All Stories Are Love Stories by Elizabeth Percer

Good morning, everyone! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Elizabeth Percer's latest, All Stories Are Love Stories.

It's Valentine's Day, which just so happens to be Max's birthday. A day that brings to mind all kinds of things, like lost love and the fact that he's been single for an uncomfortable amount of time. And as Max ponders these issues, the woman that got away ponders them as well. 

Vashti hasn't seen Max since she left him all those years ago. But she dreams about him. Her certainty that he can't possibly want to see her again keeps her from trying, but this year she's decided maybe it's worth just sneaking a peek at how he's doing. 

Meanwhile, Gene, an earthquake researcher at Stanford, and his partner are facing a challenge in their own relationship. It means Gene is almost constantly worried unless he's by Franklin's side. And then the city is rocked by not one but two severe earthquakes later that day. As things in the city deteriorate further, Gene, along with many others, tries frantically to return to the person he loves most.  

There's no denying Elizabeth Percer is a massively talented writer. Her characters, both here and in her debut, An Uncommon Education, are so full of depth and development that you can't help but become enthralled by their stories. But for me All Stories Are Love Stories just didn't quite hit the mark.

First, I mentioned Percer's debut, which I reviewed back in 2012. The heroine in that particular story is quite quirky and endearing. And while the characters here in All Stories Are Love Stories have their own endearing qualities, it's that quirkiness in particular that drew me to Percer's previous novel. A quirkiness that's not present in this one, sadly.

Second, I'm not a big fan of character driven stories. I love well developed characters, but I love them in the context of a much more plot focused book than All Stories Are Love Stories turned out to be.

As we all know, though, (mood readers in particular) timing can be a huge issue in reading. Sometimes a book falls prey to the particular time in which you tackle it and that's my third issue here. Through no fault at all of the book, I happen to have just recently spent some time in another San Francisco narrative that kept edging its way back into my consciousness as I was trying to read. And while that other piece was not the same story or even the same quality as Percer's, it inevitably affected my reading greatly.

Now, taking all of that into consideration I have to point out that I've seen glowing reviews of Percer's latest. Mine might actually have been one of them if I'd come to All Stories Are Love Stories at the right time. And given how much I did enjoy An Uncommon Education, I feel really guilty for not loving All Stories Are Love Stories.

This is very much the kind of book that I fully admit is a worthy read and a wonderful read for the right audience. First and foremost the audience that's drawn to more character driven tales :) So if you find that's your cup of tea, I definitely encourage you to check out other reviews of the book. Just because it wasn't for me doesn't mean it won't hit the spot for you!

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Elizabeth Percer and her work you can visit her website here. You can also like her on Facebook.

Purchase Links: HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble