Wednesday 26 February 2020

Read in 2020 - 4, 5

# 4: Clouded Rainbow
by Jonathan Sturak

I'm afraid there is no nice way to say it: This was the worst book I have read in a long time.
Not the story as such; it had potential. But the writing was not only badly edited (I suspect: not at all), but clumsy and weird from the start.

For instance, people were constantly "widening their eyes", even if they were just looking at their car's dashboard while driving, with nothing truly remarkable to see. Or a particularly beautiful sight was "massaging their eyes". Massaging one's eyes? Huh? I rub my eyes when they are tired or itching after staring at the computer screen for too long.

At first, I thought I'd be able to enjoy the story regardless of the peculiarities of the author's chosen style. But after a while, I just kept rushing through the book, watching the status bar at the bottom of my kindle advance and waiting for the inevitable showdown at the end of the book.

So, what's actually happening? A loving couple are headed downtown one evening to celebrate their anniversary with a nice meal at a posh restaurant. Their drive coincides with a huge thunderstorm, and as they cross a bridge, a mass accident results in the wife being hurled out of the car and into the river, while her husband is saved from burning in the wrecked car by a hair's breadth.

Both end up in different hospitals. As any ID the woman may have carried in her handbag is lost in the river, nobody knows who she is and how to find her nearest relatives.

The husband, in a confused state after his accident and suffering from various injuries himself, is determined to find her at all cost - ending up considered dangerous and the most sought-after criminal in the city.

Will he find his wife before the police find him, and will she wake up from her coma?

As I said, the story had potential, but it was so badly executed I honestly can not recommend this book to anyone. Good job the ebook had been for free! Strangely enough, J. Sturak is apparently a rather accomplished author; his website is here if you're interested.


# 5: The Girl In Between
by Laekan Zea Kemp

What a difference to my previous read! Another free ebook, but this one was not only a fascinating story, but well written and edited.

17-year-old Bryn suffers from Kleine-Levin Syndrome, a rare disease that has patients fall asleep unctrolloably - but unlike narcolepsy, KLS means the person may be asleep for days, weeks or even months on end. Bryn tries her best to catch up on life, which has gone on while she has been asleep; doing loads of home work while at the same time wanting nothing more than leading a normal life with all the things teenage girls usually enjoy.

During her episodes, Bryn lives in an alternative reality her mind has created out of all her memories: Every place she's ever visited or lived at is there, every item she has ever owned or seen, even events such as snowfall or a particularly beautiful sunset she remembers from a camping trip is in that world. But she has always been entirely alone there, until she finds a nearly drowned boy washed up on the beach.

Where did he come from? She has never seen him before, so he can not be part of her memories. Is he just a figmet of her imagination, or a person in real life who has somehow ended up in Bryn's world?  

With his arrival, something else has changed in that world; while it had always felt safe, now there is something dark lurking in the shadows, something that follows Bryn even to the real world when she is awake, something that wants her.

Will she find out who the boy is, and is the Darkness a real danger?

I really enjoyed this book. There is a lot going on, also in Bryn's home life; the story is well paced and the characters are credible. Apparently, it is the first book of a series about Bryn, so maybe I will download the next one, too.

KLS is a real illness. I knew nothing about it until this book. You can learn more about it on wikipedia. The author has her own website here.

12 comments:

  1. Clouded Rainbow sounds awful - surprised you persisted with it. Someone at the writing group I go to regularly reviews romantic novels. She sometimes brings along examples of some of the awful things she finds - some are truly laughable. And as with yours, they are all too often by multiply-published established writers.

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    1. I guess I persisted because a) the book wasn't long and b) I was only reading it on my short train trips to and from work. After I wrote this review, though, I instantly deleted it from my kindle!

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  2. I will take your advice on that first book. For a book to get published it should pass certain basic standards (at least in my mind) and it sounds like this one does not. It is sad because as you say it sounds like the story has potential. Actually, the cover picture for Clouded Rainbow kind of freaks me out!

    By contrast, The Girl In Between does sound like an interesting book. If I am understanding your review, it sounds like the contrast of her lengthy dream world with her real life. It sounds like this could be an interesting series as these two worlds intersect.

    I've never heard of KLS but I am glad you have brought it up. What a strange and sad illness. Thanks for your reviews I enjoyed them!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed my reviews, Bonnie!
      Like you, I'd never heard of KLS until that book, and then read up on the illness. It makes one glad to be in reasonably good health.
      Indeed, a book should undergo careful editing before publishing it, but editing is expensive and time-consuming, something many (self-publishing) authors are not willing or unable to invest. And some, I suppose, are of the opinion that their writing is so good from the start that no editing is necessary!

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  3. I do enjoy your book reviews, but I am certainly not tempted by that first one! I see The Girl in Between is a series of four books and you make it sound quite interesting. KLS is not something I have known about and am rather sad to know about now.

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    1. I don't blame you for not being tempted by "Clouded Rainbow", Kristi!
      The Girl in Between is the start of a series, and maybe I will download the next one; the story can stand alone but the way it ends makes it clear there could be more to come.
      KLS was unknown to me, too, until I read this book and then did a bit of research.

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  4. Great reviews - and you don't need an editor Meike!!!

    I won't be reading the first one - there are too many good books to choose from, but the second tweaks my interest as I'm not familiar with KLS. It's always amazing to me that there are so many illnesses I've still to learn about, and also makes me wonder just how so many of us live so long!

    Today is my 13th blogging anniv. Thank you dear for being such a great blogging friend for many of those years. My hope is still that we can meet in person some day - and I really would love to return to Germany so who knows - it may happen!

    Hugs - Mary

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    1. Thank you, Mary - you are so kind!

      Happy Blogoversary to you! You know how much I enjoy your blog, especially your beautiful photos. How you always manage to capture the pretty birds in your garden so perfectly, even through the window, is amazing.

      Meeting in person would be great, and indeed, it may happen if you return to Germany one day!

      Hugs,
      Meike

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  5. You are a great book reviewer …….definitely, you don’t need an editor. Clouded Rainbow sounds dreadful, amazed you have survived all way through. I too enjoyed reading “The girl in between “ the characters are really awesome. Waiting for more exciting reviews. Thank you for sharing such great work!!! Hats off.

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    1. Thank you, Andrea. If this is a genuine comment, you are very welcome to my blog. Looking at your blog, though, I rather suspect your comment is meant to create clicks for your "Wedding" website. In that case, you have come to the wrong place, and I politely ask you not to leave such comments again.

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  6. I like the way you review the books. It motivates me to read more books. The best part about your reviews is it is clear and precise. I request you to check some of our blogs written by the students of the top Music Institute Coimbatore . Surely, you would find a lot of useful stuff.

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    1. Thank you, Mayura, for this assessment of my reviews.
      I don't understand what makes you think I would find a lot of useful stuff on the "top Music Institute Coimbatore" website; nothing on my blog suggests that. Or am I missing something here?

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