Tuesday, June 19, 2012

A Lighter Shade of Gray (Giveaway)

No homieoats, I'm not depressed nor am I going to talk about being all down and out. Instead, this is a book review. You'll live.

A Lighter Shade of Gray-Devon Pearse
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What does it feel like to stare into the face of madness? Or to anticipate your own? Would you drive away your only love? Could you pretend it didn’t matter? How far would you go to protect a friend, or to avenge a death? Ten years ago, Devon gave up the love of her life, fearing she would one day fall victim to the mental illness that has slowly ravaged the mind of her mother, who is now being cared for in a private facility. Just when it seems Devon might have a chance to make up for past mistakes, her best friend Cass becomes a suspect in the murder of her sister’s drug-dealing boyfriend. Devon knows Cass is lying about the details of her involvement and the lead detective on the case, convinced that Cass is guilty, is relentless in his pursuit of justice. When her mother’s young, emotionally disturbed roommate insinuates she knows something about the night of the murder, as well as details from Devon’s own life that no one else is privy to, Devon becomes desperate to uncover the truth before Detective Lake does. As the investigation continues, Devon is led down a path she never expected and forced to face her greatest fears of life and love. Tangled in a web of lies, regrets and questions, can she find a way to let go of the past and start again? And, once the mystery is solved, can she live with the secrets she’s uncovered?
OK. Let me tell you what about this book I did not like before I tell you my final thoughts on the book. First off, I have to be honest, the main character's name is Devon Pearse.. the same as the author. I actually had to stop and look this book up online to see if it's a memoir because it just seemed weird. But no, it's a novel. So that was kind of bizarre and then switching your mentality from memoir to novel is really freaking difficult. 
The other thing was that this took me FOREVER to get into. It is 470 pages so that's daunting for any reader, even one like me who eats an entire book in a day, but this took me days to get into. I got to the point where I was going to give up because the story line with Cass is just too lame and I wasn't buying it and I feel like the author is waging a war on what kind of book she wants, a murder mystery or a story about a woman battling her demons. Those are both hefty story lines and to take on both is a daunting task. 
You're saying, "But Sara, why did you keep reading?" I'll tell you why. The story line of Devon's life being put on hold because of her fear of inheriting her mother's mental illness and how she missed out on the love of her life who suddenly comes back hooked me. If the story had been mostly that, I would have been in love and read that baby in a matter of hours. 
I did finish the book and I'm going to tell you what- I was happy and devastated at the end. Devon and Drew.. I can't even tell you because it ruins it. But my heart BROKE because a part of me is a romantic and believes in the hope that there is some guy out there for all of us who will worship us and give his life to us and yeah. Swoon. So here I am on a Sunday afternoon, in bed, eating Hot Tamales and crying my god damn eyes out for fictional characters. 
So here's what I'm going to tell you. If you are not scared of heavy plot lines, 470 pages and like rooting for the underdog, you should absolutely read this book. If you're just a casual book reader you should probably skip it because you won't like it. But I will say this- this ended up being an unexpectedly good book for me. I felt satisfied at the end, and though all of the plot lines had me concerned, Devon pulled them all together and sealed the book off really well. 
SO. For those of you who aren't afraid, I'm able to give away ONE copy to a US/Canada reader. Here's how you can enter for your chance to win- 
Leave a comment on this post saying you want to win and leave me your email address. 
Tweet or share on Facebook (leave a separate comment for each)
Blog about this giveaway (leave a separate comment)
Giveaway ends MONDAY, JUNE 25. Good luck! 

7 comments:

Ashley said...

I might have to give this book a try, but not until the giveaway is over...just in case I win, haha.

I get really involved with characters and story lines, and honestly re-read books A LOT. Harry Potter? All 7 books...3 times, and I'm itching to start over again. Hunger Games? Twice. Diana Gabaldon's Outlander books? All of them three or more times.

I'm re-reading 50 Shades of Grey right now.

I should branch out more but...meh.

Nancy said...

Part of me says don't touch this one...but the bigger part wants to go for it. Thanks for the giveaway.

nanze55 at hotmail dot com

Patricia Wojnar Crowley said...

Sounds like a great book! I could use a new one for the Summer!

tcrowley122 at hotmail dot com

Patricia Wojnar Crowley said...

Tweet!
https://twitter.com/tcrowley122/status/215533189328928768

trish said...

I love when you stick with a book and it pays off! Glad you ended up liking it!

Thanks for being on the tour.

Elizabeth said...

It was long, but I enjoyed this book...my review is up for July 20.

Hope you can stop by. NEW FOLLOWER.

Giveaway going on at my blog as well for another book.

Elizabeth
Silver's Reviews
http://silversolara.blogspot.com

Devon said...

Hey there. I'm Devon. I wrote this book. Yeah, it was ages ago now. But I wanted to thank you for sticking with my book, and all my many interwoven plot lines. You think maybe it was difficult to finish reading it? Should have tried writing it, haha! Anyway, a very sincere thank you to all who have enjoyed it, or, at the very least, stuck with it. It was truly a labor of love for me, and I loved/hated every second of the creation process. Peace out! Dev