Paula Wall, The Rock Orchard and The Wilde Women
May 6, 2008
Paula Wall
The Wilde Women
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Trade
Pub. Date: April 2008
ISBN-13: 9780743496247
The Rock Orchard
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
Pub. Date: June 2007
ISBN-13: 9780641834882
The publisher was kind enough to send me Paula's newest book, The Wilde Women, and her 2007 book, The Rock Orchard. I thought I would combine them into one review for an overall feel of how Paula writes.
The Belle women and the Wilde women.............. these are some loosely moralled, seductive, hard headed, "full throttle ahead" women.
Both of the these books are set in small Tennessee towns, one during WWII and the other during the Depression.
I will admit that I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy these books at first as I garnered the impression that they were along the lines of "hard romance books" if you know what I mean. I thought there would be a lot of sex and not much else.
I was very pleased to realize a chapter or two into the books that I was wrong. While these books are not shy about sexual matters, there actually are no chapter-long sex scenes that take away from the story. The books each center around a family of women, but so many of the town's residents come into the story in a fully fleshed out manner that these books turn into a community story, not just a family. As you near the end of each of the stories you want to know what happens to everyone, not just the love interests.
The characters are all fully described and investigated, no one is left as a 2 dimensional character. There is a full selection of identities: rich, poor, crazy, mean, happy, horny... you name it! All "real" characters.
I was happily surprised when I found myself invested in each storyline and eager to see how the book ended.
I can definitely recommend Paula's books.
