Kristin's Bookshelf: November 2012

Rating: ★★★★★

Author: Emily Colin

Genre: Adult Fiction; Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Publication Date: August 21, 2012

Pages: 333

Format: E-book; Trade Fiction Paperback

Content Rating: R

"I kept my promise," he says then, his eyes on mine. "I told her I would come back, and I did. Even if it wasn't quite the way I planned." ~ Emily Colin, The Memory Thief

Overview

One man’s vow to his wife sparks a remarkable journey that tests the pull of memory and reaffirms the bonds of love.

Before Madeleine Kimble’s mountaineer husband, Aidan, climbs Mount McKinley’s south face, he makes her a solemn vow: I will come back to you. But late one night, Maddie gets the devastating news that Aidan has died in an avalanche, leaving her to care for their son—a small boy with a very big secret. The call comes from J.C., Aidan’s best friend and fellow climber, whose grief is seasoned with survivor’s guilt . . . and something more. J.C. has loved Maddie for years, but he never wanted his chance with her to come at so terrible a cost.

Across the country, Nicholas Sullivan wakes from a motorcycle crash with his memory wiped clean. Yet his dreams are haunted by visions of a mysterious woman and a young boy, neither of whom he has ever met. Convinced that these strangers hold the answers he seeks, Nicholas leaves everything behind to find them. What he discovers will require a leap of faith that will change all of their lives forever. (Ballantine)

Review

After reading the overview for The Memory Thief, I knew right off the bat I was in for an emotion-filled read. I expected the sadness, grief, sympathy and pain that would accompany any book about losing a soul mate, but I didn't expect all the other emotions this book brought to light. Hope, confusion, anger, love and yearning all war within as you follow Aidan's journey back to his family so he can fulfill his promise.

I spotted Emily Colin's debut novel on the shelf at Target in the emerging author section right next to another author I recently found and loved, Catherine McKenzie (see my review of Arranged), so I decided to give the book a try and wow did this book completely blow me away! So much so, that I finished it in a day and a half.

The Memory Thief struck a chord with me. I related with all the main characters on so many different levels it was a little rattling. So I will be up front and say that my ability to relate in such real terms caught me by surprise and turned this book into a rather personal reading experience but regardless I will do my best to review it objectively.

The fact that this is Colin's first novel is astonishing. She effortlessly wove together such an intricate and beautiful story. Her characters were completely fleshed-out and her writing strikes the perfect balance between ease and complex. There is constantly a question or a mystery beckoning you to keep reading, to move forward even in the midst of the heartbreaking moments.

Colin's heroine, Madeline Kimble, is one of my all-time favorite heroines in that she is flawed, vulnerable, forgiving and real. She makes unconventional choices that she isn't always happy with but she doesn't discount them. She wars within herself and hurts and finds peace. It is as consuming as Aidan's journey back to her.

Aidan's progression throughout the story was inspiring and sad all at once. He never loses his dare devil spirit and the stigma of selfishness that accompanies it continues to have repercussions but I absolutely loved him by the end. I could easily see why Maddie took the risk and loved him as she did.

There were actually three completely worthy heroes in this book. Who wouldn't love that! In addition to Aidan, you also have the wonderfully steady J.C. and the confused complexity of Nicholas who has lost his own identity.

Some reviewers/ readers have been taken by surprise with the sexual intimacy that takes place throughout this book since it is marketed more as adult fiction rather than romance but personally I felt the sexual context was essential. It conveyed the depth of emotion, the soul deep connections and the warring of feelings that takes this book to another level. So be warned that there are scenes of sexual nature throughout this book and decide for yourself.

I loved every word.

In honor of the mass market release today of two of my all-time favorite self-published romances (see Easy and Thoughtless/ Effortless below), I thought I would try something different and play a quick round of indie to mass market trivia.

Did you know that a growing number of the books making their way up the bestsellers list and gracing the bookshelves of stores worldwide were once self-published? With E-Readers and self-publishing tools, authors can start their own career with an idea, a computer and some ingenuity.

I'm proud to say I read all the books listed below when they were fledgling indies (and if you are a Nook reader I have most of them to loan in their original indie splendor, just send me your info.) If not, you can find them all on store shelves everywhere in their mass market polished form!

Fifty Shades of Grey / Fifty Shades Darker / Fifty Shades Freed

Vintage Books (an imprint of Random House) didn't change one aspect of the covers of E.L. James bestsellers when they acquired publishing rights for this pop culture phenom earlier this year. They didn't have to, because these covers do exactly what they should. They get your attention and draw you in. Here is a side of trivia for you Fifty fans. Did you know the Fifty Shades trilogy was originally called Master of the Universe and was published online as Twilight fan fiction? Yep, Fifty is a grown up version of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight saga, only with riding crops and a damaged Dom instead of vampires and werewolves.

