More Than This

by Margo Candela

Sometimes what we have is not enough.

She doesn't know his name and he doesn't know hers, but they just might be perfect for each other. Alexander Velazquez, an ambitious lawyer from a working-class neighborhood, and Evelyn Sinclair, a daughter of privilege trying to make it on her own, are strangers living parallel yet very different lives. Alex finds himself deeply entrenched in the life of an unredeemable client, and Evelyn realizes she's committed herself to a company with questionable ethics.

They are both brokenhearted workaholics constantly trying to keep up with the demands of family and friends. What they both want is to find meaning in their lives; what they're doing is looking in the wrong directions. As they watch each other through their office windows, all they can do is wonder about what might happen if they took a chance on the stranger across the street.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction

353 pages, Paperback

First published August 5, 2008

About the author

Margo Candela is an award-winning author born and raised in Los Angeles and began her writing career when she joined her community college's student newspaper. She transferred to a state university as a journalism major, and upon graduation began writing for websites and magazines before switching to fiction. She wrote and published four novels between 2007 and 2010 :Underneath It All and Life Over Easy Good-bye to All That and More Than This. The Neapolitan Sisters, a 2023 International Latino Book Award winner, is her fifth novel and her first after a decade-long hiatus from writing.

Reviews

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

While clean sexually, still a lot of bad language. I just picked up this paperbook last second before I checked out some books for Isabel and was hoping to be pleasantly surprised. Wasn't.

Warning, here come some spoilers...

Anyway, the whole thing is kind of "Serendipity"-esque (the movie) with the main characters always coming close to meeting, and never doing it until the last page...literally the last paragraph is them walking towards each other. It really bugged me because I enjoyed both of characters a lot and wanted to see how they interacted. I think it would have really enhanced the novel if it were made into 2 parts, one of their separate lives, and then another of them together. They had enough cultural and upbringing differences to make their relationship really interesting and fun to see how they resolved it...but that's not how the book was and obviously, to only give it 2 stars, I didn't really like that. :) Not sure if I'd read any more by this author, probably not...

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll give it a better rating if the author writes a sequel. The whole book was a build-up to these two people meeting each other, and then the book ends. I don't like open endings!!!

[Klaudyna Z. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reminded me of the movie serendipity. The two main characters just kept missing each other over and over again and didn’t really even meet until literally the last page. It was basically two different stories that were just happening in the same places. I got bored pretty quickly.

[Shari · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read, especially with the parallel lives of the main characters. Seems like the author almost wrote it with a rom-com movie in mind.

[Zulmara · Rating 5 out of 5]

More Than This
By Margo Candela
http://www.margocandela.com/blogspot/...

Reviewed by Zulmara Cline

Margo Candela has written a wonderful novel based on a parallel universe that truly shows her strength as a writer and her creative imagination. Not an easy plot scheme to achieve, writing in parallel universes requires careful planning and plotting so the reader is right there with you, seeing the connections that are created, but no spelled out. Living in both universes, yet keeping them both separate.

Margo manages to interweave these two parallel universes without missing a beat. Keeping the reader intensely engaged on these two characters and when they will meet, when they will make the connection, and how it will all happen.

Well, masterful is the only way to describe how the story unfolds and how the two eventually meet and make the various connections that have been unfolding in their lives -- that only the reader is privy to. As a reader, you are constantly rooting for this couple, for Margo lets us into their lives and develops their characters to be true friends that you want to see succeed.

This is a fun read for anyone who is looking for a great book that does not stereotype Latinos, but shows well adjusted, successful, and mainstream Latinos, who fall in love, care about each other, have family issues, and in the end, are fabulously lovable.

About the Author:
Margo Candela is a Latina author who writes with a strong Latina voice, mixing bits and pieces of the culture into her universal stories and plot themes. No stereotypes in her novels, just strong Latinos/as who give us glimpse into the culture that gives us wings to fly and roots to stay grounded. Margo passionately weaves the best of la comunidad Latina with wit, wisdom, talent, and humor.

