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Title: As sappy as the cover suggests
Review: After agreeing to read The Mermaid Chair with a friend, I tried to avoid the telltale signs that this book would read like a shallow self-help-book-meets-romance-novel. A shiny golden cover illustrated with pink seashells was the first tip-off, followed shortly by reading in the newspaper that the story had turned into a Lifetime original movie. Pass the bon-bons!Throughout the novel, I kept wincing at Kidd's word choice (or lack thereof). Everything was slide, slid, sliding (especially the monks hands on Jessie's body.) I was surprised that the author of a book I really liked (Bees, of course) could write so poorly.The one redeeming feature of this book is Kidd's description of the natural beauty of the island. It is here, and only here, where she shows any talent at her craft. You can tell that Kidd is intimately acquainted with (and deeply fond of) the setting of her story. I felt like I was there. The rest, I'm sad to say, was sorely disappointing.
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