RingGoRound    by Patda Jim Order:  USA  Can Warren, 2011 (2007) Softcover, e-Book    Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth First, I must say that RingGoRound by Patda Jim has an intriguing plot. The plot line is divided by two time periods – one a hundred years ago and the other today. This particular device is handled well. One hundred years ago, Marlene van der Mehr lived on the outskirts of Amsterdam with her extremely brutal husband. She fled to the family's country estate. Her counterpart, Marieke, one hundred years later feels a pull from that estate that has brought her to the same location. All of this is good. I did find, though, some difficulties that made it hard to continue reading. I finished the book, however, wanting to find that what I had deduced was true. It was! I found too many typos and missing words. The most difficult problem was that many of the main characters shared the first letter of their names – Marlene, Monica, Mareike; Henny, Hans, Heinrick; Paul, Pieter; Clemens, Claudine – making it difficult to keep the players straight, especially when they spanned that century. Marieke, in this century and the last one, is a tough lady, able to handle her exacting work and a life on the side. However, when adversity or shock hits (which it does regularly) she tends to fall apart. Not a very credible characteristic for her. The plot, as I said, is a good one. But the story tends to ramble on with lots of declarations of love that become redundant after the first hundred pages. Maybe condensing it would pick up the pace. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Romance books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews