Seriously? Right down to the brooding, dark, steely millionaire who always gets his way, and the bookish, but still tingle-producing, blonde book expert. I used to enjoy my grandmother's harlequin romances, but after the age of oh, twelve, the same old story line is so tired that I felt my heart sink the second I was introduced to the down-to-earth yet beautiful and genuine heroine. The old saying "never judge a book by its cover" applies - the look and feel of the book is beautiful and seductive. The liberties it takes with Vita, Virginia, and Leonard, offensive. A good plot would have excused the slander, but not this one. Just insulting. Would get one star, but it did get me online searching the White Garden and Charleston, so I'll give it two.

Ok, I'm one of those "rabid King fans" mentioned in a previous review. I had a hell of a time NOT buying this when I saw it in the bookstore, sure that it would be a Christmas gift, as King's newest always is, from my brother. And then I burned through the first 800 pages, gorging on Christmas chocolates AND Stephen King. Let's face it - he knows what he's doing. There were no slow spots (in a 1000-plus page book? Yes, really!) But it was all...familiar. The characters, the bad guys, the kids. Anyone remember the author in Bag of Bones? How he wrote more than a book a year sometimes, saved up the extras and then doled them out when he ran dry? Hm.

And while I saw (and loved) the environmental and political parallels (and for that reason sped through the book to find out if they can be saved - what's the magic potion? What do we need to do, to save ourselves from our larger, but sadly similar dome?) I felt a bit like Annie Wilkes in Misery: cheated. The ending was well, kinda phoned in. Sorry Steve - you're still the King in my book-reader's heart - the decent thing for me to do now is to write the rave reviews for all your books that are fantastic. And there are many, many of those. I'm going to go read one now.

Like many others, I was very eager to read this book. Had I known that Oprah had endorsed it, I would have probably waited to borrow it, or at least wait for the paperback.

I thought it had all the ingredients of a great book for me - I share my life with two dogs, close as family, I enjoy descriptive 'epic' novels, I don't necessarily require a happy ending. What a disappointment.

I agree with other reviewers who have commented on the uneven pace: going from lengthy, almost pointless descriptions to rushing through the last 40 pages. I had unrequited interest in the beginning plot line - never explored. The whole relationship with Henry - never fleshed out into anything believable. Trudy's struggle against the black seed of depresson - disheartening. Glen the policeman's rapid fall to questionable tactics - disappointing.

However, the absolute worst part of this entire novel, which I often read while walking with my dogs, was the incorrect reporting on dog nature and training. How can you on one hand, strive to create a superior, interactive breed, and then pen them up daily, in runs? How can you insist that these dogs are far more intelligent than the average dog, what with their 'shared gaze' techniques, but still turn on their owners? Even while breaking up a dog fight between a pit bull and my 190 lb Great Dane, I have NEVER been bitten by my own dogs. I've set broken limbs, pulled porcupine quills from my 100 lb shepherd's mouth, without restraint or fear of being bitten. The characters never embrace the pack mentality, nor mention being the alpha dog in the kennel, really getting inside a dog's head. Where's the shared intelligence? Where's the shared love, trust, respect, and ultimate discipline they keep attributing to the Sawtelle dogs? They sound unruly, aggressive and constantly on the verge of disobedience. And they never, ever seem too eager to protect Edgar (with the one exception of Almondine). They seem clueless in even recognizing any threats. My dogs are extremely well-behaved, but still independent and original. They are also very protective, without ever being agressive. They recognize a real threat from an imagined one. They can be relaxed and yet attuned to the slightest change in the emotional atmosphere. I don't understand how this book can be recommended for dog lovers - so many things ring false to a true dog owner.

I fell for the enthusiastic rave from Stephen King, who mentioned feeling down about finishing the book, knowing another like it would be a long time coming. I have experienced that feeling - when reading anything by John Irving, Tom Robbins, and indeed, Stephen King. Sad for me, to realize that my favourite writer is not my favourite book reviewer. As for me and my dogs, we shall stroll through the fields, and re-read A Prayer For Oweny Meany, and continue to wait for the next book that makes me laugh, or cry, out loud. This was no such book.