Saturday 2 August 2014

New reviews of RANDY

Some of our reviewers have been very quick off the mark this time, and there have been at least three release-day reviews of RANDY by Jane Elliot. (If there are more, we haven't seen them yet.)

They're a fascinatingly mixed bunch, which only goes to prove that people read from such varied points of view that no two opinions are ever likely to be the same - and this, believe it or not, is exactly the reason why we love what we do; if we were all the same, after all, what a boring world it would be!

Let's start this time with Jenni at Boys In Our Books, who - it's fair to say - didn't have an overwhelmingly positive experience:

I went into the story thinking there would be a hard fought, hard won May/December romance, and there was almost none. In fact—yes, epiphany here!—the novel read more like a (very boring) friendship, with one character coming to the realization that he might actually be attracted to men. (Queue annoying internal dialogue.)

Whoops! We're very sorry Jenni didn't enjoy the book, but we can certainly understand and respect her point of view - and we thank her for taking the time to comment.

Cat, at MM Good Book Reviews, came up with a very different response:

I liked this story because it isn’t your usual love story. It’s not actually a romance at all, but it is about love and friendship. I couldn’t put the book down once I started. I hope there is more to come!!

If you like trappers, the old west, beautiful friendships, gamblers and a gripping story, this is definitely for you!


[Scroll down the page for the review and a giveaway offer!]

She's absolutely right; if you go into RANDY expecting it to be a neat-and-tidy traditional love story, you may be quite surprised!

Delicately balanced between these two opinions is a perceptive review by Cindy on Love Bytes, who discusses in some detail the emotional journey she went on while reading the book and concludes with these words:

...if you’re someone who appreciates that real life doesn’t always go the way we wanted to and that not every romance has a happy ending then I think you will love this well-written story.

Thank you, Cindy; we understand that this may not have been the perfect book for you, but we're glad you recognised its qualities nonetheless. What more could anyone ask of a review than that, really???

So there you go, folks - a very mixed bag of reviews covering an intriguing spectrum of opinion. But don't just take their word for it! Why not dive right in and experience Jane Elliot's RANDY for yourself?

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