Sign in with Facebook
Fenrir's Reviews > Every Other Weekend
Every Other Weekend
by
by
Bone to Pick wannabe that fails to hit all the right spots.
*You’re about to get two reviews in one.*
TA Moore is hit or miss: I loved her book Bone to Pick, but couldn’t get into Dog Days or Liar, Liar at all. I picked up Every Other Weekend in the hope that it would be similar to Bone to Pick, and it was, kind of.
It’s like she took every point of critique she ever received from anyone regarding Bone to Pick and tried to do better in this story. The result is a softened down, mushy version of an investigation story with characters that are supposed to be damaged and tragic but really aren’t. To give you an idea:
Clayton Reynolds: He is a divorce lawyer with a shitty childhood behind him. A life-long cynic and commitment-phobe who doesn’t believe in love and sneers at anyone who does. Except he isn’t and he doesn’t. He is actually (view spoiler). He does pro bono work for a woman’s shelter, is a goody two-shoes who tries to belie his sentimental nature with words, but never in deeds. In fact, even his shitty childhood is just a nice story line, probably true but without any impact on his behavior as an adult.
His equivalent in Bone to Pick is Javi Merlo, an FBI agent who doesn’t do commitments (for real this time) because it would hinder his career. He is in the closet, ambitious, and such a jerk “it was hard to share his head with himself”. Many readers/reviewers seemed to dislike him for his dick behavior (because he acts like a dick, not just talks like one) and he is truly flawed, not just superficially so, which is exactly why he makes the story so interesting.
(view spoiler)Kelly: He is the soft element to Clayton’s sharp, Mack the Knife personality, easy to love and easy with his love. He has a big irish family who isn’t as dandy as they pretend to be. I liked the conflict set up in the family dynamic, unfortunately it never quite comes to fruition. The resolution or the big blow up always hovers on the horizon, and then never happens. In any case, Kelly really just is the nicest bloke and (view spoiler). There isn’t much else to say about him.
Kelly also has an equivalent in Bone to Pick: Cloister Witte. Cloister is a likeable guy, a K9 officer (that means dogs) who isn’t quite handsome. He falls easily (like Kelly) but a tragic childhood has some rough consequences for him in terms of successful relationships and leading a successful life in general (just saying: more trailer parks). We never quite learn everything about his past, but bits and pieces are revealed and move the mystery plot along in subtle ways. Overall, he is a good guy (he is a dog person, whatcha expect?), but not without his sharp edges. He has a tendency to be disrespectful to his superiors and run roughshod over due process. Perfect for a police officer.
The romance: Is basically set and done at the 30% mark. Granted, there are some nitty-gritty details to work out, mainly because both characters claim to be in such unredeemable circumstances and unfit for love. The reader, though, has already figured out their shtick and just waits patiently for Kelly and Clayton to catch up.
Not so much in Bone to Pick: There is no romance, not really. The characters (view spoiler), but they make no promises. Cloister isn’t ready to admit that he needs more, Javi doesn’t even know that he could want more. It’s all kinds of messed up and infuriating and remains unresolved to the very end. The sequel will be out in 2019 and you better believe that I. Just. Cannot. Wait.
This is my main point of contention with Every Other Weekend. It feels like TA Moore really took all the voices to heart that protested the lack of romance in Bone to Pick and now produced a similar romance that is lovey-dovey and somewhere up there in lalaland, where everything turns out to be perfect. Like every other romance ever written. Should have stuck with the bad, the ugly, and the jerks, in my opinion.
The mystery: Not bad, but nothing to write home about. It didn’t really grip me and I also don’t think that it was that involved. I expected more because – and you know what is coming now – the mystery in Bone to Pick was just off the charts. It was twisted, dark, and violent, more so than expected at the start, yet less so than expected at the end. And isn’t that just a perfect reflection of the main characters.
Cuteness factor: In Every Other Weekend it’s the baby, in Bone to Pick it’s the dog. I prefer the dog, honestly. Nothing against Max but Bourneville, police officer on four legs, is just badass.
Overall, it’s an enjoyable read, a bit cloying at times, but to me at least it was disappointing because it’s nowhere near close to my favorite TA Moore novel.
*You’re about to get two reviews in one.*
TA Moore is hit or miss: I loved her book Bone to Pick, but couldn’t get into Dog Days or Liar, Liar at all. I picked up Every Other Weekend in the hope that it would be similar to Bone to Pick, and it was, kind of.
