Title: Necessary HeartbreakAuthor: Michael J. Sullivan
ISBN-13: 9781439184233
Paperback: 244 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2010
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon
FTC Disclosure: My copy of Necessary Heartbreak was provided by Pocket Books for this blog tour. I am an IndieBound and Amazon affiliate, and any purchases made by clicking on the cover or the links provided may result in monetary compensation.
drey's thoughts:
Necessary Heartbreak tells the story of Michael Stewart and his daughter Elizabeth, who fall through time to land in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. They get into trouble with Roman soldiers just about immediately, and spend the following week either in hiding, or running. What makes their adventure interesting is that Michael witnesses Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, betrayal in the garden, and actually helps bear the cross up the hill.
Interspersed with the scenes from Jerusalem are snippets from Michael's life, from childhood to adult to parent and widow. I felt that while the latter was meant to present Michael as a sympathetic character, he came across as unlucky and somewhat bitter. However, he's still a good person, and he tries to step in to stop Judas from his act of betrayal. And then questions whether he should--what would happen if Judas hadn't given Jesus up? The ramifications of the action war with his conscience--how do you let somebody go to their death?
Great premise for a story, but in the end I felt that it could have been more fleshed out--there could have been more, especially on Michael, and his and Elizabeth's relationship.
drey's rating: 2.5/5 Ok
Challenges: 100+, Pub
3 comments:
Thanks for your review - that doesn't sound like the book for me.
I have read and reviewed Necessary Heartbreak, and it's a novel I wouldn't have wanted to have missed. I am not connected to any of the publishers in any way. I honestly enjoyed the book and found it hard to put down until I found out what happened. I started reading it on a Friday evening and completed it on a Sunday morning. My review is posted on my blog at http://barbarajrobinson.blogspot.com.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Barbara! I thought the book was good, but I really felt that it could have been more... I didn't really feel Michael or Elizabeth's characters, if you know what I mean...
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