Sunday, June 19, 2011

The Second Sonata

The Second SonataAuthor: Nathan Hardt
ASIN: B004FEFB9W
Purchase Link: The Second Sonata
Source: Author for review on A Cozy Reader's Corner
Reviewer: Megan Bennett

Synopsis:

Awake? Asleep?

Living, breathing, dreaming?

After crawling miraculously unscathed from a pulverizing car accident, Nicholas returns to his life to find that little is as it had been and even less is what it seems. With a newfound appreciation for life and an insatiable thirst to discover all it has to offer, he wastes no time beginning to mend damaged relationships and reconcile so much time squandered and forfeit.

At the behest of a charismatic but cryptic stranger, Nicholas takes every opportunity to seize upon his borrowed time, reuniting with loves long since lost. But even as his life is shaping to become everything it always could and should have been, Nicholas is increasingly certain that something is dreadfully amiss, uncovering mysteries lurking within every shadow and secrets behind each blessing.

Unsure of whether his journey of sudden self-awareness is being aided or daunted by this enigmatic chaperone, Nicholas must face the raw and painful truths creeping just beyond his senses, make decisions of dire and mortal consequence, and confront his most haunting of judgments before at last discovering the horrifying fate buried deep within the gathering darkness that has always been awaiting his return.

Painted within these pages is a simple reflecting pool of each of our lives and loves, our most joyous celebrations and mournful regrets, and a journey upon which we must all one day embark.

Review:

Nicholas barely escapes with his life after a terrible car accident. He takes this second chance to re-evaluate the way he has been living and to try and rebuild all of the relationships that have gone amiss in his life. Everything certainly seems to be looking up for Nicholas, but he can't ignore the mysterious things that have started happening. He also feels that he is being pulled back to his old ways. On top of that, he meets a homeless man named Brad who keeps popping up and Nicholas suspects he is being watched.

I had some difficulty making it through this title. The main character's life in this story really gets analyzed and the author talks through Nicholas's feelings and thoughts frequently. There are many lengthy philosophical entries that I had a hard time reading through. I felt as though I knew Nicholas very well, but some of his inner conflict and conversation was redundant and made the pace of the book slower than I would have liked. I would have liked to read through some more active scenes rather than listening to the character as he speculates and reminisces his past.

The storyline itself is creative and many readers may be able to relate to having made poor decisions in the past and needing to reconcile. Not everyone will get the chance that Nicholas gets in this story, but it is refreshing and gives the readers hope. Up until the end of the book I had not figured out the twist of events. The author did a good job of tying all of the mysterious happenings in at the end so that they all make sense but were not obvious throughout (at least not to me). However, on that note, until the end of the story I was getting a little annoyed with Nicholas’s strange feelings and actions and the fact that his family and friends were not reacting the way I would have confronted with those situations.

The format for this e-book was excellent; this is not something that I can say for other eBooks that I have read.

Megan

Giveaway: The author is graciously giving away 5 copies of his book via Smashwords coupon!  Leave a comment below to enter.  Please make sure to leave your email address in the designated section below so that I have a way to contact you.  If you leave it in the designated section the email will only be visible to me.  If you type in the comment section it is visible to all.  Thanks!

2.5 out of 5 Photobucket

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