Finally Re-read Fourth Comings

Okay, so I've bitched and bitched about this. Perfect Fifths is due out in April, and it's killing my soul. I loved Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings when I was in high school, so when Charmed Thirds came out, the story of Jessica Darling's college life, I was ready to devour it.

And it was kinda lame. As I wrote before, I didn't really remember Fourth Comings all that well. So I picked it up in the bookstore and read it during my breaks. While reading it, I did kind of remember parts of it. Mostly it seemed like a continuation of the third book; disjointed, labored, and not quite as funny as it could be. This is not a good sign for a series, when I can't tell the time line and can't remember a book as being distinctly separate.

The premise? She is about to break up with her boyfriend who mostly disappeared out of her life while she was in college. He knows that she's coming to break up with him, so he proposes instead. An all-or-nothing approach. As Jessica Darling says, "Ack."

Rather than having a discussion about this like adults, she runs away for a week, writing him letters about how she feels or explanations. Double Ack. The confessional style from the diary felt more natural. Writing to a ghostly "You" constantly to Marcus, the boyfriend/proposee, feels awkward.

The most terrible part of the book, I think, is when Manda wants to get back with her ex. The ex (who is also Jessica's ex) calls Jessica and leaves three voicemails backtracking on what he told Manda, saying that he panicked and didn't want her at all. That he was in a good place, and he probably should have slept with Jessica in high school.

That in itself isn't so bad. But Jessica plays all these voicemails for Manda.

At the end is a small section from Perfect Fifths. I believe this is an excerpt from the third-person prose portion of the book. It was all right. We all know that Jessica and Marcus are going to get a happy ending this time. Unless there are plans to write another book...