Questions:
1. Describe a time when you faced moral and ethical issues like Alexander?
2. Evelyn goes through great lengths to be thin, what are you willing to do to get that perfect body?
3. Evelyn and her sister Tanin are different and alike. How are you like your hermana, prima, o comadre favorita…how are you totally different?
4. Who is your favorite author Jane Austen or the Bronte Sisters? Which novel, written by one of these authors, is your favorite?
5. What is your favorite Mexican restaurant? Mexican meal?
6. Can two people who have never met, fall in love?

Quote:
I pick up the little figure and hold it in the palm of my hand. It's a dog. When I push the tail down with my finger, the head bobs. (33)

Opening Line:
I adjust the mirror to the side of the easel so I can see my naked back reflected in the one behind me.

[Read In Colour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Margo Candela's Good-bye To All That is our featured book in March, but I wanted to check out some of her other work as well. It dawned on me after reading More Than This that this was the first time I've read a chick lit book that featured a Latino love interest. A lot of times, if it's a book about a woman of color, her love interest is a Caucasian male or male of her own ethnicity. This time around we're lucky enough to meet the handsome and well-spoken Alexander Velazquez, attorney-at-law.


Occasionally I cast characters in my head and share them with you. Well I didn't cast everyone this time around, but I did cast Alex. I have no idea what this actor's name is, but he's from one of the AT&T Re-Think Possible commercials. Is that McDreamy enough to make you pick up the book? No, okay, then let me tell you why you should. It's a boy meets everyone except girl story. Huh? What? Right.

Throughout the entire book the very wealthy Evelyn Morgan is traveling the path to discover who she really is. After some time in Paris, where she worked at being a struggling artist, she's back in San Francisco. A case of mistaken identity leads to a job at a local dot com firm. Though it started off as some harmless fun, Evelyn finds herself dedicated to the company and the tasks before her.

Rebounding from a relationship gone wrong and a newly ended job, Alex Rodriquez has moved back to San Francisco from New York. When he stops by to visit his friend Pete at work, he walks out with an offer to join the firm and take on one of its most lucrative contracts. That wouldn't be so troubling if working with the client didn't go against everything he was raised by his parents to believe in.

As Evelyn and Alex move through their lives, there are so many instances of near encounters that don't happen. Ironically, their offices face each other and even though they're aware that the other exists, neither realizes that they're being admired from afar.

What did you like about this book?
I loved the family dynamic that was explored on each side. I especially loved Alex's parents.

What didn't you like about this book?
Every time the main characters were in the same vicinity, I kept hoping that they were finally going to meet and each time, I was disappointed.

What could the author do to improve this book?
Have the characters meet earlier.

[L V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by: Bela
Member of Livin' la vida Latina

Review: This whole book is written in the POV of Evelyn and Alexander--the two main characters or "lovers" in the plot. It is in the classic "He said, She said" format.

At first the story was kind of slow at capturing my interest, but then things gradually picked up when I started getting into Alex's character, especially when he is about to propose to his girlfriend (I was sure that this is something ALL guys go through at some point--the "what the hell am I doing?" phase.)

Alex and Evelyn get their first "hit and miss" at the airport as they head back to San Francisco. The whole book consists of nothing but the "hit and miss" of these two characters. And as they go about wondering about the person across the building, they each go about the personal and professional turmoil in their lives.

Some scenes, I admit, I skipped because they were just too boring to read, like Evelyn's shopping excursion with her sister and friend. Who cares about the prada whatchamacallits? Other times, I felt that the story had a few too many characters, although Sigrid was fascinating--she was one those types that I can't stand: a scary girlfriend and an even scarier ex-girlfriend. Whooo, if I were Alex, I would've left her too.

I liked that this book had the classic Margo Candela humor that we've come to love in her other books, and I was impressed how well she was able to write the male POV; but, still, it did nothing to compensate for the constant frustration of having to go back and forth between each character. I practically had to re-read some parts to figure out where I left off with each one.

Quite frankly, I think I built up this book too much, mainly because of all the media hype--it wasn't worth all the good gab it got. I liked "Good-bye to All that" better. I think it was her best book ever.

