Two on the Aisle Paperback – November 29, 2011

I was disappointed with this book. Humor is such a subjective thing and for me this book was not as funny as it tried to be. I really struggled to finish which is very seldom an issue for me.

Who knew old William could be so much fun! And now I have the urge to buy some goat cheese! Thanks, Robbi!

One of my favorite authors! This one really rolled along with twists that flowed well.

Two on the Aisle is a difficult book to review because in some ways it was an entertaining read, and I recall being pleased with McCoy's writing in her other novel's I've read. It's just that this one had problems that significantly dulled my enthusiasm.Part of the problem comes from the publisher's book description. It made me think that this would be a whimsical farce, full of wacky characters. But most of the book is written in a more typical, straight forward manner, despite all the misunderstandings and mistaken identities. And the characters, with a couple exceptions, are fairly regular people, despite some of their suspiciously Shakespearean backgrounds.The ending more closely approximates what I expected from the book description, but by that time it didn't comfortably fit with the rest of the novel. It took me a while to adjust to what the book was really like from what I'd expected it to be like, which at first hindered my ability to get into the story and enjoy it for what it was.There are things to really appreciate about the book. I think the characterizations were well done, Ashland was portrayed as a vibrant and colorful locale, there were a few times I chuckled out loud, and the plot itself was creative and kept my attention. The copious use of Shakespeare quotations and subplots also added a lot. Plus, it's hard to go wrong with goats.One of the main things that bugged me was that the novel frequently read like an unpolished manuscript. There were a lot of superfluous (or awkward) words and phrases, the dialogue was often unnatural and clunky, and McCoy egregiously abused dialogue tags.There were also some inconsistencies. The big one is that it was stated Wren was only going to be in town another two weeks, which influenced some decisions being made. But later events give the impression more than two weeks have passed, yet Wren is still there with no discussion of why or that she'd changed her plans. A small one near the end that sticks in my mind is someone being described as moonlit, yet it's raining.I'm going to include a few brief excerpts here:"That's terrible!" Sophie observed, her thoughts turning to her friend Klaus.-----------------"What're you going to do with this information?" Kyle asked.Wren picked up her fork. "I don't know," she said decisively.-----------------She went in the house and set the box on the kitchen table, wondering if it was possible for a man to fall for two women as different as she was from Dena.-----------------If nothing seems amiss about the above excerpts, then I suspect you're a reader who will find the book much more readable and enjoyable than I did. If that's true, then I can with good conscience recommend it. But if, like me, you're a picky reader and you see problems with what I've quoted, and you decide to read the book anyway, you'll want to have realistic expectations of what you're getting.KINDLE NOTE: I purchased the .mobi ebook on sale directly from the publisher's site. It has an active table of contents, is nicely presented, and is well proofread. The spacing between paragraphs is slightly larger than the spacing between sentences, which I find annoying, but it's the kind of thing I can overlook because there aren't any other formatting problems.

Undercover food critic, Eno Threlkeld, real name, Wren Landry, has left San Francisco for a vacation in Ashland, Oregon. She is visiting her brother, Raven. Raven is playing Beatrice in the play Much Ado About Nothing.Wren hasn't had much luck with women. She always seems to attract the weird sort. When her latest date maintained she was from another planet, Wren had been glad she was going to Ashland.Goatherd and cheese maker, Sophie Ward met Wren while she was in town selling her cheese. The two women hit it off right away and spend the night making wild passionate love. Wren was in heaven, she thought at last she had found the perfect woman. Sophie left the next morning though without leaving her phone number.What happens next can only be described by me as a complete fun filled book, full of misunderstandings, mistaken identities, love and laughter. A true comedy of errors.When the villain of the story, John Batard decides to find and unmask Eno Threlkeld, he bites off more than he can chew. What will happen next?Amidst all the hilarity and on a more serious note, will Wren and Sophie ever find the truth and get past the total misunderstandings to find the love they both deserve?An excellent, well written, laugh out loud book. I have to admit, when I saw Shakespeare being quoted, I thought, `oh no, not my scene'. But I couldn't have been more wrong. There is much more to this book than Shakespeare. Although I'm British and I don't always `get' the American sense of humor, I found the book so funny and the story just flows along. This is so very different to anything Robbi has written before. The one thing that is the same though, is the quality of the writing and the excellence of the story telling. The characters are superb. The whole book reminded me of going to the theater and watching a play. I could almost smell the goats and taste the cheese.Another winner for Robbi and on my re-read shelf.

I truly enjoyed this book. I didn't expect it to be as funny or as quick paced as it was. My only other experience with Ms. McCoy's work was a much more serious book that I thought was alright. But this one was exactly what I needed. I've been reading some pretty heavy books lately and the humor and characters made it a joy.I've posted a review on C-Spot Reviews.

First let me say I have loved all of Robbi McCoy's previous books. I was really looking forward to this book but it wasn't quite my cup of tea.If you're a fan of Shakespeare, especially the comedies, you'll probably love this and think I'm off my rocker. If you're like me and don't find Shakespeare's comedies all that funny you might want to skip this or wait till Bella puts it on sale.The characters themselves are quite likeable but the twists and turns and the way the tragedies are thrown in as character backgrounds just didn't float my boat.If you've never read Ms. McCoy's books try "Waltzing At Midnight" or "Something to Believe" unless of course you're a fan of the Bard of Avon.

It's gone four in the morning and I've just finished 'Two on the Aisle'. I loved it; the romance, intrigue, humour, and even goats, what more could you ask for? I now have a strong urge to read a Shakespeare comedy. I highly recommend this book.