Ayla and Jondalar have sex across Europe while throwing out inane banter and encountering lots of plants and groups of people you should recognize from prior books.

Sadly, this is about it. Repetitive sex scenes (I don't mind a high count, but they're all the same! And if the next book also goes into repeated mentions that Pleasures with Jondalar isn't like when Broud did it, I may just scream). Each volume of this series is about 100 pages, give or take a few, longer than the last. As far as I can tell, they're all comprised of descriptions of the flora and fauna.

The books ends just when they get to Jondalar's home, so as you may have guessed, there's yet another book to buy.

Our superheros set out with their traveling zoo and encounter several groups of people Jondalar ran into on his way out with Thonolan. The book is pretty much a repetition of these events:

1. Strange people recognize Jondalar, but are apprehensive of the dog & pony show (literally! ).

2. Ayla provides some medical assistance to a wounded person.

3. Camp is bedazzled by demonstrations of the duo's many 'inventions'.

4. Wolf befriends children.

5. A & J get an offer of permanent residence with the camp. Read: ooh, this is a big deal, must handle in politically correct manner not to offend.

6. A & J exchange gifts with the camp & leave.

The only camp that is different are the S'Armunai, and thank goodness for them. The Amazonian civilization is the redemption of the book.

Anyone (like me) who had some deep sense of loyalty (or brainwashing) instilled in them after reading the first two books.

When Wolf comes and saves Ayla while she is saving Jondalar from S'Attaroa & Company. Definitely the boo-yah moment.

Alright Ms. Auel, we KNOW it was the Ice Age, we KNOW the plants and animals were different than they are today, and we KNOW you're stretching the sex scenes to ridiculous proportions.

Get the hours of time I invested in reading it back. And yet, I still have the urge to find out what happens next when Ayla meets Jondalar's people. However, she is most likely having a baby...sigh. Anyone who grew up watching sitcoms knows where this is headed...

Bored. Bored. Bored. Except the bit with the S'Armunai. That was interesting.

Would do much better as a Harlequin romance writer, if only because that would make her trim down the word count.

You just HAVE to know what happens. (I am going to have to study what it is about the first book that puts this fierce loyalty in my heart. There must be something subliminal that I'm not seeing...)

Boring, boring, boring. I have never in my life skipped over sex scenes, but I skipped every single one in this book after I knew the players.

I'd recommend skimming this book. The dialogue isn't great. Ayla and Jondalar have some of the most trite conversations I can imagine. Skip all the sex scenes. Skip all pages that don't have dialogue. Do, however, read all pages about encounter with S'Armunai. Do feel free to throw book against wall in frustration when finished.

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Created Jul 10, 2007 at 12:55pm • Submit your own review...