It’s like she took every point of critique she ever received from anyone regarding Bone to Pick and tried to do better in this story. The result is a softened down, mushy version of an investigation story with characters that are supposed to be damaged and tragic but really aren’t. To give you an idea:
Clayton Reynolds: He is a divorce lawyer with a shitty childhood behind him. A life-long cynic and commitment-phobe who doesn’t believe in love and sneers at anyone who does. Except he isn’t and he doesn’t. He is actually (view spoiler). He does pro bono work for a woman’s shelter, is a goody two-shoes who tries to belie his sentimental nature with words, but never in deeds. In fact, even his shitty childhood is just a nice story line, probably true but without any impact on his behavior as an adult.
His equivalent in Bone to Pick is Javi Merlo, an FBI agent who doesn’t do commitments (for real this time) because it would hinder his career. He is in the closet, ambitious, and such a jerk “it was hard to share his head with himself”. Many readers/reviewers seemed to dislike him for his dick behavior (because he acts like a dick, not just talks like one) and he is truly flawed, not just superficially so, which is exactly why he makes the story so interesting.
(view spoiler)Kelly: He is the soft element to Clayton’s sharp, Mack the Knife personality, easy to love and easy with his love. He has a big irish family who isn’t as dandy as they pretend to be. I liked the conflict set up in the family dynamic, unfortunately it never quite comes to fruition. The resolution or the big blow up always hovers on the horizon, and then never happens. In any case, Kelly really just is the nicest bloke and (view spoiler). There isn’t much else to say about him.
Kelly also has an equivalent in Bone to Pick: Cloister Witte. Cloister is a likeable guy, a K9 officer (that means dogs) who isn’t quite handsome. He falls easily (like Kelly) but a tragic childhood has some rough consequences for him in terms of successful relationships and leading a successful life in general (just saying: more trailer parks). We never quite learn everything about his past, but bits and pieces are revealed and move the mystery plot along in subtle ways. Overall, he is a good guy (he is a dog person, whatcha expect?), but not without his sharp edges. He has a tendency to be disrespectful to his superiors and run roughshod over due process. Perfect for a police officer.
The romance: Is basically set and done at the 30% mark. Granted, there are some nitty-gritty details to work out, mainly because both characters claim to be in such unredeemable circumstances and unfit for love. The reader, though, has already figured out their shtick and just waits patiently for Kelly and Clayton to catch up.
Not so much in Bone to Pick: There is no romance, not really. The characters (view spoiler), but they make no promises. Cloister isn’t ready to admit that he needs more, Javi doesn’t even know that he could want more. It’s all kinds of messed up and infuriating and remains unresolved to the very end. The sequel will be out in 2019 and you better believe that I. Just. Cannot. Wait.
This is my main point of contention with Every Other Weekend. It feels like TA Moore really took all the voices to heart that protested the lack of romance in Bone to Pick and now produced a similar romance that is lovey-dovey and somewhere up there in lalaland, where everything turns out to be perfect. Like every other romance ever written. Should have stuck with the bad, the ugly, and the jerks, in my opinion.
The mystery: Not bad, but nothing to write home about. It didn’t really grip me and I also don’t think that it was that involved. I expected more because – and you know what is coming now – the mystery in Bone to Pick was just off the charts. It was twisted, dark, and violent, more so than expected at the start, yet less so than expected at the end. And isn’t that just a perfect reflection of the main characters.
Cuteness factor: In Every Other Weekend it’s the baby, in Bone to Pick it’s the dog. I prefer the dog, honestly. Nothing against Max but Bourneville, police officer on four legs, is just badass.
Overall, it’s an enjoyable read, a bit cloying at times, but to me at least it was disappointing because it’s nowhere near close to my favorite TA Moore novel.
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
Every Other Weekend.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Finished Reading
October 8, 2018
– Shelved
October 8, 2018
– Shelved as:
to-read
October 24, 2018
– Shelved as:
m-m-romance
October 24, 2018
– Shelved as:
military-cop-firefighter
Comments Showing 1-1 of 1 (1 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Teal
(new)
Nov 05, 2018 12:58PM
Nice double review, Fenrir. Like you, I Ioved Bone To Pick. But there's nothing about this one that makes me want to give it a try.
reply
|
flag
