David Balzarini

I wish I could recall how I learned of this novel. All I know for certain is that I had added the book title to my wish-to-read book list which my husband and my Mother use to 'surprise' me with book bags for my birthday and for Christmas. Using the wish list I have a 'ready' list of novels to purchase when I've received an Amazon gift card or if I'm going to visit a location that sells used paperbacks.

There were moments when I thought I might abandon reading this novel but something kept drawing me to keep open to the storyline. As I do not provide spoilers within my reviews, I won't elaborate why reading this novel was at times difficult for me to continue - other than to say that the blurb shares - "Desperate to find his love, he (Colin Wyle) sought help from a mysterious source, forcing Colin to make the hardest choice of his life: commit a crime or lose her forever." Let me only comment that the "mysterious source" is not who I would have ever anticipated on my own prior to reading the novel.

Simply said, not everyone will enjoy this novel. I'm giving 3 stars for "liked it" rather than 2 stars for "It was ok" as I couldn't stop reading. I'd also like to credit the author's creativity - especially for a first novel- and an interesting portrayal of a subject that many of us shy away from discussion even with family and/or close friends. I doubt I would read another novel by this author but I'm glad I finished this novel. As someone once said, "Don't miss out on something that could be amazing, just because it could be difficult." I doubt the person was talking about reading but I think it's applicable to giving thought to reading "outside" of your comfort zone. Or as someone else once said, "Stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new things is the best way to grow." I believe that our lives as readers are also best when we continue to try new things.… (mehr)

I have received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a book about an aspiring musician who meets a beautiful woman, goes wild and marries her without knowing anything in particular about her, her family or her past life. Soon he discovers that she hides many secrets that will make his already turbulent life even more chaotic.
The story is told in the first person, by the main character who reveals his inner thoughts and describes the events as he sees them. The reader is supposed to put himself in his place and follow his stream of consciousness. However, at some points this is really difficult. In general, I like the storyline, the author's humour and a realistic perspective of the world of music, but at times I got annoyed with the pace of the story which was sometimes too slow with unnecessary details and sometimes too fast with some missing important facts. And honestly, the book was too long and it seemed to me I was reading it forever. Moreover, when I finally got to the end, I was a bit disappointed by how things turned out and how the author decided to present that. In general I quite enjoyed reading the book and would even consider reading it again, but I have very mixed feelings about whether I liked it or not. There were some great parts but the style of writing was at many points just too annoying. This is definitely not an easy read to recommend but a book that should be given substantial time to read and even re-read some parts to allow them to settle in.… (mehr)

Let me say up front that I received an .epub version of this book as a free copy. I didn't have to review it but the author said a review would be appreciated. It has taken me several months to start it, but once started I found it a fast and very enjoyable read, at least initially.

I say initially, because the style gradually changes from a quite exciting and perfectly good thriller, to a supernatural thriller, and a bit preachy towards the end. It also doesn't have a satisfactory conclusion to the mystery as all the questions that a reader might have - for example the motivation of the "villains" and what ties them together - and a what questions are answered are done in a rather deus ex machina manner.

If you ignore these features however, and I acknowledge that they might just be irksome to me personally, it is still a very workable thriller and probably deserves 3 1/2 or possibly even 4 out of 5 rather than just 3.… (mehr)

I enjoyed reading this book. The beginning had me wondering if it was a young adult book, and I was preparing for a not very enjoyable read but then the book settled into fifteen years later and became much more enjoyable. The theme is basically good versus evil and how evil may not be immediately obvious as being so. However, the book does not preach to us, and apart from the supernatural beings that encroach upon their lives, the characters live and act normally. There were some twists in the story that I did not expect.… (mehr)