The little things

Back in January I posted a review of Kevin Milne's Sweet Misfortune as "recommended Valentine's Day reading." Shortly thereafter, the author himself thanked me for my review and turned out to be a really nice guy. Over a few emails he also agreed to answer my questions regarding his experience of being a writer - and it was very helpful advice (just don't ask me how well I'm following that advice on most days). A month or so ago he offered to send me an advance copy of his latest book - which just hit bookstore shelves this week - and I'm under no obligation to give a positive review, just an honest one. And while I had intended to wait to post my review until Jamie has had a chance to read it, too, she's been really busy lately and Kate snagged the book first, so maybe I'll let her post her own review here later.

In The Final Note: A Novel, Ethan Bright is a music student studying abroad in Austria when he meets a beautiful young tourist named Annaliese. Before long they fall in love and get married, and Ethan realizes he’s made a number of promises to himself and others. He writes them all down but the most important are his promises to Anna to always play the guitar to her and to write her a song by their first anniversary. But life has a way of getting in the way of even the best intentions, and before long the years are piling up and Ethan finds himself in a business career (instead of being a songwriter) trying his best to provide for his family. Long hours and increasing commitments in a demanding job don't leave much time for family, but everything changes when there's a serious accident.

First of all I want to emphasize what a manly guy I am and that I usually don't read romantic fiction, so I might not be the typical audience envisioned by the publisher for this novel. So… while reading it I may have felt some parts were a bit 'sappy' or that some of the storylines were somewhat 'clichéd.' But… (all joking aside) perhaps it is more telling that once I started reading I couldn't put it down and that my objections didn't seem very important once I finished. And due credit goes to Mr. Milne for pulling in the atypical readers like myself. There are a number of good messages here – love, family, forgiveness, and priorities – but it all comes together in a compelling way. It's an emotional story that deals with some serious issues and there's plenty of sadness in the story. Still, I found myself enjoying it and can honestly recommend it to my friends.