moments that I wasn't sure if this book was about Jemistry and Tevin or commentary on current events. By the way, no real educator would ever say the thing about teachers having shorter hours and summers off, because they know that's not true in anyway. Having been a teacher myself, I was offended. To be a little nit-picky, what's with the name dropping of year/make/model of cars? Unless you're showing us how the character went from rags to riches, it's again superfluous details. He pulled into a parking space - did I really need to know the color and type of Mercedes he drove? What was the point? It's like people that go into Coach, Prada, Michael Kors, etc. and buy the handbags with the logo monogrammed all over it instead of the higher quality leather bags; it's all for show.So, Zane is the queen of erotica? This was the least erotic book I've read. Ok, maybe not as bad as Fifty Shades. All that vulgar language, but most of the sex scenes were again exposition or just fade to black. Throwing out dirty language does not erotica make. And seriously? Abigail? Brown pudding? That's just gross and unsexy all the way around. I really did like this book in about the first half until it got to Tevin. I couldn't even finish it. Don't get me wrong, I liked Tevin and Jemistry, but it was just how they were talking and how the author wrote the dialogue for the book. To me, It was just too cheesy and cliche' and the way they were talking before and after the sex were unrealistic dialogue and I did not like that at all. I understand they are older, in there 30's, but I still thought that the dialogue could have been more modern talk. Besides that,the plot was good and the story was great, The dialogue was just not my taste.
What do You think about Zane's The Other Side Of The Pillow (2014)?
I love Zane. She can do no wrong in my Eyes. I can't wait for the next read by her. Loved it!
—jizzyj
I like the fact that it was a true love story and not alot of drama.
—naami
