Once Upon An Apple Martini

A thirty-year-old secretary must muddle through office politics and blackmail schemes (of her own creation) to find shenanigans, self-worth, and personal value. With the help of a goldfish, alcohol, a dozen bad ideas, and a cast of characters who could star in Sex and the City: The Unmedicated Cut, she sasses her way through New York, Hawaii, and a little personal growth.

This book gave me such mixed feelings. The characters were vivid and interesting, if also about as wild as a frat house. But they were honest, and the main character (Calyssa) painted them with affection. Calyssa herself was funny, had a train of thought more tangled than a Gordian knot, and a thousand one-liners that were able to get me to giggle now and then. There’s a lot of potential in this book. But, between poor word choices, grammatical errors, and the occasional line that made me wonder if Calyssa might have some racial stereotypes to get over, I felt like the overall effect was flawed–I spent more time with a pencil in hand noting where edits were needed than actually enjoying the story. At times, I wondered if there might be a language barrier that I was unaware of, and it became clear that though this is a strong first attempt, Ms. Taylor may not have had the benefit of an experienced editor to help her hone this story. I feel that there is talent here, but in frank honesty, there is also a lot of room for improvement. I look forward to Ms. Taylor’s future forays into writing, but I hope next time she can get a few more critical eyes on it before publishing.