Waiting For Spring

Tess Dyer not only waits for spring, she is waiting for much else, in this leisurely novel which explores various aspects of contemporary family and parenthood, love and community. Tess's mood is as bleak, her emotions as frozen as winter in an isolated Maine community, to which she has fled following upon divorce, to try and build something of a new life for herself. There she finds friends - and lovers as well - most of whom have just as many problems as she does. She has not escaped her old life and it's attending demons. She has just replaced all the old problems with new ones, but the novel also focuses on how she grew and came to deal with them, in slightly less self-punishing ways than previously.

The reasons behind Tess' unhappiness are revealed at a deliberate pace, and with considerable skill. They are shown, or rather unfolded for the reader to discover, by Tess herself, a gritty, witty and seemingly tough survivor, who cleans homes and offices for a living and lives for art and love. Failing love, she has settled, over and over again, for sex and has enough self-knowledge to know there is something wrong, something unhealthy about that. Tess's voice, and the characters of her friends and family that she sketches for the reader have considerable charm;; otherwise this book might have seemed appropriate fodder for - if not Jerry Springer, than Oprah, at the very least. This book is told in first-person, which gives a very immediate feel to what Tess experiences and feels, but which also limits any exploration of how other characters react to her, save filtered through her own perceptions. Why do other characters in Tess's world love and trust her? That aspect is scanted, but it is more a reflection on the way this story is told than any shortcoming of the authors'.

I had no expectations of this book - was just looking for an inexpensive read for my Kindle. At first thought it was going to be a generic romance, but it's really not. I found myself drawn in by the characters, Tess especially. Even though the story is told in her voice, it takes a long time to get inside her head which at times is incredibly frustrating. What exactly happened to her? How/why did her marriage end? Why is she so self-destructive? Add to that the family dynamics (hers, his, and eventually theirs) and it seemed like a very real, believable story. Sad, hopeful, romantic at times, heartbreaking at others. I couldn't put it down - great book.

I liked the warm, flawed, funny heroine in Waiting for Spring. Tess and the situations she found herself in felt authentic, as if the writer was writing from the heart if not actually drawing on episodes from her own life. Tess deals with tragedy, love, sex, work, heartache and loss during the course of the book - and all of it feels credible.

On a separate note, the author has made a series of funny short films with her fellow author Kristen Tsetsi about 'the writer's life' which I enjoyed very much - it's what persuaded me to read Waiting for Spring in the first place. You can find them under 'PaperRats' on YouTube.

While this book doesn't fall into my normal reading genres, I'm very happy I went outside my comfort zone and read this book. I found the characters well developed, even the ones I didn't like. The story kept me engaged and I even engaged the text to speech feature (which I don't really like) so that I could "read" in the car. I was very moved by this book, both positively and negatively. I found myself saddened by some of the trials of the characters and filled with hope by others. Thank you RJ for your story. It was very enjoyable.

This book was layered, richly detailed, and filled with wonderfully crafted descriptions of emotions. You could feel the joy, the pain, and the agony of loving someone deeply, but doubting your own worthiness. Haven't we all? Yet, you are left with no question left unanswered except this: what will become of these very real characters, and a hope there will be more to come. Huge kudos for not making a facile ending, but holding the tension and hope to the last word. Marvelous book!

I was really surprised how much I ended up liking this book. My complaint would be at the beginning the author uses that technique where you are sort of jumping into the conversation in the middle, and you have no history and then takes a really long time explaining all the details. I guess for that reason, I didn't like the main character at first, wasn't sure what to make of her. But then I ended up really liking her. Good read.

In WAITING FOR SPRING, Keller treats us to a complex of dysfunctional interpersonal relationships, all told from the first-person perspective of Tess, a 35-year-old recent divorcee. To escape all her bitter memories, Tess moves from her small Maine town to an even smaller and more remote Maine town about 60 miles away. There she immediately becomes involved with her handyman neighbor, Brian, a handsome hunk of 25 who comes with his own set of family problems, which inevitably become entangled with Tess's long list of heartaches.

It's difficult to sympathize but so much with Tess. She is a self-absorbed, obsessive-compulsive, foul-mouthed nymphomaniac who sees herself as irresistible to men. Hardly a sentence comes out of her mouth or enters her thoughts that does not contain the "f" word. Her core problem is her dismally low self-esteem, which stems from her belief that her mother hates her. Unfortunately, the book's excessive length numbs us to any sympathy we might have felt for her early on.

Tess's narration treats us to healthy doses of sex, violence, drugs, and even a first-hand account of an abortion. Overall, the story is a real downer. To its credit, the story does have a lovely ending. But to get to it one must endure nearly 600 pages of Tess's obscenity-drenched self-pity.

Sarah Bruce Kelly
Author of THE RED PRIEST'S ANNINA, JAZZ GIRL, & VIVALDI'S MUSE

This book will keep you in suspense. I spent most of this book trying to figure out what was going to happen and that is rare in most books. There were so many twists and turns that I couldn't put the book down because I just had to know. This book touched me in the last few chapters and it seemed so real that I cried. It is a wonderful story and deserves all five stars.

Unlike other reviewers I love a good long book. The blurb for the free book as a vine member sounded very interesting to me. This author has great potential, but I feel should work with an acredited editor. The book was going on and on and went no where to a point I had to set it aside.

I absolutely LOVED this book!! There are no words to describe the way that Waiting For Spring made me feel.. It was written from the heart.. I loved the way the author wrote.. As much as I wanted to know what happened to the characters.. The closer I got to the end.. The more I didn't want it to end!! I actually borrowed this book on Lendle.. But I think I will buy it so I can read it again!! I truly hope the author has another story on the way.. a sequel would be great.. But I will read anything that R. J. Keller writes.. I highly recommend this book!!

The book pulled me in and kept me interested. There are some subjects not everyone is subject to, like me. I felt for all the caracters and wanted them to have the best in life but that is not what was given to them. They did their best with what they were delt in life.

'Waiting for Spring' has lots of potential in its characters and the setup for the protagonist Tess, with her sad, mediocre existence and hopes for a change, but none of that potential was realized. Choppy, irritating prose and an unstructured story which left me wondering how the author could fill nearly 600 pages made this a book I set down after a hundred and fifty pages and didn't pick back up.

Waiting For Spring was such a good story....I could not put it down. I became imersed in the lives of the characters and felt as though their lives would freeze in place if I stopped reading! I certainly hope there is a sequel, or a new book by R. J. Keller soon.

...there's something wrong with mainstream publishers. Waiting For Spring has it all: great writing, memorable characters, a good story, and more than enough heart. I was won over by the sample and it only gets better from there. We'll be hearing from this author in the future.