Gabriel's Inferno / Gabriel's Rapture

Like Fifty Shades of Grey, the Gabriel's Inferno series originally began as serialized fan fiction of....... Twilight. After it's fan fiction days, Gabriel's Inferno was formatted in novel form and sold through Omnific, a small publishing house until Penguin paid seven figures for both of Sylvain Reynard's break-out novels this summer. Reynard is currently working on the third installment in this series.

On The Island

On The Island was my very first self-publish purchase and thank God for that! I was a little hesitant buying it and the original cover didn't really help to ease my apprehension. What I found on the inside, however, blew me away and took away my fear of the self-published in the process. To date, Garvis Graves has sold over half a million copies of On The Island, signed a deal with MGM for the movie option of her debut novel and spent over ten weeks on the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Love Unscripted / Love Unrehearsed

Tina Reber's indie debut, Love Unscripted, is an indie that I would rather read in its mass market form because it desperately needed grammar and content editing in indie form. But what it did have, was an excellent story! I really look forward to re-reading this now that Simon & Schuster/Artia editors have gotten a hold of it. It's sequel, Love Unrehearsed, was released last month.

Slammed / Point of Retreat

What have I not said about these two indie gems? I love them! I am waiting anxiously for book three. I am over the moon that the rights for these books have been optioned for movies by Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformers, Salt). My first review on this blog was of Slammed. I have a review of Point of Retreat in progress. Colleen Hoover writes with a depth of personality that is too often lacking in novels. Her books always have a deeper meaning, something beyond the beautiful love story. Hurry, go check them out!

Beautiful Disaster

Okay, I am admittedly on the bench where Jamie McGuire's bestselling indie, Beautiful Disaster, is concerned. But you cannot deny that Beautiful Disaster has struck a chord with a growing mass of romance readers. So much so, that two of Hollywood's biggest studios went into a major bidding war to obtain the movie rights! McGuire has wrapped up the sequel, Walking Disaster, which is a retelling from the hero's (Travis) point of view. It is expected to be released in early 2013.

Bared To You

I call the cover makeover Penguin commissioned of Bared to You 'The Fifty Treatment.' They had the gumption to jump on the fifty bandwagon and it worked. Loads of fifty readers finish off Fifty Shades of Grey and pick up right away with Bared to You's Eva and Gideon. Day's books are now gracing the top of the New York Times Bestsellers list right alongside and often ahead of E.L. James' Fifty Shades Trilogy. Day released book two in the Crossfire trilogy, Reflected in You, last month and will release the final installment Entwined with You in 2013.

The Vincent Boys / The Vincent Brothers

The Vincent Boys was my first Abbi Glines book and it has so far been my least favorite. The last two she put out, While it Lasts and Just For Now, have been my favorites. It seems she is progressing very nicely as a story teller and I find myself wanting to pick up her books more and more. A good majority of her books (including those listed above) have been included in her contract with publishing giant Simon & Schuster. So keep an eye out!

If I Were You

If I Were You by Lisa Renee Jones is described as "Fifty Shades of Grey meets Basic Instinct." Wow, that is a leathal combo! Simon and Schuster snatched up If I Were You and took over publication in August 2012. They will publish the remaining two novels in this trilogy, Being Me and Revealing Us, in 2013.

Released This Week

Easy

When Tammara Webber announced that she had signed with Penguin to publish her break-out novel Easy, I was not surprised one single bit. If I was surprised about anything, it was that it took so long. For me, Webber's self-published books have been produced on par with anything a major publisher puts out. They have been formatted perfectly, edited professionally and written with the prose of a seasoned writer. If any self-published author deserves to be elevated to the ranks of mass market, it is most certainly Tammara Webber.

Thoughtless / Effortless

This indie series is so consuming that I will not flinch one bit when I have to pay full industry price for the third and final book in this series, Reckless, when it comes out in early 2013. In fact, I am now asking myself "why have I not written a review of this one?!!!" I love the two books that make-up Stephen's Thoughtless series in a serious way. Mostly because of the tortured rock star awesomeness that is Kellan Kyle. Move over Cristian Grey because Kellan is hands down my favorite romance hero.

Upcoming Indies Being Published

On Dublin Street

On Dublin Street was originally released as an indie just two month ago (September 2012), within a month of it's release it was snatched up by Penguin's NAL imprint. It also made it's way to the New York Times Bestsellers list in the first two weeks of release. For a self-published e-book, this is almost unheard of! Today, On Dublin Street has a near perfect star rating on Goodreads.com with 4.43 out of 5 stars and over 13,500 raters. Pretty darn impressive.

Crash

As an indie novel, Crash had lots of potential but the writing needed serious editing. Unfortunately, the run on sentences and poor execution of commas and punctuation really brought it down for me. I am anxious to see what the editors at Harper Collins can do with this one. I actually like the original cover (the ballerina) better than the new published version. The original stands out among the throngs of YA fiction novels and tells you a story in just a glance.