Retro Reads - Romance discussion
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Come Pour the Wine
Our December Retro Read
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This caught my attention on NetGalley before we got the email, so I'm so glad this is our pick. Looking forward to it!
All done!You can find my review here when you're ready: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
[I was totally psyched out on my tablet when reading this. I thought I had 80 pages left, and it was a preview! Just a heads up, readers. Just a heads up.]
Mod
Thank you for your review! I also had to train my brain a bit while reading in the different perspectives, but definitely agree with you that they enhanced the story on the whole.
Other readers: how are you enjoying the book so far? Do you like the mix of literary fiction and romance?
-Mackenzie
Mod
We are excited to announce that, for the remainder of the month, our in-house Cynthia Freeman expert, Carly, will be co-moderating the group discussion! As we continue our discussion and talking about your reviews, Carly (who originally recommended Come Pour the Wine) will be your go-to-girl for all questions related to the author.
Fire away!
-Mackenzie
My review will be up soon, but in answer to a couple of the questions, I thought the romance was noticeably dated in this, which is kind of funny given that it's not that historical. As much as Janet wants to be a modern woman, she asks Bill to order for her. They're expected to consider marriage after only a couple of months. (They're ancient at 45...) I thought it was really interesting from that point of view. We forget how things have changed in just a few decades (even in the 70s, Nicole was getting married before she finished school). And despite that, Janet's transitions were relatable, although I have to say that I felt I could relate to Bill more and the transitions he went through. I think I'm in the minority there. It did make me wonder where the author's loyalties lay, though. I wasn't too keen on Janet and all her manipulation, however well-intentioned.
This month’s Retro Reads pick, Come Pour the Wine was recommmended by a colleague, who, despite not working with romance novels, “could not put it down!” We took her word for it—and we’re glad we did.
Come Pour the Wine follows teenager Janet Stevens in her journey from the Midwest to New York City to pursue a high-octane modeling career. When she falls in love with the intriguing Bill McNeil at a party, it seems her future is established. But as middle age sets in and the marriage dissolves, Janet finds herself learning brand-new lessons about life—and about love.
We've got just a couple of questions, to get the discussion juices flowing:
Janet goes through a number of transitions in this book—infatuation to marriage, naiveté to jadedness. How are these transitions relatable? How do they affect your reading?
How does the romance in this book differ from some of our other picks? Do you enjoy this departure?
Cynthia Freeman