G134 E-Reading Book Review of Doug and Carlie by Lisa Smartt
Author: Lisa Smartt
ISBN: 9780615703589
Publisher: Smartt Speaking
Part of a Series: Doug and Carlie
Type of book: christianity, faith, finding soul-mate, south, author, big city vs small town, community, death, renewal, romance, clean
Year it was published: 2012
Summary:
Carlie once ate a whole lemon meringue pie. But she regrets it. She regrets it the way a drunk regrets downing a bottle of Jack Daniels. It was soothing and horribly depressing all at the same time. Carlie, a 32-year-old employee at the Dollar General Store in Commerce, Georgia, dreams of love and literary success, in that order. But love and literary success don’t always come easy, especially for a tall woman with a big behind who stocks canned sweet potatoes for a living. She’s ten years late on college and only has $167.29 in the bank. In her estimation, she’s late on finding love too. The good news? Sometimes there are rewards for late bloomers.
Characters:
The characters are well rounded and sweet. Its cool that Carlie stayed true to herself and true to where she came from, and that Doug was realistic about what he wanted and desired. The moments between them are sweet and believable. I also liked the extended family and the role it played in the book, although due to many characters I got confused pretty quickly as to who's who.
Theme:
You're never too old to become what you want to be.
Plot:
Its written in third person narrative from Carlie's and Doug's points of view. The author has done a good job separating who is speaking so we're not confused, although the language styles for both Carlie and Doug sounded pretty similar. The book is funny, but I guess it doesn't have my type of humor, I'm sorry to say. Its also very clean and the romance and chemistry between the characters is very believable.
Author Information:
(from goodreads.com)
born
The United States
twitter username
lisa_smartt
genre
Romance, Fiction
member since
December 2012
About this author:
Lisa Smartt is a woman who loves to laugh! Born in a small town in West Kentucky, she now writes a weekly humor column from her home outside Dresden, Tennessee. She lives on 16 wooded acres with her husband, two sons (who sometimes fight), and three male cats who desperately need Prozac. Her first book was released in 2007 entitled, "The Smartt View: Life, Love, and Cluttered Closets."
Public speaking is Lisa's passion. She has spoken to groups around the country on subjects like "Contentment in a Discontent World" and "We're All in the Same Boat, So Grab a Lifeline." Lisa believes laughter is a gift and LOVES to share with others her personal weaknesses, struggles, and the sheer JOY of daily living!
Opinion:
I found it a sweet and touching novel as well as funny. I guess at the time I got it, I wasn't aware that it had christian elements to it, which is something that did bother me. I guess I did find a few things improbable, but its probably my cynicism that's speaking. For one reason or another I found myself unable to connect to Carlie nor to Doug, even though I grew up in Texas. (Probably because I'm from different faith and culture, and my family tends to be loners, I believe.) I would guess I should have been able to relate to Carlie because I'm kind of close to her age (I'll be 28 this year...) and I also desire to be a writer and I haven't done anything with my life either, and I also am overweight as well, although I haven't eaten an entire lemon meringue pie. I would guess the religion and the fact she's a virgin and believes in sex after marriage kind of alienated me from her. The story sounds a little bit similar to Cinderella and Carlie does deserve her own happy ending. I almost feel horrible for not liking the book. The book does make a big deal of faith and religion, and although the author did a good job in not cramming it down my throat, there was still incompatibility between me and the book.
Quick notes: I would like to thank the author for the opportunity to read and review the book.
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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