Day: November 7, 2017
Book Review: Search for Maylee by Didi Oviatt
Overview
Didi Oviatt’s novel, Search For Maylee, is a must-read for suspense and thriller fans. I’d seen Didi’s name all over Goodreads and various blogs, finding myself curious to know more about this novelist. When I looked up her author profiles, I was surprised to see she had a few books already out in the market. I read the descriptions and settled on this one being my introduction to her canon; although I haven’t read the others yet (spoiler alert – I will be reading them) I’m confident this is the right one to start with. Wow, what a ride. And the best part, she’s a well-known blogger who you can follow here on WordPress:
https://didioviatt.wordpress.com/
Book Review
The premise seems basic: Autumn’s niece was kidnapped years ago and might be dead, but Autumn won’t let it rest until she knows for sure. Nothing is ever that simple, right? With only one small clue to go on, Autumn moves away from her hometown in search of the potential lead. When she arrives, nothing goes as she expected. The detective on the case follows her. She meets a group of somewhat younger guys who really challenge her to be someone different than she’s ever been before. Then she stumbles upon something far bigger and worse than just what happened to her niece. No one ever told her life would be easy, and this becomes quite clear once she throws caution to the wind and puts herself directly in the middle of a very twisty case.
The novel begins out rather slowly telling the history of Maylee and Autumn. You grow fond of the two women, saddened over the kidnapping and loss. Readers don’t know whether Maylee is still alive or not, and they won’t find out until the very end of the novel. Didi Oviatt takes on this journey inch by inch, pulling us into the story, the search for clues, and the budding romances until somewhere around 33%, you’re suddenly heaved into this huge dramatic arc. You only learn small pieces at a time, but with each layer, you become more invested and concerned over which of Autumn’s new friends might not exactly be trustworthy.
Autumn grows in the journey. I thought she was too quiet and nervous in the beginning, but that’s what happens when someone you love is stolen. By the middle of the book, she’s the kind of person you want to have as your best friend – full of sass, humor and strength. While parts of this story are your typical kidnapping suspense and thriller ride, there are several stronger layers building in the background. When you hit the climactic scenes, which last so much longer than normal (and it’s a really good thing!), you can’t help but speed read. I had to stop myself a few times because I was skipping passages — not because I didn’t want to read them — but because I had to know if Maylee was alive. Luckily, I caught myself after the third time and went back a few pages, forcing myself to read more slowly, searching for little clues in each of Didi’s passages. I felt certain she buried hints in there. Since I won’t include any spoilers here, you’ll just have to read the novel to figure it out for yourself.
When you read this book, and you should if you like suspense, thriller or mystery fiction, sit back and enjoy the words as they are written. Great care was taken and deliberate choices were made to keep the first section of this book a bit more slower paced than a normal novel of this genre; it seems concerning at first, but that build-up is what prepares you for the fantastic explosions as they happen later on.
I am already planning to read another of her books at the end of the year as I want to see the range of her style, tone and story-telling abilities. Get on this coaster and roll with it, Baby!
I’m hoping she’ll agree to do an author alert in the coming weeks!!!
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews… here’s the scoop: I’m Jay, an author who lives in NYC. My debut novel, Watching Glass Shatter, can be purchased on Amazon @ http://mybook.to/WGS. I write A LOT. I read A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you’ll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I’ve visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
Book Review: The Author by Jordan Antonacci
Book Review
I stumbled on this author and his book several months ago via his blog. When I read a synopsis of the plot, it hit all the sweet spots for my love of thriller and suspense novels: serial killers, twists, writers, subtle relationships and cops. After I read the intro chapter he shared with his followers, I was quick to get a copy of The Author once it launched a few weeks ago.
As a debut novel, it shows great potential for Jordan Antonacci’s writing career. He has built an intricate story with several red herrings and likely suspects, clearly creating several points of suspense where you change your mind on who the culprit is throughout the novel. His descriptions of crime scenes and the emotional state of the detective, who is much closer to the case than you’d expect (not a spoiler, he knows some of the victims), are bountiful and vivid. Jordan’s attention to detail and creativity will take him far as he masters his craft and delivers future novels.
As a story, this has a few twists and turns, woven with the detective’s own interest in writing a novel and meeting his favorite author. Given the title, you know there will be a lot of components and layers to the story – and there are a few which you don’t think are important at first, but slowly come to realize there’s more bubbling under the surface. I couldn’t tell who I was supposed to trust and that’s a good way to keep the tone fresh. The plot of ‘The Author’ is solid and the characters seem real through their suffering.
Some parts of the novel were a strong and a feverish read; others felt a bit slower paced which doesn’t always work to the author’s advantage. I would have liked a few more chapters teasing us about the different potential killers rather than a few of the times we were inside the detective’s head, learning more about his own issues and goals. It was interesting, but it might have popped even more with the extra suspense.
