Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Across Eternity by Aris Whittier

Across Eternity by Aris Whittier
Release date:  June 25, 2010
Reviewed by: Honorary Sister Beth and AmyG (big sis)


Born a genius; education, wealth, and prestige came easy to Logan Richards. Actually, there wasn’t much that Logan couldn’t learn or acquire. However, he knew there was more to life than money and power. Logan was determined to find the woman who he'd dreamed of his entire life and know what it was like to love her before he died. 

Amber Lewis, a waitress for a five-star restaurant in, Dana Point, California, was overworked, stressed, and wary of life since her sister, Heather, had passed away. Then, one evening while working she fell hopelessly in love with Logan Richards, a chivalrous man who felt deeply familiar. 

For Amber, it was the beginning of a voyage of self-discovery and renewal. For Logan, it was the completion of life. For each of them it was the deepest sort of love. (-goodreads)




To preface this review I would like to say that all reviews are a matter of opinion of the reader.  One person can read a story and really enjoy it, and on the other hand another person can read it and that book not be their cup of tea.  We have an example here with 2 reviewers from our blog.  One of us really enjoyed the book while the other thought the book had merit, but wasn't in love with it.  So, instead of giving just a one-sided review, both of us are going to do a review of the book.  Then a reader can go from there, to decide if they would like to read the book.

Review #1

I enjoyed reading this book.  I really liked the main character, Amanda, and very much found her relate-able and deep.  She seemed like she was wandering through life until she met Logan.  Their whirlwind romance kept me reading and wanting to learn more.  Being a hopeless romantic, I loved that Logan waited his life for her and felt "drawn" to Amanda.

I haven't read many reincarnation books before so, to me, it was an interesting concept.  When Logan would tell "glimpses" of their previous lives, I enjoyed learning about their love and felt their love as real and believable.

I would recommend this book to someone who is looking for a sappy, no-brainer romance book.  It is a fast, easy read that focuses on their love and their life.  I will warn potential readers that if you have experienced tragedy recently or are not in a "happy place" wait to read this book.

Review # 2

I was excited to read this book because I hadn't read a romance in a long time.  Plus, this book had been labeled as new adult.  New adult is basically a little older than YA.  Sometimes the characters are in college (kinda like Saved by the Bell the College Years), or they are in their 20's.  Many times these books are a good transition into adult fiction or romance.  I have been anxiously awaiting for this new genre to emerge!  So, the author mentioned to me that she thought it would fit into this genre, and I completely agree with her.  If you are looking for something a little more than a YA romance, but not the bodice ripping of the adult romances, this would definitely fit in that category.

I did have some concerns about the novel, but most of them were all personal preference.  I am not a big fan of the bittersweet romances, I hear  the name Nicholas Sparks, and I flee in the other direction.  As you can tell by our blog, we don't read or review any books that would fit into that category.  So I wanted to give everyone a warning, that this is not like the other books on this blog.  I just didn't want someone to pick this up, and basically say, one of these is not like the other.

Dealing with the actual novel, I did enjoy the romance at he beginning of the novel, and I could relate to Amanda.  On the other hand, I did have hard time understanding Logan.  I could see what his motivations were, but I didn't necessarily agree with them.  He's a very serious, intense character, and I felt like the only time I really saw him let loose was with his nephew.  I felt many times, especially at the beginning of the chapters, that the author would just tell us about their lives and how they were falling in love, instead of letting us live it beside the characters.  I think it would have been a more appealing read if it would have been in first person.  I wanted more showing and less telling.

All of this is just my opinion.  I do know that many people really enjoy this type book, and if you are one of them, then I think you would enjoy this book.  Many reviewers on goodreads really loved this book, so please go look up those reviews as well.

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.