Review: Caught in the Middle

Caught in the Middle by Regina Jennings

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



Jennings has several novels under her belt. This is the first of hers I've read. I'd like to know why editors, publishers and authors think it is okay to put out historically incorrect novels?

If I may rant for a bit here. One reason I love the books better than the movies is because the books have, heretofore, been generally historically correct. Hollywood takes such liberties there is no reason to believe anything that comes out in movie form. They made Belle Starr a hero for crying out loud. There is no excuse, absolutely none for a novel to have inaccuracies these days. I spent hours and hours in the library researching my first novel about the Old South back in the 1980s. Nowadays one need only do an internet search. Why don't editors insist upon it? Powdered formula for babies was not introduced until 1915. This story takes place long before that, but after the railroad was finished. But let's set that aside for the moment.

The premise of this story is extremely good. Very much like the remake movie Bundle of Joy with Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Single girl gets stuck with abandoned baby. While Bundle of Joy was a cute comedy, Caught in the Middle is not so much. For me, the premise does not match the writing/storyline. [shrug]

The question of what happened to Anne back east to make her hide as a buffalo hunter in the west drags out way to long to make me even care what happens to her. It's like playing "I've got a secret that is too secret to tell you right now. I'll tell you later, maybe." Why? Get on with the story already. But most importantly develop those characters to a fine point so they will interact with the reader not just with each other.

Flipping back and forth between two storylines makes for a piecemeal story with a jagged feeling. The different stories for Anne and Nick do not have transitions so moving from one to the other has a jerky stop-start feel, which is rather jolting.

Such a great premise that just didn't follow through. I have to give this one 2 stars.



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