The Look of Love centers around Jane, a woman possessing the special gift of being able to physically *see* love. It's all around her. See that beautiful, young couple prancing down the street, holding hands and swooning at one another? They may look like a magazine ad for perfect happiness, but according to our heroine, they're not in love. That crotchety old couple who are bickering over the wrinkles in his chinos? Ding, ding, ding - love has entered the building. The concept is silly, yes. But, to be fair, isn't that what fiction is? Unique, unrealistic lines of story intertwined for our enjoyment? Certainly. The only element missing for me here was the enjoyment.
My first issue with the story is the number of characters. There were so many subplots going on that I found it difficult to keep them straight. Let's see...how many characters can I name off the top of my head? Flynn, Mel, Katie, Josh, Lo, Vivian, Celeste, Mary, Eli, Elaine, Matthew, Collette, Luca, Grant, Cam, Charles...shall I go on? No, really. I could. And I'm not even Rain Man.
Among this massive cast of characters are some of the most shallow, self-loathing pieces of trash I've ever had the misfortune to read about. There are SO many extra-marital affairs going on, at some point I have to question how this equates to a book supposedly about love.
On another note, I remember taking a writing course in college, where my professor was adamant that you could ruin a great story by finishing it with that perfect big red bow. His words didn't make sense to me. Alas, I was just a young'un. Now my old ass gets it. Predictability is not entertaining. While Ms. Jio certainly has a gift for storytelling, she falls into that 'happily ever after' trap. Each and every storyline wraps up precisely how you'd expect it to...not a single surprise in the bunch. I must say, though, that my personal favorite is Katie and Josh - you'll have to read that one yourself to believe it. Think Days of Our Lives...on steroids.
Right or wrong, predictable or not, I'll probably continue to read Sarah Jio books as they come out. After all, it's what the cool kids are reading these days. And I'm nothing if not cool.