[Anastasia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Margo Candela is a good writer-- this book was very engaging and fun to read. However, both characters were pretty superficial people, and although the author dangled in front of me the possibility that each character might grow into someone more deep and more interesting, ultimately, I never felt that it happened. Alexander ended the book at the same place in which he began it-- no longer working at a law firm due to a conflict of values, but in both cases, without a plan for what he would do next or any true resolution. Evelyn made a pathetic and (to me) inexplicable last stand at her fake job, andthen walked away from it, again without any clear decision of what she would do next or what she had really learned from her fake job. I would challenge Candela to use her excellent writing to develop characters a reader can really come to care about and grow with.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the coolest things about being an author is knowing other authors. Not only do you find a sympathetic ear but you also get to read great books before everyone else. When Margo handed me an advanced reading copy, I was hooked from page one and neglected my husband that same night until I reached the end. Margo's novel, More Than This is about Alexander and Evelyn, two strangers for whom after just one look, experience that magical spark of attraction. More Than This is the story before the love story as they become the people meant for one another. If you haven't read one of Margo's books, you're in for treat!

[Alissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned about this new book via a review and since it was a romance, threw it in for vacation reading.

It’s an interesting premise. Rich socialite Evelyn Sinclair, and laywer Alexander Velazquez live and work in San Francisco and have several close encounters but don’t actually meet. Instead they can see each other through their office windows, and occasionally on the street or the bus. The novel alternates their voices, and the ending really brings it all together.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a really great snapshot of two lives- that almost intersect. It's a little bit romance novel, but mostly a character study of one rich girl trying to be like your everyday working person and one man trying to move from his roots to the heights of society. And their plans all change depending on family. I really enjoyed it.

[Maria Papadopoulou · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently bought and finished this book. It deals with what is probably the most painful question for most of us: What if? What if I have said this? What if I have done that? It is hard to put that book down, because it is so easy to relate to each and every character presented in the book. Highly recommend it.

[Krisnow18 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally enjoyed this book. Began it Sunday afternoon, done it by Monday evening. I had to work Monday, after all! Two people are re-thinking their lives. A series of almost meetings. Parallel lives. They end up working in buildings located across the street from each other and notice each other. I loved the end when they finally meet.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the second book by Margo Candela I've read and she is becoming my new favorite author. I saw myself in Evelyn and my sister is so Tannin, minus the rich, socialite part. And I'm glad it ended the way it did. Any more and it might have ruined it for me. I highly recommend!

[Tara Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting idea, and good build up. This is a story about the promise of a relationship, not the relationship itself. A little bit disappointing that it doesn't go further in the end, but I can see how really it's better that way.

[Tawni · Rating 1 out of 5]

COULD have been a great book. For me the language was completely foul and the open ending ruined it. I did like the main characters, and the author was on the right track. Great idea...poor execution.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this one up a few years back, at just the right time. It was a random featured book at a bookstore and I was feeling low and needed some alone reading time. That being said, it was a great dose of chick lit and I've returned to it a few times in the past few years.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like the writing style but I think this would have made a great play. I never quite connected with the characters. I was kind of disappointed by that. But it was great for a quick read.

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

All I can say without giving it away is, bad ending-what the book was truly about didn't come until the last page. Too much reading for just that.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great character development. Very nice writing style.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

i had such high hopes for this story, and kept reading in hopes that it'd finally get good ... and when i finished, i thought "really? there had to be more than just this to the story!"

[Patti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like the ending of the book - I would have liked the author to have at least had a chapter on the beginning of their life together.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story and a quick read. I was drawn in and wanted to find out what happened, but thought the characters weren't fleshed out all that well.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two people living sort of parallel lives ponder whether they could be in love without ever having actually met (yet). This book was as sweet, light, and enjoyable as chocolate mousse.

[Sandee · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good reminder why I generally don't read chicklit. Stereotypes all over the place, from the ruthless Latino lawyer with the heart of gold to the frivolous society girl.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have ever wondered about a relationship with a stranger who caught your eye this is the book for you. I enjoyed each character who brought their own feel to the story.

[Edith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awesome story about possibilities...

[Nana Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed. The cover and the synopsis is really interesting. I was expecting something "more than this".

[Akeiisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An optimistic read. A little anticlimatic and predictable, still fun and a nice way to pass the time.

[Pandora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, easy read told in a unique way. Great for vacation or when you need something light between other books.