It’s always a good feeling to get in on the early stages of someone’s career. I enjoyed the novel, I like the author’s style and I will read more of his work when he releases it.
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews… here’s the scoop: I’m Jay, an author who lives in NYC. My debut novel, Watching Glass Shatter, can be purchased on Amazon @ http://mybook.to/WGS. I write A LOT. I read A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you’ll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I’ve visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
Watching Glass Shatter: Blog Tour Day 3 -Darque Dreamer Reads
Please check out the 3rd day of the #WatchingGlassShatter #book #blogtour led by the amazing Darque Dreamer Reads. She’s an amazing blogger with fantastic taste in reading. Thank you to her!
The Book:
Book Title: Watching Glass Shatter
Book Author:James J. Cudney
Page Count: 278
Publishing Date: October 8th, 2017
Publisher: Creativia
Date Read: October 25th, 2017
Synopsis: The wealthy Glass family lost its patriarch, Benjamin Glass, sooner than expected. Benjamin’s widow, Olivia, and her 5 sons each react to his death in their own way while preparing for the reading of his will. Olivia receives a very unexpected confession from her late husband about one of their sons that could shatter the whole family.
Prior to revealing the secret to her children, Olivia must figure out which boy Ben refers to in the confession he left her in his will. While the family attorney searches for the mysterious Rowena Hector whom Ben says holds the answers, Olivia asks her sons to each spend a week with her as she isn’t ready to let go of the past. When…
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365 Challenge: Day 240 – Vote
Vote: formal indication of a choice between two or more candidates or courses of action, expressed typically through a ballot or a show of hands or by voice
As with 100% of all my other posts, I don’t usually discuss politics on my blog. I’m not going to today either, but I will encourage everyone to vote today in the US. Our ancestors fought hard for it. It can make a difference down the line. You have some level of control and power. To keep this light and friendly, today’s 365 Daily Challenge word is vote but for three (3) different reasons:
- It’s Election Day in the USA, so please do your best to vote.
- Thank you to everyone who wrote in my book for the Goodreads 2017 Choice Awards. Round 2 kicked off today and unfortunately, I did not receive enough votes to get added to any of the 20 categories. It was truly an honor to hear from so many friendly bloggers who told me they nominated me or even pushed me to throw a post out there to notify everyone it was even an option. That said, please be sure to check out Round 2 on Goodreads and VOTE for your favorite books.
- About ten days ago in my post on ‘Tea’ we had a sort-of-vote on which types of tea I should try. I promised to compile the responses together, which I’ve done both in the original post as an update (click Tea to see it), but I’ve also listed them all below. I will try a few over the next couple of weeks and let you know what I thought. Thank you to everyone for such great responses. You are all awesome!
Types of Tea Suggested to Me
Brands: Yogi, Celestial Seasons, Lipton, Traditional Medicinals, Tazo, Harney & Sons, Grace Tea, Rishi, The Tea Spot, Teapigs, Piccadilly Circus, Jackson’s of Piccadilly (I might have confused a brand with a store here, sorry!)
- Orange Pekoe
- White
- Winter Spice
- Super Fruit
- Tensions Tamer
- Vanilla Almond Rooibos
- Cranberry
- Licorice Spice
- Hot Cinnamon Spice
- Gypsy Cold Care
- Breakfast
- Turkish
- Russian Caravan
- Darjeeling
- Turmeric
- Cardamom (Elaichi)
- Kashmiri
- Cinnamon Vanilla Healthy Skin
- Karak Chai
- Chai
- Organic Ginger
- Chamomile and Lavender
- Throat Coat
- Breathe Easy
- Black
- Green
- Bubble-Milk
- Lady Grey
- Pumpkin
- Candy Cane
- Mango
- Blueberry
- Detox
- Vanilla Spice
- Peppermint
- Jasmine Green
- Earl Grey
About Me & the “365 Daily Challenge”
I’m Jay, an author who lives in NYC. My debut novel, Watching Glass Shatter, can be purchased on Amazon @ http://mybook.to/WGS. I’ve always been a reader. And now I’m a daily blogger. I decided to start my own version of the “365 Daily Challenge” where since March 13, 2017, I’ve posted a characteristic either I currently embody or one I’d like to embody in the future. 365 days of reflection to discover who I am and what I want out of life.
The goal: Knowledge. Acceptance. Understanding. Optimization. Happiness. Help. For myself. For others. And if all else fails, humor. When I’m finished in one year, I hope to have more answers about the future and what I will do with the remainder of my life. All aspects to be considered. It’s not just about a career, hobbies, residence, activities, efforts, et al. It’s meant to be a comprehensive study and reflection from an ordinary man. Not a doctor. Not a therapist. Not a friend. Not an encyclopedia full of prior research. Just pure thought, a blogged journal with true honesty.
Join the fun and read a new post each day, or check out my book reviews, TV/Film reviews or favorite vacation spots. And feel free to like, rate, comment or take the poll for each post. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
