closedthecover

After reading "Fixer" by Ed Brodow I was really excited about reading "Women From Venus." I was hoping it was going to be just as intriguing and captivating but I found myself disappointed. It's not that the stories weren't good because they were but there was so much potential for them to be better. In every story I found myself wanting more.

The stories each had a subtle lesson to be learned. There were little teachable moments about open-mindedness, tolerance, acceptance, obeying the rules, consideration, love, self-respect, selfishness, selflessness, friendship, etc... but I kept wishing the stories would be a little longer and a little deeper. I'm not completely sure what the main problem was but it just felt lacking. Short stories are difficult to write without making them feel rushed and that was how I kept feeling throughout Women From Venus. The first story was setting up really well and then the ending was quick and forced and suddenly it was over. The others were the same way. I would have rather Brodow wrote each one as a short novel and expanded the stories, further developed the characters and really involved the reader.

All in all, the stories are quick and there were moments when I laughed out loud or thought, "Yes! Good job!" when a character made a decision or did something. The stories are good, they are just too short and too rushed. There were moments when it felt more like I was reading the synopsis notes for a novel instead of short stories. My advice would be to grab a copy of Fixer and read it. Fixer was great! I reviewed it on my site Closed the Cover and it was a full 4-stars. Ed Brodow is a much better writer than Women From Venus.