Review of More!

[Christabel Uzoamaka]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "More!" by Tammie Rothermel.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Set in the 1960’s music scene, a time when English bands were flourishing, this is the story of Nicole More. Nicole is an impressionable young girl of sixteen years. When she meets a superstar member of a band, Grant Henderson, in her hometown in Pennsylvania, she falls in love with him without knowing who he is. As their relationship blossoms, she travels with him on several tours; she soon has to face the harsh realities of both superstardom and life. Nicole seems weak, but she will show everyone that she is much more than whatever challenges she may face. More! by Tammie Rothermel is the story of one woman’s love, mistakes, and immeasurable strength.

The author used the third-person narrative style and some dialogue; I appreciated this creative decision because it allowed me to see both Nicole and other characters from a holistic point of view, even though it was clear that Nicole was the star of the book. The author’s deft use of dialogue helped me to play out scenes in my imagination like the story was a movie.

I liked that other characters apart from Nicole got their moments and, even better, helped Nicole’s character shine brighter. For example, no one talked as business-like as Bruce; even Mary took up her own space in my imagination. The author’s character development was on point. The storyline the author decided on also deserves some accolades. I expected this book to be cliché, but Rothermel surprised me with where she decided to take the story. Nicole is naive and gullible when we meet her for the first time, but later on, she learns not only how to be independent but many other skills, including people skills.

However, while the storyline was nicely surprising, it did have some issues. After there was a clear climax and resolution of the story of Grant and Nicole, the author decided to take Nicole’s story further; it was then that I did not quite understand the point of the story. To top it off, the story the author decided to begin after the previous resolution did not have any resolution of its own. If there is no sequel to this book, I must say that the ending of More! was quite pointless and not understandable. While I found Nicole’s character endearing and even began to root for her, I found some events in the book irritating. It was as if the book was romanticizing serious issues like underage marriage, domestic violence, and emotional abuse.

I listened to the audiobook, which was also narrated by Tammie Rothermel. The author, in speaking out the dialogue of male characters, would inflect her voice. While it is understandable that she may have been trying to get readers better familiarized with the characters, I found her inflections unnatural and do not think they added to the quality of the audiobook. Considering only the shortcomings of the story, I must rate More! by Tammie Rothermel 3 out of 4. I did not rate it lower because I enjoyed the story nonetheless, and I liked Nicole’s character. I recommend the book to readers who enjoy romance novels and stories of a woman finding herself. Readers should note that the book, however, contains some eroticism.

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More!
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[Snigdha Pandey]

The cover of the book is beautiful. The book sounds like a good read if you're looking for a romance. Though the romanticism of issues like domestic violence and emotional abuse do tend to really annoy me. So I am unsure if I'll read it.

[James Alfred 1]

Love and romance is sweet but one needs to be careful whom you fall in love with, we should open our eyes well and know whom to engage in romance with so we won't have our fingers burnt. Nice book to teach romance

[Edria Dayyinah]

I love when characters have a passion that drives them throughout the story. In this case, it’s Grant’s band. I absolutely will pick up anything music-related. Amazing review!

[Ntombifuthi Londi]

The novel appears to be engaging, and I admire how the author was able to develop Nicole's character; certainly she was gullable and in an abusive relationship, but that did not prevent her from being self-sufficient and learning other people's skills. I found the book to be educational in that it educates people about societal concerns such as domestic abuse, which most people still consider Taboo to discuss.

[Brandy_Nyongesa]

Nicole Is in an abusive relationship. Romanticizing serious issues like domestic violence and emotional abuse is disturbing to hear.

[collinsogw555]

When you find love you would want to do anything with that person , but then she was not ready to compromise that with anything. Great review.

[Tarie07]

Life is a constant battle and the fact that Nicole never gave up makes me want to read this book. Thanks for the review.

[Theana De lima Araujo]

Perhaps the issues you mentioned including emotional abuse and underage marriage were viewed in light of the '60s, which means that they were unfortunately normal. I like to think that the authors get so caught up in telling the story that they take on the mindset of the period...almost akin to a method actor getting into a role. In any case, Thank you for the excellent review, I enjoyed reading your perspective.

[NancyDrew12]

It seems like Nicole has a entertaining journey ahead of her. She is still very young so I wonder how she deals with the issues she encounters. Nice review.