27 September 2011

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.

9 comments:

  1. Great review! This is not my normal type of read but I am totally intrigued. I think my husband would like this too and it would be a good fit on his blog:)
    thanks

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  2. Thanks for the thorough review. Sounds like this book is a little too rough for me.

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  3. For some reason, I think I might not like this book. It sounds like it will offend me in some way. I know that sounds weird. I loved your well-written review :)

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  4. Alexis - there were parts where I had to evaluate what was written to decide if it was needed for the story or whether I should be offended. It is not a book for everyone.

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  5. Eeek, I have been known to give up well before 50! I am just that bad

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  6. Blodeuedd - I almost did. Luckily it was the only book I had with me on a weekend away.

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  7. Dana,

    Thank you so much for the kind review, it means a lot that you enjoyed it. Even as the author, I do agree the book may not be for everyone (due to some content), but I hope it would resonate with anyone who finds love to be the cureall for all of life's problems. Though the novel is fiction, it was inspired by truth. And it was the idea of love that turned my life into something that it previously had not been. Just like Brandon:). He just has a funny way of telling it!

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  8. He did have a funny way of telling it (and I suspect you do too!) I'd love to hear the 'true' story sometime.

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  9. I actually wrote a blog post about the inspiration! http://peelingtheskin.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-migraine-handful-of-pills-swedish.html

    Thanks again, Dana!

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