Book Review: The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett

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Imagine This: On your Final year in college, you meet the love of your life. But you don't know this yet. You ride in his path with your bicycle as you try to swerve hitting a dog. 

You take up his invite to fix the puncture on your bike and go to a pub for drinks. Then the romance buds...
But lately you've been thinking. What if you hadn't met him? What if you'd even met him and decided not to take him up on his offer? Will you two still be together? 

This is the story of Eva and Jim and the many roads of life they could have taken but didn't or did to face the future.

My review. 

Amazing storyline! On an interview conducted by, well, I do not know. Laura Barnett was asked this question. 'Did you intend the novel as an argument for the inevitable power of fate?' She answered negative. But I do believe this novel speaks strongly on fate. And sometimes no matter the roads we take, how we take it, we're still bound to meet that person who'd be the light in our lives. This is what this novel communicated to me, and I took it! Took it hard! A star to the storyline.—★

Also, well, I loved this book for it's organization. It's actually the aspect that makes this book literary and shine! So a star to the organization! You'd find yourself trying to choose between the versions of Eva and Jim (Version 3!) that you love. Although you'd be urged not to do this because that version may end up going awry.  All the versions beautifully weaved together and not written separately. Story flowed!—★★

The main characters, Eva and Jim are well-developed! It's one of my fears picking up books written in third-person. That I may not love the characters well enough as I feel it's not a point-of-view that gives room enough to make a character jump off the page. Oh, but Eva and Jim (—to my disappointment... and then relief!) were so very done well! Solely told in their points of views, none of the characters get this privilege (—fantastic as I hate narrators that just can slip into any character's mind)!—★★★

You'd also love the other characters though. From David Katz, the handsome actor who loves himself more than he'd ever love any woman. There's Penelope, Eva's best friend. There's Juliet, Eva's rival. And the many other characters peculiar in all the versions of Eva and Jim's life together or life apart. I found no character stunted and cliched (—again, to my disappointment. What can I say? Some authors have mastered the art of character-plurality in third-person narrative).—★★★

Settings, New York, London, Paris, Los Angeles. All pulled off beautifully.—★★★★

My rating: Four stars! (Only giving it four instead of five because like the organization I wanted the writing to go very Literary and peculiar to the author only)

My review is glowing. And you need to get this book! Possibly before it goes on TV! Yes, TV rights have been bought!

I recommend this book to all lovers of historical fiction with a contemporary touch. If you love ingenuity in storytelling, this book is also for you.

Killer Review: Shapeshifters by Stefan Spjut

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*The Killer Review feature is from my blog feature, A Killer Season, reviewing psychological thrillers on which much fuss has been made, rendering them must-buys (or not)*

Blurb: Summer 1978. A young boy disappears without a trace from a summer cabin. His mother claims that he was carried away by a giant. He is never found.

Twenty-five years later, another child goes missing. This time there’s a lead, a single photograph taken by Susso Myren. She has devoted her life to the search for trolls, legendary giants known as stallo who can control human thoughts and assume animal form. Convinced that trolls are real, she follows the trail of missing children to northern Sweden. But humans, some part stallo themselves, have been watching over the creatures for generations, and this hidden society of protectors won’t hesitate to close its deadly ranks.

My Review 

I loved this book.

The storyline! I have never read into any sci-fi genre before because... I think we all know this already... IMAGINARY CREATURES CAN'T BE REAL LIFE! But What if you are made to believe trolls exist in a relatable storyline. After all, you can never be so sure if there's an OTHER WORLD and the forces that exist in them. What if really giants roam this earth unseen? What if we consider the situation that sometimes missing people who can no longer be found no matter how much search have disappeared off the face of the earth? And what if we knew this, that in fact someone (we loved) was kidnapped by a "giant", but no one would believe us? What if? A star to the storyline!—★

You'd love the main characters. You'd love Susso, the daughter heavily invested in the search for trolls and other unnamed creatures Science can't spot. You'd love Gudrun, Susso's mother who tells her story in a first-point of view predicting doom before it's already happened.—★★

I also loved this book because of the amazing writing. Goes to show good writers can persuade you into taking their sides no matter how far-fetched the ideas they propound seem. Put an unbelievable situation in good writing and everyone might just believe what you put across. A star—★★★

Incredible suspense. This books gives the killers their point of view, so you have to just sit tight and wait for when they'd implement their plans. That's unnerving and deserves a star—★★★★

I know this book didn't emphasize on romance, but I believe some of the romantic scenes could have just not been rushed through. I would have loved to see some chemistry between Susso and her ex to feel they may have once been in love but now they are just together looking for trolls.

My rating: Four stars.

Shapeshifters by Stefan Spjut is available on Amazon. Just go get it.

I recommend this book to anyone who is ready to be swayed by a writer that sometimes kidnappers/killers may not be humans. IF suspense is your thing, well, go get this. If you also want good writing, you are such a snub about works that do not have literary excellence, just turn your snubby attention to this.

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Amazon and Goodreads.