Book Review: Four Friends by Robyn Carr (no spoilers)

Book: Four Friends
Author: Robyn Carr
Publication: March 25th, 2014
Source: From the Publisher for Review
Read: April 6-14, 2014
Summary (from Goodreads):

Gerri can't decide what's more devastating: learning her rock-solid marriage has big cracks, or the anger she feels as she tries to repair the damage. Always the anchor for friends and her three angst-ridden teenagers, it's time to look carefully at herself. The journey for Gerri and her family is more than revealing—it's transforming.

 Andy doesn't have a great track record with men, and she's come to believe that for her a lasting love is out of reach. When she finds herself attracted to her down-to-earth, ordinary contractor—a man without any of the qualities that usually appeal to her—she questions everything she thought she wanted in life.

 Sonja's lifelong pursuit of balance is shattered when her husband declares he's through with her New Age nonsense and walks out. There's no herbal tonic or cleansing ritual that can restore her serenity—or her sanity.

 Miraculously, it's BJ, the reserved newcomer to Mill Valley, who steps into their circle and changes everything. The woman with dark secrets opens up to her neighbors, and together they get each other back on track, stronger as individuals and unfaltering as friends.

My Thoughts:

* I received this book free from the publisher for review. I did not receive any compensation for this review. All thoughts and feelings about this novel are my own.*

I have never read a Robyn Carr book before so when I was contacted by the publisher for this book. I read the summary and said yes. As I begun reading this book I compared this authors writing to Debbie Macomber. There were key differences that I didn't like about this novel. 

Going into this book I was expecting the book to be more about friendships than relationships. It ended up being more about the four failed marriages than the relationships the women shared. Gerri had the most shocking story. She is the last person that you would think her marriage would fall apart, but when their marriage crumbled they had to find a way to pick up the pieces. Then there is recklessly Andy with two failed marriage under her belt, the new man that comes into her life is different in a good way. The third fried in Sonja who lifelong passion is to relax through herbs and tonics she control everything in her life and her husband until her husband leaves and Sonja's world is shattered. The fourth friend is BJ, the mysterious, shy neighbor with a sensitive side that truly sees people. 

I think my biggest problem with this novel is that I found the characters hard to relate to. I have never been in a serious relationship much less gotten married and gotten divorced. I think this novel may fit better with an older audience. I have read books before with much older women and been fine with not relating to them. In this book I was always looking for a way to relate to the characters and their decisions and I just couldn't. I also think the wide range of characters in this books made the characters lack depth. Robyn Carr only had a little bit of time to spend on each character so al the stories were able to be in the book and intertwine. I also felt that the male characters had very little time in the spotlight. Gerri's husband Phil was the only one I felt I really knew by the end of the novel. I can't say I particularly liked Phil or understood his decisions which made the ending all that much harder for me to enjoy. I felt the rest of the male characters were pretty washed out. By the end of the novel George was just a nice guy and Bob was hopelessly in love. 

I read the ending late at night and I was really tired so I don't know if that changed my opinion of the ending, but I found it way too predictable for this novel. There was a sense of wrapping up towards the end of the novel. Every character was given an ending and I liked that. I didn't want to be left hanging with any of the characters. 

I decided to give the book 3 stars because I neither loved it nor hated it. I was just somewhere in between the whole time. I could see why people would love this book I just wasn't one of them. I would say I liked the book, but I'm not jumping up and down about the book. I thought it was a good story I just wish there was more depth with the characters. This is my first Robyn Carr book and I would be willing to read more of her books in the future because I'm sure she has a book that I will really enjoy. 

The theme in this book that did win me over that was even in times of crisis friends will always be there to dry your tears and help you carry on. Gerri, Andy, Sonja, and BJ faced many tribulations and triumphs in this novel at the end of the day they were still friends. That is my take away from this novel. 

Thanks