Title: The Truth About Forever

Author: @ColletteKozuchLepley

Genre: Romance

Cover: I think the cover for this is perfect. The characters are faced away, and while we know that the girl is Nicole, it is debatable whether the guy is Silas or Joey. This leaves the reader wondering, and is perfect. Also the fact that it is mostly in gray reminds me that love is not always black and white, or even color, but many shades of gray (no reference intended).

Title: The title is in a series, and fits well.

Blurb: I like the blurb, short and to the point, I think it could be spiced up some, but it is adequate, and answers all the pertinent questions. The last sentence switches to having the narrator speak directly to the reader, could draw them in, also could throw them off. Just a thought.

Summary: Nicole is mature enough to know what she wants, and is set in her course of life. Attractions can come and go, she's not been tempted to change her philosophies about life since Zack killed any desire to truly find love for her. The wall she's built is solid and high enough that even her boyfriend's love doesn't penetrate. Until she meets Joey. At first, she can hold him at bay, at first her feelings are confusing to her, and she does her best, really--- her best--- to change them, to be honest and fair with Silas. But after awhile it becomes obvious that there's something very special about Joey, and something crazy going on with Silas.

Did I like it? Did it draw me in?

This story instantly drew me in. The first chapter sets the stage, opens the interest window with sincere thought patterns and easy dialogue. The dialogue in this piece feels natural and believable. It carries the story in a very nice and balanced mixture of prose, narration and dialogue/thoughts. The character development is so subtle, we really figure out the characters very early and they are consistent throughout. The only thing I can offer is maybe tone down the f***bomb. It isn't necessary and sometimes detracts when there are more than one per dialogue. This story is carried admirably without too much of it. Even though a lot of it is their personality. 

Characters:

The characters in this piece are so well done they feel like your friends. They are so believable, and so well-written the reader really does connect. That is the biggest strength of this story. There are times when Nicole's equivocation back and forth, her confusion is portrayed so earnestly, that I felt confused for her, and a little bit put off, like she was making me feel exasperated, but in her defense, that is real life. This wishy washing feeling, actually created more suspense and anticipation. The peripheral characters, such as Brody, Mikey, and Nicole's friends seem well fleshed out and very consistent all the way through.

Feeling: 

This story is firmly rooted in culture and plot. There is no deviation from the assigned college atmosphere, the hometown atmosphere and the New York family atmosphere. It is clear and concise. George Lucas once said every story needs no more than three main settings, and they should be diverse enough to keep the reader's interest and I think the college, the home, and the bar are really strong settings that the reader can relate to, and get a good feel for. For the most part, the dialogue carries the story, but the descriptions are decent. Occasionally, there could be a little more detail added, but not to overpower, maybe just in dialogue tags. And I don't mean, hair and eyes and physique, but temperament and mood and expression.

Pacing: 

This story does a great job of telling rather than showing. I appreciate the effort it takes to keep the action at a high level, while not devolving into straight prose in order to get the points across. The times when we are treated to longer than usual thought patterns could be broken up by some kind of movement ie: walking, hiking, what they are seeing as they walk, etc. But actually, this is already done pretty well. I'm having to be really nit-picky here, as this work is already edited and complete, and done really well. The story flows naturally with no deviation. The problem is set forth clearly in the beginning and moves swiftly forward to its natural conclusion.

Spelling and Grammar:

I understand this is being taken care of at a professional level. But the manuscript was already very clean. Watch words such as Past and Passed, stuff like that.

Highlights: 

I am super impressed with a story that literally made me unable to comment, and drew me in so dramatically, and quickly I had no desire to critique it as I went along, I just wanted to read. The tension was subtle and perfect, the characters were believable and realistic and the story was one that many can relate to, especially if they are being honest with themselves. It did not wax into soap opera feel, and left formula writing in the dust, so bravo! You made me laugh and cry. Highest compliment I can give.

Audience: 

A large audience can be reached with this love story, male and female, and of course, a little more mature would find it more relatable.

                                                                                     *****

As always, please comment so I know you got it, especially since you just asked me to read it, and comment, and I couldn't, as I couldn't stop long enough to formulate those kinds of thoughts. It was a pleasure to write the review, hope it can be of some encouragement if not a little teeny bit of advice.