Review by Sunnyridge -- Lemoncella Cocktail by Rene Natan
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Sunnyridge
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Review by Sunnyridge -- Lemoncella Cocktail by Rene Natan
[Following is a volunteer review of "Lemoncella Cocktail" by Rene Natan.]
2 out of 4 stars
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Lemoncella Cocktail is by Rene Natan. The author has written several novels after having a career in Information Technology. As a child she enjoyed storytelling and now she is again pursuing her love of telling tales filled with mystery, romance and crime.
The story is a composite of familiar tales. A poor young man, Patrick Carter, with a checkered past meets the girl of his dreams. He travel through an adventure filled with inept criminals who are committing acts of kidnapping, murder, drug trafficking and gun running. Patrick is drawn into this mystery when he rescues a young girl, Samantha, from drowning after she was thrown into the Ausable River by two mysterious men. He has been a loner but develops a bond with the family of the rescued girl and helps the police find the villains. This changes his life.
The PDF file of this book was overrun with grammatical errors, misspellings, and awkward phrasing. This was difficult to read and therefore difficult to follow the story. It was like trying to enjoy a walk along a lovely wooded trail, only to stumble over rocks and roots, thus ruining the experience. After reading a few chapters, I even though the author may be trying to write a novel that would attract a campy following. How can you remain immersed in a story when Martha and Nat complain about engaging in illegal activities for their boss and Nat says “He doesn’t pay us enough to spend the rest of our life in the john.” ?
The author enjoyed storytelling as a youngster and I believe young readers are still her target audience. Even the title reminds me of Lemonade rather than an alcoholic drink. The characters are shallow and unbelievable during the most stressful situations. It is disconcerting for me to have a child told that his parents and younger sister are killed, yet hours later he’s placated and happy because of a driving lesson in Patrick’s pickup truck. I do understand why the author would want to minimized the grief for a young audience, but I just didn’t believe it. There is a pattern of such implausible behavior which makes the story fanciful. On the other hand, the author did paint believable scenes when she incorporated food or drink. In these instances, the smell of waffles or the multitude of ingredients in a salad, gave this a grounded, believable story in contrast to the characters shallow behavior.
If this novel targets a young audience, I do have a major concern about the attitude of the main criminal. Oscar’s solution for all his problems is too kill. I don’t think this is necessary or appropriate for the story. The excessive emphasis on killing should not be promoted as the only solution, even if this is the villain.
I did like the structure of the story. The narrative alternates between the “good guys” then the “bad guys” providing a nice balance and progression of activity in the unfolding of the story. The family is looking for the missing Amelia after she escapes the cottage, then the kidnappers are driving down the road and see the girl, then Amelia’s family obtains the ransom money. This is like a ping pong match, da-dat, da-dat, da-dat, back and forth as the story marches on.
The copiousness of grammatical errors made this so difficult to read that I have to give the novel a 2 out of 4 stars. If this book is edited and is recommended for a young audience, I could give it a 3 or 4 out of 4 stars. My 13 year old niece would probably love this, but it will not be on the bookshelf of an avid adult mystery reader.
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Lemoncella Cocktail
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Sunnyridge's review? Post a comment saying so!
2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Lemoncella Cocktail is by Rene Natan. The author has written several novels after having a career in Information Technology. As a child she enjoyed storytelling and now she is again pursuing her love of telling tales filled with mystery, romance and crime.
The story is a composite of familiar tales. A poor young man, Patrick Carter, with a checkered past meets the girl of his dreams. He travel through an adventure filled with inept criminals who are committing acts of kidnapping, murder, drug trafficking and gun running. Patrick is drawn into this mystery when he rescues a young girl, Samantha, from drowning after she was thrown into the Ausable River by two mysterious men. He has been a loner but develops a bond with the family of the rescued girl and helps the police find the villains. This changes his life.
The PDF file of this book was overrun with grammatical errors, misspellings, and awkward phrasing. This was difficult to read and therefore difficult to follow the story. It was like trying to enjoy a walk along a lovely wooded trail, only to stumble over rocks and roots, thus ruining the experience. After reading a few chapters, I even though the author may be trying to write a novel that would attract a campy following. How can you remain immersed in a story when Martha and Nat complain about engaging in illegal activities for their boss and Nat says “He doesn’t pay us enough to spend the rest of our life in the john.” ?
The author enjoyed storytelling as a youngster and I believe young readers are still her target audience. Even the title reminds me of Lemonade rather than an alcoholic drink. The characters are shallow and unbelievable during the most stressful situations. It is disconcerting for me to have a child told that his parents and younger sister are killed, yet hours later he’s placated and happy because of a driving lesson in Patrick’s pickup truck. I do understand why the author would want to minimized the grief for a young audience, but I just didn’t believe it. There is a pattern of such implausible behavior which makes the story fanciful. On the other hand, the author did paint believable scenes when she incorporated food or drink. In these instances, the smell of waffles or the multitude of ingredients in a salad, gave this a grounded, believable story in contrast to the characters shallow behavior.
If this novel targets a young audience, I do have a major concern about the attitude of the main criminal. Oscar’s solution for all his problems is too kill. I don’t think this is necessary or appropriate for the story. The excessive emphasis on killing should not be promoted as the only solution, even if this is the villain.
I did like the structure of the story. The narrative alternates between the “good guys” then the “bad guys” providing a nice balance and progression of activity in the unfolding of the story. The family is looking for the missing Amelia after she escapes the cottage, then the kidnappers are driving down the road and see the girl, then Amelia’s family obtains the ransom money. This is like a ping pong match, da-dat, da-dat, da-dat, back and forth as the story marches on.
The copiousness of grammatical errors made this so difficult to read that I have to give the novel a 2 out of 4 stars. If this book is edited and is recommended for a young audience, I could give it a 3 or 4 out of 4 stars. My 13 year old niece would probably love this, but it will not be on the bookshelf of an avid adult mystery reader.
******
Lemoncella Cocktail
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Sunnyridge's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: "Life Before" by K.L. Romo
