Alabama...

Book: Alabama

Author: Kay Cornelius

Pages: 478

Summary: (front cover) 'Southern charm reigns in four inspiring novellas.'

Thoughts: I am not really a big fan of novellas. I prefer full stories, or, even better, a nice long series. I feel that novellas don't allow enough time to tell the story naturally or with enough depth. I will, however, be reading a lot of novellas in the near(ish) future, because I won a TON of them and I want to give them a chance. I just hope they're worth it. Alabama was not. I have been trying to finish this book for a long time now, but it failed to capture my interest every time I picked it up. I really wanted to finish, just to "finish what I started", so I pressed on. It was almost painful! I started the first 3 stories, but did not reach the end of any of them. The fourth, Mary's Choice, was the only one I was really interested in, because of the unique aspect of Mary being a less than perfect figured woman. I liked the idea of a "real" woman finding love. Unfortunately, it was a let down. I skimmed through quite a bit of the story. I was not at all interested in the "back story" of the city's development. I thought it was a little creepy that one of Mary's potential suitors was her distant cousin. I don't care if it's a "southern" thing - I am from the south, and I was grossed out. I also found it annoying that every other person had the same name. Three Veronica's and two Sally's in a tiny little town? Sure, it's plausible, but in a novella, naming all the minor characters the same name is just confusing.

Favorite things: The end. I know that's awful, but I was just glad that I had finally finished it.

Least favorite: It was such a disappointment.

The Cover Story: The cover is not bad by any means, but I don't love it. I think it's because my lack of interest in the story didn't "allow" me to imagine something so lovely in the fictional town.

My favorite quote: If there was one I liked in there, I probably skimmed over it. :P

Casting Call:

*NEW PICS COMING SOON*

Mary Oliver/Melissa McCarthy Todd Walker/Barry Watson Jason Abbott/Ethan Hawke

I kind of hate saying that I imagined Melissa McCarthy the whole time, 'cause I think Melissa is

gorgeous/adorable and I wish I had a better character/story to cast her in. I chose Ethan Hawke,

or this picture of him anyway, for the scraggly hair. That trait is something Mary noticed repeatedly

about Jason in Alabama. I pictured him with a fuller face, but I guess this is close enough. Barry

Watson is basically how I pictured Todd, but I didn't have a really distinct picture in mind. I couldn't

find anyone perfect for Walter Chance, but I think this picture of Zachary Quinto captures his personality. :)

Oh my. Sadly, I cannot recommend this book at all.