Read of the Week

James Patterson with Frank Constantini, Emily Raymond and Brian Sitts

Two from the Heart

Century

Review: Chantel Erfort

Two from the Heart contains two short stories about love, but they’re not your conventional love stories, which is probably the only thing I enjoyed about this book.

Unfortunately, I had succumbed to the excitement generated by the number of people who said “Oh! You’re reading James Patterson!” and then found myself pretty underwhelmed by the time I had turned the last page.

Tell me your best story, by Patterson and Raymond, is about photographer Anne McWilliams who packs up her life to tackle an ambitious – and ultimately life-changing – project after her house is destroyed in a hurricane.

Having escaped to that house after her marriage fell apart, Anne feels like there are many loose ends she needs to tie up, and that’s where her journey starts. While parts of the story are funny and heartwarming, I found the conclusion to be predictable.

The second story, The Lifesaver, by Patterson, Constantini and Sitts, made me roll my eyes so hard I could nearly see what was happening behind me. This short story focuses on businessman Tyler Bron who is rich beyond measure, exceptionally successful, but also unhappy and feels like he has no real life. So, what does he do?

He throws money at the problem and asks a struggling author to write a new life for him. Without getting stuck into the impracticality of this and the million questions I had relating to the logic of how it all unfolds, I will say that this story also had a fairly predictable ending. It was sweet though – and you know what they say about too much sweetness.

The writing, however, is flawless and flowing, which made Two from the Heart a quick and easy read.