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Book Review

Publisher's Note:

"Love Will Make You Drink and Gamble, Stay Out Late at Night" brings a number of Shelly Lowenkopf's previously published short stories together in a single volume. Lowenkopf is best known as a master instructor of fiction writing and a book editor. He taught for over thirty years at the University of Southern California, and now at the noted College of Creative Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara. All the while, he's been publishing these short gems. All the stories revolve around life in Santa Barbara, the oceanside city north of Los Angeles, where people go after they've burned out in San Francisco and L.A. But there's no safe haven anywhere. Interwoven into Santa Barbara's picturesque setting, the people in these twelve stories reveal what their hearts and souls encounter in relationships. Their misreadings, mistakes, and misadventures bare what happens to people who love another.…

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Love Will Make You Drink & Gamble, Stay Out at Night

by Shelly Lowenkopf

Reviewer: Lydia
Genre: Fiction
Recommended Age: 21+

Overall Book Review:

In this book of short stories, I was bombarded by accounts of fictional characters who were in love, out of love, or trying to fall in love…or any combination of those three things. This made for some interesting stories and perspectives. I used to pride myself in not being vulnerable–some might say I was cold-hearted. I like to think I was protecting myself. Though some of the stories in this book were far from anything I have ever experienced, I did enjoy reading them. Women and men alike seduce each other with elegant meals or revealing clothes. These stories gave me, as a reader, a glimpse into the lives of single women who are searching for love in all the wrong places, and men who hang out at bars trying to pick up any lady who crosses their path–an interesting perspective, to be sure.

If you are in the mood for a light read that is easy to pick up and set down, as the chapters and stories are so short, this book is a fun one. I am not a huge fan of romance novels, and though this book has the romance-y feel to it, it is not just a romance novel. It is a book filled with heartfelt stories about the power of love. I think that is something we can all read more about.

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by White Whisker Books

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  5 religious exclamations; 8 mild obscenities; 2 derogatory names; 2 anatomical terms; 5 F-Word derivatives

Violence/Gore:  A man is mentioned to have died; a woman is harassed verbally.

Sex/Nudity:  Sex is referenced several times; a man and woman have sex in one brief scene with no explicit detail; men and women flirt; a woman dresses seductively to get the attention of a man; a couple is mentioned to be sleeping together.

Mature Subject Matter:

Love, personal crises, death.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Adults drink; adults smoke.

Overall Book Rating
Profanity/Language
Rating:
7
10
Violence/Gore
Rating:
3
10
Sex/Nudity
Rating:
5
10

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About the Reviewer

Lydia
Books and reading have always been an important part of my life. When I was very young, my grandma was the library director at our local public library. Years later, after she had retired, I became a librarian at the same library and worked there for several years before taking a part-time job at a local coffee shop, which gives me more time to do what I love, to read and to review books! A few of my favorite authors are Aimee Bender, Diane Chamberlain, and Curtis Sittenfeld however, I will read almost any book I come across! In my spare time you can find me reading (of course), volunteering at a wildlife animal rehab, or hanging out with my three house rabbits.

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