Reasons
There are many reasons to write a book and even more for reading one, but once the author has set out to inform, excite or entertain, they had darned well better deliver. Tracy Fabre’s second novel, Reasons is meant purely to entertain and yes, she delivers - at every turn.
A young woman goes to spend the summer among friends, her head and heart full of questions. Delphine Brent, between jobs, has decided to spend the summer on a horse farm in Colorado with a much-loved family from her past. She is surprised to find her parents oddly resistant to her summer plans, though they too were once close to the Laughlins.
From her mother Delphine learns that one of the Laughlin sons holds the key to a long-ago hit and run accident that left Delphi with a scar, a limp and a pin in her leg. Then there is the death of the Laughlin family’s youngest son, Artie, somehow linked to her own mishap. Delphi must unravel the mystery of these two events for her own peace of mind and, as she falls under the spell of the middle son, for her own future happiness. Unwilling to bring more pain to the Laughlin family, Del must tread carefully along a path whose destination is unclear.
Loss, responsibility, the power of secrets and the destructive force of alcohol are the themes of this novel, important issues, but Tracy doesn't allow them to weigh the book down, though she handles these subjects with care and sensitivity.
The result is a book that is light, readable and engrossing.
The characters are strong and well-delineated. Tracy shares with authors such as Anne George the ability to create families that one would kill to belong to, worlds one would love to live in. Her grasp of the subtleties of each relationship and her keen eye make this a true novel, a window into our life and times. Her male characters in particular are interesting, familiar without being predictable.
Both the central characters are attractive, both are complex enough to be interesting, simple enough to be appealing. The romance is real and Delphi’s dilemma compelling, without losing the essential fun at the heart of the novel.
And then there’s the dialog. The dialog in Reasons is very, very witty - but never cute or precious. These folk sound like real people; their conversations are genuine and their emotions spot on. If you read Reasons solely for the reparteé you won’t be disappointed.
Tracy Fabre is a talented writer. For those who appreciate the novel as social commentary, Reasons brings clear insight and a gift for detail to the tangled web of the human heart, and it does so with humor and grace. Read it, and you’ll see what I mean.
ISBN-13: 9781600761256
Publisher: StoneGarden.net Publishing
|
|
|
More by Sarah A. (I KANZ B UH RITUR!!!!) , YEZ!! |
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 70
Wow. I would read this book based on your review.
And that, my dear, was the very idea...
Not that I didn't mean every word - cuz I did.
i concur.
By the way, you're a rather remarkable writer; you know that, yes? I appreciate this VERY much. I'm glad you liked it -- as I said elsewhere, it means a lot to me when people I respect think my writing doesn't suck.
Not only does your writing not suck, everytime I go back to it I like it better. This is not something I say to just anybody.
:-)
ditto. (to BOTH.)
I don't do romance novels...but this is an excellent review!
Neither do I son, neither do I.
Tracy writes romance novels that aren't, for readers who don't like romance novels.
I know. I'm highly allergic to romance in its usual form. Nora Roberts (as JD Robb) makes me throw things.
Wasn't it Fabooooo? I hate romance novels too and I LOVED it!
I can't wait for her next book!
Great review, Sarah. You certainly make this sound worth reading.
The review is very well written, and if the book is as good as portrayed here, it would be a worthwhile reading experience. That your assessment of the novel is objective despite your fondness of Tracy is supported by Marianne's comment. There are so many novels out there; you've given "Reasons" to choose and read this one. Thanks for the thoughtful and well written review.
Thanks John. I really wouldn't say I liked a book I didn't like - I think I would be struck by lightening...
I didn't for a moment doubt your sincerity, Sarah.
Sarah says she's not a writer. (should I believe her?)
Sarah should be published!
I'd read the Tracy's book if I were into novels.
My library is full of history and research. My curious mind can't be satisfied!
Mine, too. But I also need the lighter end of the spectrum.
now that is a book review. it makes me want to read more. brava to both tracy and to sarah.
I meant to order this when Tracy wrote about it, but I had to clean the table for company and lost the post-it note. This was a good reminder.
I have a fresh post-it note on a clean table. I will order this!
You have a clean table? Damn! (Oh wait! You're Ina... of course you have a clean table. I must have been thinking of me...)
It was only clean for a day. It's resumed it's more normal appearance of a level area that's covered with tremendous mounds of blech and paper unknowns.
Is blech available in spray bottles and microwavable bags, or just in mounds?
I find most of mine in the table crevises.
with my two kiddos - there is blech in the couch cushions too!! Lots and lots of blech ... and sometimes sticky blech!
Fantastic review Sarah...sounds like the perfect book for reading this summer while lounging in the hammock or by the pool!!!!! :O)
Or by the pool boy...
This goes on my To Be Found list. The characters sound great and I love Colorado as a setting for anything.
Especially a vacation. Mine. I wish!
As an aside... I never ASK anyone to read my writing, nor do I ask for followup (except for specific issues: did this plot point work?, was that character believable?) because I'd rather not ever put anyone on the spot. (I resisted showing my schtuff to one friend for years because I knew she'd rave about it even if she didn't like it -- because she's a very very nice loving loyal friend -- until I got feedback from a few others.)
