Unique in a very creative way, Sign of the Times by Susan Buchanan, brings twelve people together, all of them different signs of the zodiac, each with their own personalities and differing opinions. Holly, a Sagittarius, is a travel writer who begins our book with a journey to Italy to do research for her new book. During her trip she finds a love interest … but that makes things complicated considering she has Tom, her fiance, back home. Tom, a Capricorn, isn’t so innocent either while she is away, and embarks into the world of internet chatrooms. Lucy, a Gemini, is Holly’s sister and she has her own relationship woes to deal with once she finally meets her match and risks losing her job. Her uncle Jack, a Libra, has issues taking managing his son and his high profile career as a prosecutor. We also meet Maggie, an Aquarius, and Jennifer, a Pisces, who are two best friends. Maggie is learning to live life post divorce and Jennifer is taking care of an ill family member. Obviously with one character per each zodiac sign, we end up with quite a slew of interesting stories being interwoven together. I found some characters more interesting than others, but most importantly, they were all unique in their own right. Some of them were cheaters, some faithful, some liars, some honest, some good, some bad, and a few sprinkled in between those lines … but overall completely unique. Ultimately they are all just searching for their own happiness, but while reading, I wondered how relevant their zodiac signs were, and how all of the characters would end up connected.
Overall, this story was quite fun. I found the ending interesting but honestly was expecting more of a bang than what I got. Other than that, I really enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the places visited as well as the personal interactions that each of the characters faced. The writing was well done and the flow was steady throughout. The author did a good job of creating a very realistic story and found a unique way to tie in the zodiac signs to the story.
[Rating: 4/5]
