2014
Queen of Spades' review of A House Without Windows by Stevie Turner
Queen Spades's review
bookshelves: royally-favored
Disclaimer: Slight spoilers
Blurb: The Pilates class is a humorous look at the lives and loves of several different characters attending a Pilates exercise class for the first time.
There is a bit more than meets the eye with this blurb, and that is what I adore about this short, yet delightful write.
Strengths:
Pleasant Hook: I really like how the author doesn’t waste any time in luring the reader into the story, yet she is able to outline each of the main participants in the story without it feeling overly rushed.
Consistent Conflict: Amidst the comedy, there was quite a bit of individual conflict with the characters as well as group conflict once certain characters began getting deeply involved with each other.
Engaging Characters: I really like that a lot of the characters went beyond how they were stereotyped by Petra (the fitness lady).
I loved Roger. He was rough around the edges, yet I really adored how down to earth he was. He never censored himself for the sake of others.
I had a lot of respect for Neville’s character. You hear so much about guys that don’t care about the substance of a woman if she tends to look good. He really seemed to know what he was looking for. I’m also glad that the author dared to make him a virgin. You rarely hear about guys his age being one.
I could also relate to Julian’s plight: the worry about still being alluring and sexy enough for your partner when there is a significant age difference (Side Note: There’s a ten year age difference between my husband and myself).
I also felt for Thelma’s dilemma: going from working to not working, yet didn’t agree with the self destructive way in which she tried to deal with the changes.
Each character invoked some type of emotional response from me, and that is a sign of awesome writing.
Setting/Mood: As I was reading this work, I found myself trying to pull “in my navel” and “my pelvic floor”. (Well, the mental image of me was trying to.) That is how engaged I was in the book. I was actually at the Pilates class, watching Roger tumble off his ball, and Edith looking in disdain.
Side Note: Now, I’m wondering if I should invest in Pilates. Perhaps they have it as a Kinect game on Xbox360.
Oops, I got sidetracked.
Like I was saying, the author did an outstanding job of making the reader feels like she was actually there.
Make You Go Hmm…Moment
Lingering Conflict: I do like the fact there was conflict because it proved great assistance in keeping the pace of the story steady. However, there were certain parts where I wondered if the author did it intentionally (in anticipation for a possible expansion or follow up) or were there loose ends that needed tidying?
One example was when Judy’s ex-husband decided he wanted full custody of Elliot, yet it never circled back to whether the ex-husband was still going to go through with it or was he just trying to get under Judy’s skin. Another example is what exactly happened with Mark after what transpired between him and Roz. He didn’t get mentioned much after the confrontation. What else happened to Edith after she dropped out of Pilates? Just little things here and there.
Opportunity
Punctuation/Formatting: I did notice an instance of punctuation where a colon was used at the end of a sentence, yet there was nothing to follow the colon (Chapter 43 before going into Chapter 44). Other than that and a little bit of spacing (could be contributed to formatting), it was quite a smooth read.
Unleashed Verdict
The Pilates Class gets a 10 out of 10 Stars from The Review Board.
The comedic value, intermingling storylines, and inviting characters make The Pilates Class a definite win for me. Although it is marketed as women’s fiction, I could see something in there for the men, too, due to how narrative strength of the male characters.
From her bravery to address the issue of pornography in The Porn Detective to the lighthearted zeal of The Pilates Class, Stevie Turner is effectively demonstrating her range as a writer. She is definitely an indie writer to be on the watch for, and I will wait in anticipation for her next work.
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