June 25, 2018

BLOG TOUR| One?


One?
Jennifer L Cahill


Release Date: June 21st, 2018
Publisher: Clink Street Publishing 

Synopsis: 

It's in the mid-noughties before Facebook, iPhones and ubiquitous wifi and One? follows the highs and lows of a group of twenty somthings living in SW4.


Zara has just moved to London for her first real job and struggles to find her feet in a big city with no instruction manual.


Penelope works night and day in an investment bank with little or no time for love. At 28 she is positively ancient as far as her mother is concerned and the pressure is on for her to settle down as the big 3-0 is looming.


Charlie spends night and day with his band who are constantly teetering on the verge of greatness.


Richard has relocated to London from his castle in Scotland in search of the one, and Alyx is barely in one place long enough to hold down a relationship let alone think about the future.

Review


Okay, you know me guys, I have to be honest - I was a little bit disappointed, and I feel really bad that this can't be a raving review full of love. After a lot of inner conflict I settled on 2.5/3 stars. 


I took a star away for each of the two things that bugged me: an excessive use of "..." and a conflicting point of view. Both of which I would have been called out of in my creative writing seminars for doing, if I presented this story. When using the ellipses, you want to do it to cause an effect, for emphasis, for suspense, for ambiguity, a lot of the instances that it was used for, could have been edited out and present a cohesive sentences to a better effect. Overuse something and it looses emphasis and meaning.


What I mean by conflicting point of view refers to the many interjection of inner thoughts of the characters we are focusing on, altering from the close third to first. The right narrative shouldn't need to do that! You characters actions and dialogue should be enough to give the readers clues to as to how the characters are feeling in a scene. 


Okay, I hope that didn't come across as mean but as constructive criticism - I do have some positive points that pick this up. I really enjoyed the character dynamics and think that editing and striping down (of the points made prior) could help to build for a more interesting narrative that readers could engage with. I related to Zara a lot - being someone who moved from London to Bangor and having to learn a new pace of life, make new friends and learn how to deal with adulting things, like paying rent. 


Jennifer, if you're reading this, I hope you don't get hurt by anything I might have said. Gosh, I feel so bad! I hate writing reviews like this.


About the Author

Living  in Notting  Hill, Jennifer  L Cahill works with  both individuals and blue  chip clients to help them navigate  and master change and transformation.  She has over seventeen years’ experience  in consulting specialising in change, communications,  business transformation and personal development. She  has a graduate degree in International Commerce and Spanish  and a Masters in Business Studies. In her spare time she loves  embracing her more creative side. For more information please visit www.JenniferLCahill.com or follow her @JLCAuthor   









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