Dinosaurs & Cherry Stems

(no rating)
Reading Susan Ricci's wonderful novel, Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems, It felt like I was finally privy to at least a glimpse of the secrets of how women think. I was able to get into the main character, Cindy and truly feel for her, at times wanting to rescue her from hoards of unsavory men. What a ride this novel took me on. The writing was great and flowed effortlessly across each page. Wonderful book!

-Dennis Higgins - Author

What a great and thoroughly enjoyable novel. It's well written, funny and the perfect book to curl up with and spend a few hours.

I kind of had to push myself to read “Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems” at first because I was absolutely sure that it wasn’t going to be my cup of tea. Then I started reading and had to drag myself away to go take care of my day to day life. Score one, Susan, my dear. It’s a lighthearted, fairly easy read and I was so very happy that I didn’t have to slog through a bunch of heavy love scenes. I like to have a little left to the imagination in that department.

“Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems” is not so much a love story as it is a story about a journey of self-discovery and how you don’t have to be in your roaring twenties to embark on such a journey. Susan calls it “midlife adolescence” and I call it “getting back on the ol’ horse”. Either way, it shakes down to the same thing, you’re never too old to start having a little fun even if you just came out of a phase in your life where the world seems to be crashing in around you. I got a real kick out of some of the names that Susan came up with for some of the sleazy characters that the main character met while giving a go at dating again. That was just plain funny. That and showing that what goes around comes around was strangely cathartic. It gives me hope for aspects of my life.

I have to say honestly, the part that I liked the most about “Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems” was that any person who has been where the main character has been can relate to the situation she’s in whether male or female. The emotions; anger, jealousy, resentment, bitterness and distrust are real and come part and parcel with emotional baggage. These things are expected with someone who is emotionally scarred and getting back into the dating game. They’re also confronted head on in what I can only call a superb accounting of self-identification. Anyone who has been in any kind of relationship and come out the other side is a changed person whether for good or ill and Ms. Ricci does not try to skate around this. I can only assume that she has used her own experiences to better her characters and make them more real and she’s done it with a kind of forthright honesty that I applaud.

Now, onto the blasted star rating which is going to be a bit of an enigma to me. Instinctively, I want to give a five star because I genuinely liked “Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems” and finished reading with that disconnected, euphoric sensation that I only get after I’ve gotten completely involved in a book. I’m also struggling with the idea that Susan is a close and personal friend of mine. Even with that said, I have to take away a star not because if my association with Susan, but because I want to see more. I’ve seen Susan’s talent for description first hand and I would like to challenge her to give me more stories to devour. Keep writing, bring out the emotion and show me what you’ve got. Enough said.