Dear Jane Letters
Reviewed by Jaimie Bell
Raina Lane is the author of Dear Jane, an advice column for the local paper. She specializes in matters of the heart although has not yet found that special someone. With two married sisters and Vicki, her engaged roommate, the pressure is on to find someone, anyone. First her sister Beth sets her up on a blind date with Todd, a young man who cannot seem to find a matched pair of socks. Then Vicki gives her a speed dating session as an early Christmas gift. Unlike an advice column however, matters of the heart can be more complicated then a simple question and answer, and when an old friend from her past shows up, Raina must search her heart for true love.My favorite part
of the story was the speed dating session when Raina met some real
doozies,
including one guy who believed he had a telepathic bond with his cats. When she asked if they talked to anyone else
Bob said, “Oh I know what you’re thinking and don’t worry. You
wouldn’t have
to understand the cats for us to go out. As long as they told me you
were okay,
that’d be enough.”
Other than the speed dating participants all of Amanda Hamm’s characters are nice people who have it together and are living good lives. Surprisingly, they are even believable. The trouble is that they are too nice. There is a noticeable lack of conflict running throughout the book and it sails to the end with nary a bump or bruise. All stories need a nasty or a nemesis, even in Chick Lit. Who can forget Mr. Wickham or Mr. Willoughby and the pain they caused nice people and families? But Hamm seems to avoid any hint of contention and even cuts off promising scenes like the blind date with Todd while writing Thanksgiving dinner conversation with the family in great detail.
I truly hope
Amanda Hamm keeps writing. I admire her high standards and ability to
portray
good, moral characters that are neither priggish nor self-righteous. Humor is another positive aspect of her
writing that can be developed and hopefully used more often. Taking
some risks
to shake things up a bit would make her stories a very entertaining
read. I
would love to take a look at her next one.