A Fireman's Dream

A Fireman's Dream

by Everett A. Zarzychi

I chose this book from Dorrance Publishing because the story plot sounded good. I'm a fan of romance and always enjoy a well written love story.

The story is of a fireman who buys a raffle ticket for charity and ends up winning the date with a super model.

They fall in love and this book is their love story.

I hate to write bad reviews. There is always some good in a book to pull from. But I don't think I've ever read a book that was written so poorly. It is full of grammar and spelling errors which bothers me. But the main reason for my dislike was that the story lacked feeling. It was stilted and boring. The writer details every second of their lives. He mentions what the main characters do and eat every morning even though it appears to be the same routine every day. Each day is spelled out for you. The story leaves nothing for the reader to imagine. Here is a sample -

Soon after, Laura got the phone book from the drawer and turned to the page with Wendy's phone number. She picked up the phone and dialed. The phone rang. Mike answered the phone. Laura said    "Hello."

Mike said   "Hello."

Laura told him that it was his Aunt Laura, and she wanted to speak to him and his mommy. Mike told her to hold on and went to get his mother. He yelled to his mother that his Aunt Laura was on the phone. Wendy picked up the phone and greeted Laura. Then she asked her what was up. Laura asked Wendy how she was. . .

I do not need to know every detail and action that occurs. Couldn't the author have mentioned that Laura called Wendy and asked her to be her bridesmaid and left it at that? Do we really need to know every single drink a group of four orders at a restaurant? Is it necessary to tell us that the waitress put each plate of food in front of the person who ordered it? It was truly painful to read.

I had to laugh several times throughout the book because the characters didn't seem true to real life. Do men "scream" in excitement over love, gossip about their love life like women do, or lay in bed thinking of their feelings of love and hopes of marriage after the first date? 

It just didn't seem like the characters had "character".

The story line is a good one. But the author needs to put feeling and depth into his characters, add some drama to the story and put in relevant details. Once the story has some substance to it - send it to an editor before it ever sees a publisher.

I received this book free of charge in exchange for my honest review.