Precious and Fragile Things [Paperback]

Obviously every reviewer has their own set of criteria for rating a book. When I go into one that I know I'm going to review, there are two things I always measure that get factored in and the rest are subjective from there. The two constants though are the technical quality of writing and whether or not the author made me care at all about the characters. I want good writing and I want to either be in love or ticked off. Well, I got both with Precious and Fragile Things, along with a book I wanted to forget as soon as I was done.

Gilly Solomon is ripe for an emotional breakdown. With two young children needing every scrap of attention her clueless, absent husband doesn't and a household falling down around her ears, she's been reduced to locking herself in her closet and screaming into her clothes sometimes. When she's kidnapped at knifepoint at an ATM one night, her initial terror turns to a strange calm. It doesn't take her long to realize she's actually welcoming the peace and quiet and when given the chance to escape, makes a deliberate choice not to. It isn't until she's actually at the cabin where she's to be held that she starts thinking about all the bad choices she's made.

Todd hadn't ever intended to take Gilly, just her truck. He deliberately gave her the chance to escape, but now that she's with him he has no idea how he's going to be able to end their situation. He's been to prison and he'll do anything to avoid going back, including killing her. As the winter progresses though, he tries to befriend Gilly, who sees building any relationship with Todd as an acceptance of what he did. He eventually reveals a horrible past, one that stirs an uneasy mothering instinct in Gilly and leads to a sort of quasi-truce for a very brief time.

I should get out of the way first that I'm a mom. I understand perfectly well a lot of what Gilly was thinking in the beginning of the book; in a lot of ways, it's kind of a universal truth among moms at some point that you'd like to take the proverbial day at the hotel while the kids go to Disneyland without you. I also understood that Gilly had serious hatred for Todd. Where she alienated me was with her incessant internal monologue where she thought of herself as the ultimate martyr, coupled with her actions with Todd, where she was the professional victim. She lost me when she deliberately hurt herself rather than accept any common courtesy from him. She was depressed about not being able to go home, so she stripped out of all the clothes he'd given her and walked into the snow in just the underwear she owned. Those are hardly the actions of a woman wanting to get home to her children, no matter what her mental state. She was utterly unlikable.

I don't even know what I felt for Todd because he was such a slippery character. By turns hardened would-be killer, pitiful and hurt child, exuberant young man and angry captor, he was as inconsistent as Gilly was predictable.

This is a disturbing book. It tackles subjects that aren't always pretty and that can't be resolved in simple, tidy ways. Beyond my issues with the characters and without giving any specific spoilers, the back chapters of this story went beyond implausibility and made me feel duped that I'd even cared about what happened to these two. It's no joke that I had to read something else right away to take the taste of this out of my head.

The reason for my rating of three? Because of those two things I mentioned in my first paragraph: Hart has impeccable writing skills and I actually had feelings for Todd and Gilly. They may not have been good feelings, but the writing was strong enough that I knew who they were and how I felt about them.

Favorite Quote:" Count to ten. Bite your tongue. Keep yourself together, Gilly. Don't lose it.

Don't lose it."

Gilly Soloman is a stay at home mom of two small children who spends her days and nights catering to her family's needs while ignoring her own. Gilly is headed for an overload and wishes for a small break from her life. When she is carjacked, Gilly gives into her wish. But rather then a day or two of peace, she is snowbound with her kidnapper for 3 months with no way out. As Gilly begins to bond with her kidnapper, she never lets herself forget that he is teetering on the edge and one wrong move could destroy them both.

Precious And Fragile Things is a different look for Ms. Hart. An accomplished erotica writer, I have enjoyed her books many, many times but she does a 180 with this novel. No romance. No sex. Just two strangers who are thrown together by chance and now must try and survive. Even though it is completely different from her usual offerings, Ms. Hart's signature style is stamped through out it.

This was difficult for me to read because it forces you to acknowledge not only the mental and physical pain of these characters but also the decisions they have made. It also asks you some difficult questions about yourself. It stayed with me long after I finished as I tried to sort out my feelings about it. Ms. Hart brings to the forefront two sensitive subjects. She doesn't offer excuses nor sensationalize them. It is what it is. Strong characterization and smooth yet forceful writing captures your attention and holds you as much a hostage as our protagonists.

I'm not sure if I liked Gilly and Todd. These two flawed individuals don't necessarily endear themselves to you. At times I felt like I was watching them through a window. A disconnected spectator held spell bound by the unfolding drama. Yet, it works because Ms. Hart doesn't write about the dreamy larger than life hero or heroine. She doesn't promise us a happy ending or even an acceptable one. She writes about ordinary people's lives and fillets them open for us with the skill of a surgeon.

As you sit in that snowbound cabin with Todd and Gilly, you are on an emotional roller coaster as their lives are further exposed and you begin to see a faint connection being forged. Even though their current situations are quite different, there is a spark of similarity between them that is further empathized as the story progresses. I appreciated how neither character was sacrificed for the other. This wasn't just Gilly's story or Todd's story. It's their story.

The ending had me letting out my breath slowly as I read the last sentence and tried to absorb all that had happened. I will say I wish Ms. Hart would have left off the epilogue. It felt out of place and rather trite after the impacting finale.

All in all I found this book to be a gripping, suspenseful, and thought provoking novel that questions and examines the precious and fragile things in our lives.

Rating: B

(Lest someone think I'm trying to hide this - up front, Megan Hart is my BFF and my crit partner. This does not preclude me from an honest opinion of this amazing book)

In Megan Hart's first MIRA title, she sets the bar high with Precious and Fragile things. First things first - this is NOT a romance. If you're looking for a romance or hot sex you won't find them here.

What you will find is a gut punch of emotion from the first page until you're done. This book is incredibly emotionally taut and intense. The focus is intense and unrelenting. She's stripped both characters down and put them in an isolated, snowed in cabin and then sets about revealing them both in an unflinching manner.

This book grabbed me and never let me go. Hart's writing is, as usual, masterful and yet delicate and subtle when others would use a cudgel. At the same time, this story is dark and jagged. Grim in parts, as such a situation would be.

In the end, I can only come back to my awe at the way this story holds the reader's attention very close to many of the parts of ourselves we may not want to accept or acknowledge. But they're there and it takes guts to make people not only look, but to walk away feeling like those hours she's spent reading have been worth every moment.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 27 reviews  3.5 out of 5 stars