On "Love So Divine" by R. G. McCartney (1262 words) ***

Benumbed prose. A story told in a rather sterile voice. An odd technique, one might think, for a love story. But that's exactly what this is--and the tone is wholly suited to what unfolds. I love how McCartney has taken an easily oversentimentalized event and, through the choice of exotic location juxtaposed with the matter-of-fact prose, made it into something readers can wholly understand and without any of that sentimentality. Read the story here at Big Ugly Review.