Thursday, April 1, 2010

Book Review & Give Away!!

An Absence So Great
By Jane Kirkpatrick

OVERVIEW:

While growing in confidence as a photographer, eighteen-year-old Jessie Ann Gaebele's personal life is at a crossroads. Hoping she's put an unfortunate romantic longing behind her as "water under the bridge," she exiles herself to Milwaukee to operate photographic studios for those owners who have fallen ill with mercury poisoning.

Jessie gains footing in her dream to one day operate her own studio and soon finds herself in other Midwest towns, pursuing her profession. But even a job she loves can't keep painful memories from seeping into her heart when the shadows of a forbidden love threaten to darken the portrait of her life.

MY REVIEW:

This was a difficult book for me to read. I had a hard time getting into it and I think part of it was that the author didn't explain where the characters had come from as this is a second book in the series. I never did really understand what had actually transpired between the two main characters of the book and felt myself being prejudice against them both for their sinful relationship. Maybe that is harsh, but that's exactly what I felt. I never did have sympathy for either character, which is vital when reading a book.

One thing I did enjoy about the book was the old pictures throughout it. There were stories that went a long with it, and although I knew they were fictional, these little snippets were really interesting and I enjoyed the respite from the main storyline. The pictures did tie in with the story line, so it wasn't awkward, but they were just more interesting to me.

As I read through the book, I did get more curious about what would happen to these people, so it wasn't a total loss. Honestly, for me, it was hard to like some of the characters, so it made for a difficult read. Perhaps had I read the first book first, it might have been more enjoyable to me and I would have cared more about the characters. It wasn't a total loss because I did enjoy the old pictures and seeing how people dressed and looked. It was also interesting some of the props that were used in the photographs - something you don't usually see today.

If you would like to purchase this book, you can find it here.

This book was provided to me for review by Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing group.

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I have a copy of this book to giveaway! If you would like to be entered in the drawing, just leave a comment after this post.

To get additional entries, become a follower of my blog and let me know in an additional comment.

To get another entry, mention this giveaway on your blog and post your addy in the comments for me to see.

I will chose a winner by random number on Friday, April 9th. Please make sure I can contact you either by email or at your blog if you win.

Edited: Just because I wasn't that crazy about this book doesn't mean you won't like it. Don't let my review deter you from entering the contest to win this book. You may love it!! :)

God bless you - Julie

3 comments:

  1. I used your Easter picture on my blog, and left a link to your blog, as that is where I got the pic...I hope you dont mind :)

    Happy Easter and GOD bless!

    xxx suzanna

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for your book review. I would like to enter the dawing for your free book.

    I enjoy your book reviews and your blog.

    May the Lord Jesus Christ richly bless you!

    Lindy

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

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