A Review of Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris

Bring Me Back, a new addition to the thriller genre, was released on 6.19.18 by St. Martin’s Press. This was written by B.A. Paris, whose more recognized works are The Breakdown and Behind Closed Doors. I have not yet read The Breakdown or Behind Closed Doors yet, but they are on my bookshelf. I enjoyed this book. Bring Me Back is a quick read with a twist ending you don’t see coming.

We begin in France with a couple driving back to the UK from holiday. Finn and Layla are at a truck stop, when Layla disappears. Fast forward twelve years: Layla is still missing, and Finn has moved on, or so he thinks.

Finn is a character with many faces. His inner battles with anger entwine with his obsession with Layla’s disappearance and the face he tries to wear for his new fiancée, Ellen. Ellen is a seemingly quiet, albeit spacey character. She never really questions the nature of her fiancé, which I find odd. During the course of reading the book, I felt she was a slightly underdeveloped character. After I finished, I decided that this was done with purpose instead of being an oversight. So she is more a mystery to the reader than someone with a complete lack of personality. Layla is an intense and capricious character; she has a penchant for the dramatic, which counterbalances Finn’s face of calm and certainty. She is also Ellen’s polar opposite.

This novel goes back and forth between characters but is easy to follow. I was grateful for this when I was reading. It was refreshing to only have to focus on a couple of different viewpoints. Bring Me Back has well-developed main characters, an articulate description of the location, and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing as to what’s really going on. I felt the ending needed a bit more. This story is about the lies we tell ourselves, the secrets we keep from our loved ones, and begs the question: "How well do you really know the person you claim to love?"

I want to say a special "Thank You!" to St. Martin’s Press and B.A. Paris for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. I look forward to seeing what Paris puts out next. I also wanted to mention that St. Martin’s Press went above and beyond with their outreach. I also happened to receive a little trinket as thanks for my review.

Let's get real here. As someone who is relatively new to writing reviews in a somewhat professional manner, I am learning more about what I should be doing as a reader. One thing I am learning right now is that I need to take notes. I would recommend all readers do the same. I have a horrible memory. I am currently writing a review, and I am struggling to recollect little things in the story, granted I read it a month ago. Thankfully, I still have the book in my possession, so I can go back and skim to refresh my memory. Also, I need a proofreader. I am in no way a good writer. I am doing my best, and I really hope it doesn't drive readers away. Also, I would love some constructive criticism! I saw that I had views on my posts, but no comments. I need to know what I should improve on. Thank you everyone, for reading my rambling posts!

Let Me Know

One of the great things about being a book lover, is that I get to share my love of books and  recommendations with others. I would love it if readers shared some of their favorites with me. :)

Encourage others to read, it is the best gift you can give!

I've heard time and time again from various people, "Oh, I don't read" or "I don't like to read". When someone says this, I'm taken aback because I love books so much. Now, if someone says to me, "I haven't read... this or that", I'll be the first one to butt in and recommend something. I may be biased because my love of reading started at a very young age. I can remember spending so much time in my elementary school's library, talking with the libararian about different books and asking her to help me find just the right ones. During my primary school years, I ate up each required reading like I couldn't get enough and I remember each book to this day. The Tripod Trilogy by Johnathan Christopher, The Secret of Nimh, Where the Red Fern Grows to name a few.  Our local public library was massive and I remember spending hours upon hours, looking up books, spending most of my free time in the Teen Section of The Sachem Public Library. Anne of Green Gables is a personal favorite. As is the Vampire Kisses series by Ellen Schreiber (You can tell I'm coming into my own as a goth). At age 15, we'd moved to another district; along with that, another library, The Mastic Moriches Shirley Community Library. I cannot go into enough detail about this library, it was huge and by far one of my favorite places in town. I got tutored in math there, and I would sneak off to find more books to bring home. I would then branch into adult books like murder mysteries. Dracula, Frankenstein, Maus, Halloween, The Diary of Anne Frank, books on WWII... Still, I never was allowed to read The Silence of the Lambs... Anyway, I would also make sure to enroll that summer for their summer reading program. They were so much fun! Back then, a lot more kids and teens read than they do now. I find it really sad that a lot of teens this day in age go to the library for its computers and not for its vast array of books.
The best job I'd ever gotten was when I was 18. I applied to work at a Barnes & Noble. I would say it would be a reader's dream come true. I read, and drank espresso laced drinks on my breaks. I shamelessly gave unsolicited book recommendations from my place at the cafe register. Oh, no I wasn't on the book floor but you can bet I went to work early, came home late, and I attended and helped out at the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

A lot has happened since then.

I have moved since then, to another town, with a much smaller library. Thankfully the Library System it's a part of is huge as well, so finding books is simple, just type, click, reserve, and pick up. The invention of e-readers was also an awesome thing to happen to me! I remember the day I got my first Kindle. A whole world so much more easily accessible to me appeared. I have since upgraded to the paperwhite. I use websites like bookbub to get emails for daily book deals and keep up with new releases.

Reading opens up a whole world you can't even imagine. It makes you think, shapes who you become as an adult. As a mom, I am always encouraging my kids to read instead of watch TV, to go to the library, I even recommend past books I've read to my 9 year old. If you're not a reader I'm sorry to say you're missing so much. There are lives to live and places to explore if you only turn the page. I for one will be reading until the day I go blind, then it's braille or audiobooks for me. I can only hope that the future generations come back to practice reading as a hobby. In the age of snapchat and Instagram, anyone can post, anyone can blog, but those who do so to spread the word about books and their love of reading well, those are my kind of people.

A Little Intro

Hello!

If you're reading this intro, you've either clicked on a link I've posted (Thank You) or stumbled upon my blog by accident. Either way, welcome. My name is April. I live in NNY with my husband, two kids, puggle, and long-haired tortie. I'm currently a stay at home Mom (who tries to get out as much as possible, to keep my sanity). My favorite pastimes are reading, writing, creating art, and going to Zumba classes. From a young age, I've always loved reading. Everything from thrillers to romance, and everything in between. I created this blog so that I could go more in-depth with my reviews. I currently use goodreads.com and facebook.com as my main platforms for expressing opinions on books I'm currently reading. This new platform should give me a wider range and (fingers-crossed) a larger audience. I am looking forward to sharing my reviews, rants, and raves with all of you!