My Sweet Saga

I received this e-mail yesterday:

We are incredibly excited to announce Admiral J Press's first official release, My Sweet Saga by Brett Sills, is now available on Amazon.com selected independent bookstores (and stay tuned for the Kindle version which will be available in a couple of short weeks!) Also, watch for My Sweet Saga on the shelves of your Barnes and Noble in the coming months!   

In addition, please "like" us on Facebook for more information and updates. (www.facebook.com/pages/My-Sweet-Saga/170371449710646?sk=wall)

Why is this exciting, you may ask. I'll tell you why, I will answer. It is because I have just finished reading this enjoyable book and am ready to post my review. Talk about timing!

/5      

Character Development          4

Editing                                     5

Sex                                          3

Violence                                  0

Romance                                 4

Readability/Flow                    5

So ... what can you expect from this book ... well firstly I think I should tell you what not to expect. Don't expect a short, quick read (it's a solid 453 pages) and don't expect to be immediately engaged (it took me about 50 pages or so to get really interested). What you can expect is to chuckle - maybe even laugh - often, once you get into the book. You can expect to be set back on your heels at the language and stark descriptions of sex (it gets very crass so be warned). You can also expect to finish reading with a smile and the feeling that the hours spent reading have been well worth it.

Brandon has quite the boring life when we first meet him: a little weird, but boring. Well, as boring as the life of a young Jewish man, engaged to a young Chinese woman and working in an office where he is the token white in a sea of black, can be. Then his lottery jackpot winning Dad shows up and things start to get really wild! Pretty soon Brandon finds himself impersonating a NASA employee with hopes of becoming an astronaut, juggling two fiancee's over two continents and attaining hero status for an act of desperate stupidity. Needless to say, his life is no longer boring!

My feeling is that this is one of those books that readers will either love or hate. It doesn't lend itself to
ambiguous feelings. The language is strong, the characters are strong, the story is strong so the feelings we have, as readers, are likely to be strong. I started out on the dislike side of the fence but, after meeting Dad, moved solidly over to the love side. As the story progressed, the characters grew and developed, which pleased me. Secrets, I had no idea were being held, were revealed, which pleased me. Brandon, especially, managed to surprise me by maturing and taking responsibility for his life and decisions, which also pleased me. What pleased me most of all was the feeling of satisfaction I had as I closed the last page of 'My Sweet Saga'.

Brett Sills has written an amazing debut novel. I, for one, will be watching for more.

A Taste:

It had been just over a year since I'd last seen my father and he more or less looked the same, save for ten or so extra pounds, a Burt Reynolds mustache, and cream-colored linen suit over a blood-red, parrot themed Hawaiian shirt that was six times as obnoxious as the one he wore to Grandma Sylvia's funeral. Hawaiian shirts are the heroin for old men.