Spin Review
Okay, so I’m trying really hard not to pick apart a recent review of Living the Vida Lola [after all, it’s a review, right? And not a bad one at that.] while simultaneously picking it apart. [See review below]
Here are the top ten things this review boils down to:
10. “Hormonally supercharged” is a good thing in a romance.
9. The plot is original, even if there’s “too little mystery”. Come on, death by tattoo?
8. It’s a mystery / romance, so “too little mystery” is okay!
7. Life in a romance doesn’t stop just because a crime’s being solved. Of course Lola’s fantasies about Jack persist!
6. “Lola’s car is bashed. She’s locked in a florist’s refrigerator. Her brother, mistaken for her, winds up in the hospital.” Sounds action-packed to me.
5. Reviewers don’t give spoiler warnings. Oh well, still wanna find out how the car’s bashed, why she’s locked in a flower fridge, and how anyone can mistake a hot Latino hunk for a smart, sassy Latina PI.
4. Lola’s a black belt in kung fu. How can that not be mentioned?!
3. She sticks by her family through everything. That’s admirable, baby!
2. Lola “attacks a killer with a borrowed baseball bat “. Can you say resourceful?
And the number one thing this review boils down to…
1. Romance Readers, bless ‘em, LOVE that “icky love stuff” and Living the Vida Lola is HALF romance!!!! […and it’s just “love stuff” really, no ick involved]
So, while I would have preferred a slightly better review, I’m happy with this one because, while the reviewer seemed to miss the point that it is half mystery / half romance, he or she took the time to read it, review it, and praised the “speed dating pace and lots of nice underwear”. Nothing to complain about there!
Kirkus Reviews“A hormonally supercharged private eye seeks a lost mom while lusting after the man of her dreams. Lola Cruz is thrilled. Her boss Manny, owner of Camacho and Associates, is finally letting her solve a case. Emily Diggs’s brother wants to know where she is and why she’s disappeared, abandoning her six-year-old. Tucked into the missing woman’s journal is a business card from Jack Callaghan, whom Lola’s panted over for years. In between entertaining overheated fantasies of Jack, Lola learns that Emily thought her older son Garrett died from tainted tattooing, that her daughter Allison worked at the tattoo parlor he frequented and that little Sean was the result of a failed interracial romance. Lola’s car is bashed. She’s locked in a florist’s refrigerator. Her brother, mistaken for her, winds up in the hospital. But still those fantasies about Jack persist, although fulfillment has to be deferred while Lola sidesteps a sarcastic co-worker, plans a birthday celebration for her niece, learns that two more victims have died and attacks a killer with a borrowed baseball bat while Jack is getting shot up. A series debut with too much icky love stuff and too little mystery. In Lola’s favor, however, is a speed-dating pace and lots of nice underwear.”
Question of the Day:
As a reader, how much weight do you give to reviews?
November 3rd, 2008
Misa 
in
Misa's Columns |
Everyone loves a good hero, but what do readers, agents, editors, and writers love most? Join us as we delve under the covers and find out!
November 3rd, 2008 at 7:46 am
Misa, it sounds like a book I want to read! And I will. Except for the 2nd from last very subjective sentence, it’s a pretty good review. It shows that there’s romance and mystery, with a fast moving plot. And it’s multi-racial, which is good. Mostly, it was reviewed!!! And librarians read Kirkus. Yay!!!
November 3rd, 2008 at 8:34 am
That darn second to last sentence gets to me every time, Edie, but I know the reviewer missed the point that it is a hybrid mystery/romance. Glad the book sounds good to you! Hope the librarians will think it sounds fun!!!!
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:28 am
I give little to no weight to reviews. It’s so subjective that even my crit partners (who love me to pieces) don’t always get the story idea. Sometimes the reviews that are really out there are fun because you have to wonder what they were smoking before they hit the keyboard.
I *heart* icky love stuff–then again, I am a romance writer, too so….
November 3rd, 2008 at 12:27 pm
I don’t even read them, that’s how serious I take them…Like anything its all subjective. I like what I like, no matter what anyone else thinks. And I certainly don’t let anyone else make my mind up for me on opinion…When I’m published, I will probably make a point of not reading reviews…LOL, I say that now…Can’t wait for this come out….
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Here’s a good one that just came in from Publisher’s Weekly, so all is right with the world again. =)
Living the Vida Lola: A Lola Cruz Mystery Misa Ramirez. St. Martin’s Minotaur, $24.95 (304p) ISBN 978-0-312-38402-9
Ramirez’s muy caliente debut introduces Dolores “Lola” Falcón Cruz, a Sacramento, Calif., PI whose kung fu moves are only part of her chica charm. A missing persons case—the disappearance of 42-year-old Emily Diggs, who left her six-year-old son, Sean, stranded at school—turns into a murder investigation after a boater finds Emily’s body near Riverbank Marina. Lola’s old high school crush, Jack Callaghan, now a Sacramento Bee reporter, provides some unexpected help. Emily had approached Jack about her 18-year-old son Garrett’s recent death—from what Emily believed was a “heart infection” due to a faulty tattoo. Lola’s determined to uncover the facts and catch the killer, even if it means, gulp, getting a girly belly-button piercing. Ramirez keeps the action tight, the plot smart and humor light in this spicy blend of crime solving and romance. Lola’s latina perspective adds extra sizzle. (Jan.)
November 3rd, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I don’t read reviews. I’m opinionated that way, but I want to form my own reviews. I think they are both great reviews, I can’t wait to read this book.
November 3rd, 2008 at 6:44 pm
I give very little weight to bad reviews because I’m the type of person who likes to make my own judgments. I often love movies that have gotten panned by reviewers. And I’m totally into “icky” love stuff, so like I said, this review would make me want to read a mystery I normally would not read. Great, great reviews Misa. So exciting that the word about Lola is being spread around. Woo-hoo! V