Book Review – On This Day by Melody Carlson

On This Day by Melody Carlson

I have read a few Melody Carlson books before and when I found this one at Lifeway on the sale table, I was excited to buy it and give it a read. On the whole, it was just okay for me. I wanted to like it more than I did. I found the tone to be a bit down the whole novel and the outcome was predictable. It wasn’t a bad read at all, but it didn’t really captivate me and I wasn’t emotionally invested in the characters, really.

On This Day is a story about five women who are in attendance at a wedding. Each has their own issues to confront and wrestle with regarding love, life and marriage. The main characters are a war-bride widow, a vain socialite, a woman who feels her 25 year marriage is in jeopardy, an insecure young wife and new mom and an engaged bridesmaid. The book takes us through the wedding through each point of view and also introduces us to the trials each character is facing. Along the way somewhere the story just started to drag and feel down to me. And, one of the stories doesn’t even get a resolution. I read it all the way through, but mostly because I dislike not finishing what I start and I like Melody Carlson and wanted to do a service to her novel.

Still, I’m only lukewarm on this one. It had its better points scattered throughout, but I didn’t find it to be a great read on the whole. Unfortunately. Still, Melody Carlson is an excellent author and I have enjoyed every other work of hers that I have read. I will continue to read her books without a doubt.