Anne Kemp

This was an interesting story. I think Abby may be a tad more easy going than I am to just flow with all the things that happen to her in this book, like ending up on an air mattress in an alcove of a strange man's house, next to a stinky cat litter box. The characters were well written, not all likable, but certainly entertaining. The description of island life on island time had me daydreaming, and I could picture it in my mind. The dynamic of Abby and Leigh's relationship was difficult, since I don't have those issues with my own sister. I felt bad for her, but was glad she finally stood up for herself and asserted what she wanted and stated her confidence in her abilities to get it done. The end of the book wasn't really an ending. It was left hanging for the next installment, I am sure. I wouldn't mind reading the next book to find out where her love interests end up because even though she is beginning a relationship with Andrew, the real heat is being put on by J.D. as the book winds down. Even if she doesn't end up with him, J.D. is certainly going to stir up some trouble for her and Andrew.
I would recommend this read. I was given this book for free in exchange for an honest review.… (mehr)

Rum Punch Regrets by Anne Kemp
ISBN: 9781937957704
I wanted to read this book for a few reasons. One is my brother
Al loved the island there on some of his travels for work. The
other reason is I wanted to 'travel' there for the scenery.
Abby has agreed to travel to St. Kitts and manage and sell her
sisters house as she no longer has a job in LA. Problem is she's
not telling her husband and Abby has a terrible 3 flights to get t
here. It's not actually a house once she arrives but an Inn
where others pay to stay. She's to stay in the other house
where there is a paying tenant also. Things just were not
upfront with her sister Leigh about the house, nor anything
else that is happening. Abby recalls her father and how he had
given each of them a book-The Great Gatsby with an inscription
for them. She knows where hers is located by why is Leigh's here
mixed in with Ben's things. He is the resident studying to be a
vet that is the paying tenant. She meets many local people and
starts to hang out with some of them. Ah island time! Lots of
alcohol and weed. Mishaps happen and things occur to put people
on edge through the process of getting the inn ready to be sold,
as clients stop by with interest in buying it. So many
misunderstandings between a lot of people, they just don't
want to listen to what is the truth. The woman, Maria who is
in charge of the inn helps them to reason things out, not to
get upset and to realize maybe there is no blame. Like how
there are a few major characters and the locals come into the
picture from time to time. It's easy to keep track of everybody
and what they do on the islands. Just when things are smoothed
out a bit all hell breaks loose, Leigh is coming to the island
to finalize a deal and she informs Abby about Ben. But Ben and
Abby were to confront Leigh on Monday, hmmm. So many deep dark
secrets, hidden secrets and hidden loves...… (mehr)

Well... That was, uh... Hmm...

It felt like I was reading part of a book, a couple of chapters, the kind of thing you'd expect from an excerpt or a freebie. Except this isn't, this is the *third* book in the Abbey George series. And if this third book is anything to go by, perhaps all three books could have been shoved into one and made a longer, more pleasant and less disjointed read.

The characters were shallow and lifeless and I had no clue what they looked like, not one, for the WHOLE book. I know I haven't read the previous two books, but a good series is marked by how well you can pick up any book and fall into the story. And this you cannot. The story itself is disjointed and jumpy, and I found myself confused at the beginning of each chapter (of which there were few). Perhaps this was because of the extremely short length of this story - it wasn't long enough to get a feel of Anne Kemp's writing style.

And then there's Abby, the main character - she has a very short will-I-won't-I internal battle and then TAH-DAH the story's over and she doesn't even consider the other offer so this whole book could have been avoided.

It gets two stars because it was pleasant enough for a "nothing" book - nothing happened, nothing drew me in, nothing got me hooked, but it's not the worst writing I've ever read.

Thanks to Net Galley for this!… (mehr)