Heartrending
Posted on August 16, 2013
★★★★★
“The story kept me on edge hoping they would get back together…constantly. However, that wouldn’t have made for very good reading.” — Pat
August 16, 2013 | Categories: Amazon Reviews | Tags: amazon book reviews, book reviews, Books, fiction, Great Love Stories, Heaven, love, Love stories, romance, Romantic books, Romantic novels | Leave a comment
Not your average love story
Posted on July 25, 2013
★★★★
*** SPOILER ALERT ***
“First of all, I’d like to thank Sebastian for sharing this book with me and allowing me the opportunity to read and critique it. I wanted to wait a week or so before reviewing so that I could allow a little time for the story to marinate in my head. Sometimes I find that by waiting, I realize the book affects me more than I realized at the time I finished reading it. That’s the case with this one.
In all honesty, I really couldn’t stand Robin for the majority of the book. She was selfish and extremely high-maintenance. Yes, high-maintenance seems like the wrong word to use here considering she had almost no money and didn’t seem to expect a lot of material things, however, I felt like she was just NEVER happy with what she had. Come to find out, she had a disorder that caused a majority of this so I came to forgive some of her misgivings as the story came to a close, but she still wore me out a lot while reading.
Noah’s character, on the other hand, was much stronger and easier to love. He tried everything he could to prove to Robin his “undying love” and he had a true honesty about him. Even when he was with Sarah, he was completely up front about who he was and how he felt.
What made me appreciate this book was actually less the love story and more Noah’s relationship with his family (and then of course the end but I’ll get there in a minute). For one, I loved Noah’s bond with his brother. I felt like that was something that Sebastian could not fake. They were there for each other through thick and thin and could truly understand each other. Also, the pressure Noah received from his family and the expectations to marry “a good Jewish girl” were very realistic. Having been exposed to many of these expectations (and having had friends be the Shiksa), I felt like I could actually hear the words coming out of Noah’s mother’s mouth. All of the family dynamics, though sad, were what I truly appreciated about the story.
Then, there was the end. The end was my favorite part of the book. I loved Josh and how his character was revealed at the end. I think that was the most romantic aspect of the book. I felt like Noah’s path to Heaven (and then Josh moving down the hall and time to listen to Robin’s story as she transitioned to Heaven) was a beautiful way to bring the book together and romanticize death. This part of the story is probably what affected me most and made me truly love this story.”
— REG
July 25, 2013 | Categories: Amazon Reviews | Tags: amazon book reviews, Books, fiction, Great Love Stories, Heaven, love, Love stories, novels, romance, Romantic books, Romantic novels | Leave a comment