As a long-time reader of Susan X. Meagher novels, I know what I’m getting when I open a new book by her: a long, long story that follows two women on a journey, but a plot that does not often follow the traditional formula of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
Instead, SXM’s books make me feel like I’m living alongside the characters and, more like real life, the characters’ lives move along. The story may include action and definitely surprises, but don’t necessarily follow a traditional plot’s pacing. Her books are my jam, and Wait For Me hit my sweet spot again.
Even better, it’s a book I really want to talk about with others. Ironically, the characters Molly and Alexa are brought together by a high-maintenance book club in New York City that would never read a novel like Wait For Me. Their loss.
SXM describes the novel as a “two toaster,” as both women are experienced with men romantically and sexually before meeting each other and gravitating toward a friendship and then something more. Alexa is married to a man and Molly recently divorced her husband. Their approaches towards sex and romance and friendships and marital relationships make me want to gather some straight, gay, bi, and pan women together so we can compare notes as we get into Alexa’s and Molly’s business. We’d enjoy a better book club than the one in the novel for sure.
Fashion and the big city and sexual relationships with men are so alien to me that I enjoyed going on a safari among unusual animals in a foreign land. I was a happy tourist, although readers who cannot take sex scenes with men will need to close their eyes or skip ahead. I found those scenes important to the story and a source of insight into Alexa especially, and they aren’t explicit, so read every word and you’ll be better off.
Even though this is not an action-oriented novel, the story does take a twist where I sat up and said “No! Ohhhhhh.” This moment instigated a big change for the two women, and yet it did not lead to some family drama I know other authors might be tempted to stoke. Again, I enjoyed the ride and laughed at myself for expecting SXM to go off in a more histrionic way. In the end, there’s enough emotional angst to satisfy me without added melodrama.
Now I’m off to a book club read of Wait For Me. I’ll be the one whipping out the handouts on the continuums of sex, romance, and behavior, and probably some graph paper to show how the plot’s development is nontraditional… someone else, bring the cocktails.