I have to apologize right up front that this may not be as much of a book review as it is philosophical pondering. So feel free right now to stop reading if this is unappealing. Otherwise...I read an editorial recently in which the writer tries to understand how she could absolutely fall in love with a life-changing book and want to shout about it on the rooftops and then, quite unexpectedly, get lukewarm reviews from others who have read the same book. What could possibly be the explanation that a book you thought was fabulous can be only "meh" to some people? Frustrating, right? One of this writers musings is that perhaps it is due in part to the time in her life when she read the book: what were her experiences, how did the story relate to her life at the time, etc.. I agree that this has a lot to do with how a book affects us.If you are still reading, I promise I am getting to a point here real soon but for now excuse me again for comparing this series to the oh-so-well-known Twilight series. When I was given that book, I was going through the most difficult days/weeks/months of my life. I had just been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and escape is what I needed. A good friend of mine thought it would be helpful. And you know what? She was absolutely right! I loved that first book and stuck in there with the other ones, even going so far as to join Twilight Moms so could escape with many other women who loved them as much as I did.About a year later a dear friend of mine finally "caved" to see what all the hype was about these Twilight books. She was never a big reader in the first place but she couldn't finish the book. Her response was, "meh" and "who cares?" She just couldn't get into the story. What?! How could she not love that book???So this is where I am with this series: I had to struggle to finish the first book and now, while just into the 2nd I have completely lost interest. I could go into a detailed list of why but instead, maybe its just not the right time for me to be reading this. I am disappointed because I was really excited to read it based on friends reviews but I am now the one saying, "Who cares?" Maybe I will pick it up again at a later date? I am just not connecting with the characters or the story. Maybe you will :) There were parts of this book that were great and I loved them. I really wanted to give this book a 4 star.The end was great but in the middle, I felt like the book got a little bit repetitive.I really enjoyed the fact that we get to see the way that the wolf starts to eat away at a person. Starts to insert these thoughts that become all consuming. Let's be real. It is way easier to accept the negative then to accept the positive. It was also good to see the kinds of things that give the wolf that extra power. It almost reinforced the idea that everything you do has an impact on yourself and who you are. The fact that the easy choice isn't always the right one is also demonstrated here.I just wish we had gotten into that a little bit sooner. The whole thing with Talbot and Daniel was interesting as well. They are two different guys with two whole belief systems. I liked that Grace had this montra Daniel is my boyfriend. She never really forgot that and that meant that she had a stronger defence towards Talbot's advances. I loved that she didn't go gaga on him, she set boundaries and remember that she had a boyfriend through out.If the beginning parts had been shortened, I would have given this book 4 stars. I did enjoy most of it (even though the beginning was a little bit repetitive). I'm very interested to see how Despain ends this series.
What do You think about Lost Grace (2012)?
This book is almost as good as the first one!
—frodonr
