Vanessa L. (VanessaL) reviewed on 4/21/2015 + 26 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 3

I have to confess that I almost abandoned this book a few times, but stuck with it because of the stellar critical and popular reviews. I was bored to tears until about two-thirds of the way through. At one point, to try to pique my interest, I looked up Margaret Mead, whom the central character, Nell Stone, is based on. That only made things worse. I could not picture Margaret Mead at the center of a steamy (literally -- it's set in the tropics!) love triangle. Although I was impressed from page 1 by the stellar, painfully realistic character development, I didn't like any of the three characters enough to care. However, after struggling through more than half the book, Nell and Bankson finally started to grow on me and Fen became so unlikable that I could finally engage. By the last third, the book became a page turner with some plot twists that were plausible but completely unexpected. I stayed up late last night to finish it and after sleeping on it, I give it a very solid 4 stars. I'm glad I hung in!

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