Sunday 18 May 2014

Review: Barbara S. Stewart's "The Face in the Mirror"

Review: Barbara S. Stewart's "The Face in the Mirror"

Amazon.com:   http://amzn.to/1hUQftu
Amazon UK:    http://amzn.to/1jI9oyr

Synopsis:

Loss brings things home. You reflect on what you had, and what you’ve lost.
What if you met the love of your life... Again?
What if he never fell out of love with you?
And you realized that you were still in love with him.
Could you push the past aside…
And focus on the future?
Relive what was good…
And learn from the bad?
What if you found a secret…
That revealed that everything about your family was a lie…
Changed your thoughts on love and commitment…
And turned all that you believe in upside down...
What if a mirror reflected what you loved…
And what you lost?

Review: Surj Harvey

"The Face in the Mirror" was a light hearted, fast paced read and I guess that's something I really wasn't expecting. From the synopsis, I honestly thought this book would be an angst filled read but it was quite the opposite and so my heart remained intact and my emotions remained in check. Was I a little disappointed? Yes I guess I was because having read previous work by this author, this one really did fall a little short. 

The premise of the book was good. It was about second chances in life and love but it moved way too fast for me to be able to connect with any of it. There were moments where the story line jumped forward days and even weeks but I needed the fillers. I wanted to see the relationship between Mitchell and Renie grow, develop at a slower pace. I mean so much had happened in their time apart.. I needed to experience the pain and hurt they'd each gone through, the turmoil, the confusion but I felt nothing because I didn't really get anything from the pages. There were other parts of the story (where certain revelations were made... life changing... future changing revelations) that were covered in just a paragraph. I wanted to feel but nothing came so I found myself skimming ... a lot and it truly pains me to say that. 

The characters themselves were likable. Renie was on a journey of self discovery  and throughout, learnt so much about herself  and what she wanted from life. She was also discovering much about the relationship her parents had had and that was kinda ugly. I guess it made her realise what she wanted because she fought that little bit harder for it. Mitchell was lovely. He was definitely the communicator out of the two and wore his heart on his sleeve. He never stopped loving Renie in all the years they were apart but he was patient. He wasn't going to push her into making choices she wasn't ready for. That's what had landed them in such a mess the first time around. 

The relationship between the couple was ... sweet? Cute? Uhhhmmmmm... is it bad that I wanted it to be really HOT??? Should I feel guilty that I wanted to see some really naughty stuff? I even texted a friend and said there was a severe lack of the word "cock" in the book. I think I'm a perv!!! Much of the bedroom stuff was left to the imagination... but I didn't get time to imagine because the book had already skipped to the next scene!!! Slow down!!!! 

All in all, I do feel a little gutted with "The Face in the Mirror." Had the pace been much slower and I'd had the opportunity to really get to know the characters, maybe I would have connected with the story line a bit more. Instead, this was another book where I felt the author had touched the surface but not delved any deeper. Too much inconsequential detail and not enough depth left me feeling I'd missed out on what could have been a really brilliant story. 

As such I rated "The Face in the Mirror" 2.5 Hearts 

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