Second Star to the Right by Mary Alice Kruesi

 

It was this review I came across in late 2012 that made me seek out this book: http://mrsgiggles.com/books/kruesi_st.... I wanted a light, fun, romance read and the description made the story sound like it would be sweet and charming. The Peter Pan re-imagining aspect of it was the clincher that decided me. Read it, I would! It was early 2013 when I finally got my hands on a copy of the book, through my university's Interlibrary Loan office, and I remember sinking down on the carpet beside my bed one afternoon after a hectic day of classes, delighted to whiz through what promised to be a fun read! Alas, I only ended up reading a chapter or two! It turned out not to be really what I'd expected. The writing was probably the main reason I couldn't get myself to commit to it. I was very disappointed because the concept really had me hooked! How could a book that had Peter Pan, a physics professor, and a woman struggling to believe in magic be dull? I tossed it somewhere in my room until remembering it again abruptly when it was due back at the library. I though I'd never come across it again, or remember it, until this past year when I noticed it on Overdrive.
I had no idea it was the same book. I just wanted an audiobook to make tedious chores like dish-washing go by faster. I'm not really very much of an audiobook listener, so I knew I had to choose a simple book, so it would be easy to follow. The Peter Pan concept was again what made me give this a go, and when I read the summary and was already a bit into listening to it, did my memory of that long ago reading experience float back to me. It couldn't be the same book, I exclaimed to myself. What further confused me was, when I finally looked up the Mrs. Giggles review, that the author's name was different. I eventually realized it was the same book and was glad I had come across it again and felt the likelihood of finishing it was greater through audiobook. I do so hate DNFing, no matter if its justified or not.
My favorite thing about this audiobook experience of the book was that the narrator's voice was so sweet and soft and fit exactly the description of the main character, Faye O'Neil. Even the name, Faye, is a very wispy and delicate name, and combined with the narration voice, it gave the perfect atmosphere. I was further delighted to discover it was the author, Mary Alice Kruesi, herself, who was narrator! (Also, I had recently finished a binge watch of Dexter and my brain supplied the soft-spoken Rita actress, Julie Benz, for the visual of Faye O'Neil. I was pleased by this because I really like Julie Benz and thought it was very apt. When I became aware of my brain doing this, I tried to force a visual for Jack, but I find its much harder to do, and I chose Tom Cavanagh from the the Flash, because that was my current celeb crush, and hey Cavanagh was a physicist in the Flash, so there! It didn't really work, because I Jack was such a bland character, but I can tell you I tried my darndest to imagine him into the story!)

Overall, I thought the concept of the story was great, just one of the setups I like to read about in romance books: a sweet, old fashioned love story. However, the execution of it was very disappointing. I hated anytime Faye's boss or colleagues or really any other characters but the main ones were being described. They were all so cardboard and completely unrealistic. I could forgive this except when work scenes dragged on, which thankfully, they really didn't for very long. I especially laughed at the "deep voice" Kruesi tried for Faye's boss. He just sounded so much like a joke. The Peter Pan weaving in was definitely intriguing just because I LOVE Peter Pan and love hearing retellings of it--I've experimented with one myself. I liked the descriptions of their life in Number 14, and how Faye learns to let someone into her life after being so hurt after an abusive marriage. I was annoyed by there being more telling than showing, but knew it was a romance book problem and was able to ignore it. Jack's work scenes were even worse than Faye's and his whole search for his missing past made me roll my eyes. Ugh, tropes! There wasn't really any chemistry between the characters and the description of them kissing was just so hilarious! I can live with that though. I liked their friendship and how they got incorporated into each other's routines. It was believable how they fell for each other.
The characterization for the children was also pretty awful as well, now that I think about it. They were really just pawns to bring Faye and Jack closer. I didn't mind this since I made my peace with all these familiar plot devices going into it. As I had such low expectations to begin with, and was washing dishes while listening to this, it was not a loss at all, and in fact, making fun of the story was half the fun. I like to think I gave it a chance mostly because I wanted to see how the Peter Pan thing would play out, and yes, I rolled my eyes through most of it. I didn't really feel any of the 'magic', but I appreciated the effort. Reading this makes me want to write my own version of this story, which isn't to say that would be any better, but it's a fun concept, and I wouldn't say this book was a failure. One just has to be in the mood for a light and very predictable read. In that mindset, it can actually be pretty entertaining.
I think it's safe to say I could never have had the patience to actually sit down and read this as an actual physical book.