I also know Sarah would never let herself write a positive review if she wasn't sincere -- nor would I have let her post one! She even asked if I wanted to see this before it went up and I said no. :-)
I just read the book, too, and enjoyed it. I will be doing a review as soon as I get the book back from my friend.
I particularly enjoyed the witty dialog. What convinced me to read the book was another Gather member saying that Tracy's wit came through in the book. I've always enjoyed Tracy's wit, and bought both books on that alone. I was not disappointed.
The characters seem very real (in both books, I'm only partway through Evan's Castle) and I suspect that I'd be willing to sit down and ready pretty much anything Tracy writes. It's an easy book to read. It flows. I like that.
Tracy has delicious unsuspecting wit, for sure. I enjoyed the book a lot, too.
This review is very well written. The fact that Sarah cared enough to write so much thoughtful detail shows she enjoyed the book. And... she created considerable follow-up response and buzz, which means she generated interest, the main purpose of a good review. Great job... any author would be thrilled to have Sarah write in their behalf.
Thanks. I did my best.
I ordered the book last week. I trust Tracy to deliver.
Anyone know how to underline or italicize book titles On Gather?Should we put them in all caps?
In a comment, highlight the word and hit ctrl-I (if you're asking about the mechanics rather than the "rule")
I try to italicize titles ... but sometimes I fergit and am too lazy to go back and correct.
Thanks for the book order -- I hope you like! :-)
Wait a minute! Tracy! You knew how to italicize a comment w/o using the HTML editor and YOU NEVER TOLD ME????!!!! (Quadruple interrobang - I'm really upset!)
Damn! That hurts! (Also, it works) You know, I've been complaining about this all day. You might've said....
This system of highlighting the word/s and hitting ctrl-u, ctrl-b, ctrl-i, works for underline, bold, and italicize, in comments real well... It saves a few steps and frustrations.
Once I got the ctrl-i bit, I figured out the rest. What I can't figure out is why I didn't know....
I... I... I... I'm sorry, I thought you were complaining about the idiotic complexity of the HTML editor in general.
NICE use of the double interrobang!
The old HTML is still my preference, but that seems to mean less than nothing...
Tell me about it. I've gotten durned good at typing in all those little <'s. Better than the new editor it turns out.
Ok, you've convinced me! It's going on my list of reading books this summer.
The interabang was introduced in the 60's. What happened to it? I am surprised that anyone still knows about it.
I need it.I want a key on keyboard.
It went the way of the splat.
I've been searching the web for summer reading ideas. Almost missed this one sitting right under my nose here! Thanks, I think I'll look into it.
Wow, Sarah! Spot on for Reasons! You and Tracy BOTH must write ~ and I will be the more-than-willing reader (I've only read Reasons seven times and I'm reading Evan's Castle here at work tonight for the fifth time). Sarah, I found the first installment of your mum's story fascinating and I love your 'style' ~ you gotta write the whole thing! And we will all read the whole thing ~ pliz. >8)
I have to wait until I renew my meds - my family makes me crazy... but thanks.
Seven times? Five times? My SIL read EC six times but Laela, you've been holding out on me.
Sarah - please retain sanity. You can write other things wonderfully to entertain us.
Now if everyone would just remember to ping me daily and remind me to send my stuff out, maybe I, too would publish something.
This was a FINE publication, you know. Granted, I might be biased, but STILL.
I'm willing to ping you daily but I'm not willing to be the person you hide from when you get tired of daily pings.
You know, I meant to mention that the quality of the book itself is great - so many paperbacks fall apart on the second reading these days, but Stonegarden did a good job on this.
Kris is good with the presentation, and Lightning Source, which does the printing, is the biggest POD producer out there: them's got standardz.
It matters to me; I'm hard on books. I fold the covers back and read them 16 times and fall asleep on them and read them in the pond and the dogs carry them around and the cats chew on them and I throw them at televangelists (not really, but I like knowing that I could). I hate it when the spirit is good reading but the flesh is weak.
Cat slobber is okay, but you should really stay away from televangelists.
Looks like I found a need to take a trip to a book store. I will hunt it up.
I loved Tracy's book but heck I may want to buy Sarah's reveiw, if I didn't already have it here for free. Two fabulous women and both on Gather. How lucky we are!!!!
Your check is in the mail.
And that's no lie...
Actually, it was a lie. Don't tell Ann. Let her think the mailman took it.
It might have been a lie, but it was a great lie!
a great review, sarah (thank you peter)..and now I want "reasons"...:)
Wow I was able to do something, how cool is this. Duckie do you see this?
Now if you could do this to creat a link I'd be in heaven.
Wow this is a great review and I need to read that book !
Awesome! Wonderful review, Sarah. I know Tracy is a talented writer, but this review may inspire me to leave my apartment and get a copy. (Or I could just order it online, couldn't I!)
The name Delphine struck me because one of the lead characters in Louise Erdrich's book The Master Butcher's Singing Club had that name. I really enjoyed that book, as well.
I didn't know about the ctrl-i, ctrl-b, ctrl-u thing either! Does that work every day of the week? (Or does Gather have it set up to only work on certain days, or certain moon phases, just like they have it set up to work only in certain input forms... yes, I'm being acerbic... )
Great review. It sounds great.