Friday, April 5, 2013

Table for Two by Marla Miniano [REVIEW]

TITLE: Table for Two
AUTHOR: Marla Miniano
PUBLISHER: Summit Books
PUB DATE: 2010


Summary from Goodreads:

"In Table for Two, a corner table at a quiet coffee shop takes center stage, the latest release from Summit Books author Marla Miniano. The table is the setting for pivotal moments in the lives of the main characters—who, as it seems, are quite the lovelorn bunch. First, there’s the long-time couple on the verge of calling it quits after college graduation. Then there’s the serial dater who accepts her younger brother’s challenge to go dateless for two months. There’s also a photographer who attempts to dissuade his best friend from getting married (and we’re curious to find out why). And finally, there are the two hopefuls: a young man who meets with the girl he never stopped loving, and a young lady who pores over romance novels, waiting for her turn to fall in love."


Rating:


Table for Two has five (5) stories squeezed into this little book. Having not read the synopsis printed on the back of the book, I had no idea that this was written with various characters and settings. When I got through the first story, I thought the second part was a continuation of the pervious story. It got pretty weird to me that it was a sudden change in the character’s portrayal. That’s when I decided to check the back... whoops! My bad.

So let’s dissect:

The first story is entitled Fresh, where long-time couple, Mandy and Tristan, are on the brink of ending their relationship. There’s not much to say about this story. Only that Tristan reminds me so much of one of my ex-boyfriends. A guy who’s always late? Been there, done that! As far as the flashback on how Tristan started to court Mandy, I immediately felt dislike for him. I like a guy who would go after what he wants and wouldn’t just “clue in” his feelings but rather say them directly, because seriously, I’m no mind-reader.

Timeout is the second story. Here readers meet Jill, a girl who has problems with picking the right guy for her. Her brother pesters her that she’s dating the wrong guys and insists she take a break from dating for a month. I don’t know what happened here [if a month has passed or not] but she eventually chose between Robbie and Jack. I, for one, don’t understand her choice and what made her decide on it.

The third story, All the Best, is about Carl trying to stop his best friend from marrying some girl. He feels that they have yet to decide that they are ready for a lifelong commitment such as this. Trying in vain to persuade his friend to change his mind, he forgets about his and Kim’s (his girlfriend of many years) anniversary. I didn’t like this story very much and there isn’t much to think about.

This Closure, the title of the fourth story, tells the story of Lucas. A guy who hasn’t gotten over a girl he had fallen in love with years ago. To be honest, Lucas is a pathetic idiot. I feel sorry for him but he’s pathetic. As for Bettina, the girl he’s so in love with, I don’t know what he sees in her. In spite of what I said about Lucas, I feel worse about Bettina. She shouldn’t have led him on.

Last, but not the least, Table for Two, is the highlight of this book, hence the title. You see, this is where all our stories collide. All the characters come into place in this small, insignificant coffee shop. And it seems that this is where the magic happens... It’s a rather simple one compared to the other four but it’s nice and sweet all the same. You truly can never know where you’ll find true love...

Marla Miniano’s Table for Two is kind of like those Hollywood movies with stellar star-studded cast of multiple stories that collide in one special event; like say, Valentine’s Day or New Year’s Eve (the actual movie titles). I don’t really get why it need the change in perspectives but it was fun. Although short and a little vague on the details, I took pleasure in reading it.