I have to be honest and say that I don't read many books by male authors. I have some that I do read (Nicholas Sparks, Richard Paul Evans, James Patterson, and Pat Conroy), but for the most part, I am strictly a Women's Fiction kind of gal. I also have to say that I purchased Empire Falls when it first came out, and I never read it. I think I read the back and thought it looked good, but then I never picked it up to read the book.

I LOVE any book that takes place in a beachy setting. Whether it's the Lowcountry settings favored by authors like Patti Callahan Henry, Dorothea Benton Frank, and Pat Conroy, or the New England settings found in some of the works of Luanne Rice and Barbara Delinsky, I love to seek out books that have a beach scene on the cover. Therefore, I snapped That Old Cape Magic right up. And I was not disappointed.

At the core of this novel is a flawed man who I instantly empathized with. His story was compelling, and I was rooting for him throughout the book. And while, toward the end, I was concerned that what I wanted to happen would not, I was very happy with the outcome of the story. I will certainly revisit Empire Falls, as well as Russo's other works!