Official Review: Two Days Different by Leigh Bise

Post by **bookowlie** » 16 Dec 2014, 02:14

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Two Days Different" by Leigh Bise.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Two Days Different is the story of Jaymee, a high school senior who falls in love over the course of two days while on spring break vacation at a mountain lodge. This experience changes her and leads to her making changes in her life. While some sections of the book include erotic passages, the book is really a coming of age story and a true love story all wrapped up into one.

Jaymee lives with her great grandmother and has two best friends, Annette and Colin, that she grew up with. Colin and Jaymee start dating while in high school, but never progress with a physical relationship beyond kissing. When Annette and Jaymee go to a mountain lodge for spring break, Jaymee meets a local guy named Jake in the hotel swimming pool, and is intensely attracted to him. It’s love, or lust, at first sight. Jake and Jaymee flirt with each other and quickly start doing activities together, such as having lunch, playing pool, and taking walks up the mountain. During an evening thunderstorm, they take temporary shelter in an empty cabin and wind up having sex. Although this is the first time Jaymee has ever had sex, she is bold and becomes like a different person with Jake, feeling more sexually aroused than she ever felt with Colin. After they have sex, Jaymee feels guilty that she cheated on Colin, and runs back to the lodge. She returns to the lodge and finds Colin waiting to tell that Grams, her great grandmother, has died. They immediately drive back home. Jake goes back to the lodge to find her, just in time to see her leaving with Colin. He is heartbroken.

Jaymee is grief-stricken by her great-grandmother’s death. They were extremely close; Grams raised her since she was four years old, due to her mother’s arrest and chronic substance abuse. The two days Jaymee spent with Jake , as well as Grams’ death, make her rethink her life. She reconnects with her mother, who is now sober and comes back to live with her. Her intense feelings toward Jake make her realize she should break up with Colin and go back to being friends. She also decides to go to the local community college to study social work, instead of going away to a university with Annette. This is a big step for her, as she didn’t have much focus to her future after high school, and tended to go along with what Annette did. She starts to become more of her own person after her two-day encounter with Jake and Gram’s death.

I enjoyed reading this book, although it took almost half the book for me to really start caring about the characters. Much of the first half of the book was a bit boring at times, with many passages describing in detail what Jaymee and Annette were wearing. I had to slog through what the two girls’ bathing suits looked like, what they wore for lunch and dinner, what sleepwear Jaymee wore, what clothing she wore to go up the mountain with Jake, etc. These continuous wardrobe descriptions were a distraction and made the story drag at times. In fact, there was way too much constant description about Annette in the first half of the story, considering she wasn’t the main character. I found this also bogged down the first half of the story.

I started enjoying the story more about halfway through the book. The plot just started to flow smoothly and I really cared about what was going to happen to Jaymee and the supporting characters. There was a lot less constant description of what everyone wore. Instead, the author’s writing improved as the story progressed, and I related to the characters. Certain sections were very well written, such as Jaymee’s talks with her mother after Grams died, her visit to Grams’ gravesite, and when Colin and Annette visited with her with in the hospital room. Although it didn’t seem realistic that Jaymee’s mother instantly becomes a caring, good mother right after Grams’ death, the passages where Jaymee and her mother reconnect are heartfelt.

There were several grammatical and spelling errors, including incorrect word usage (e.g. -principle instead of principal to describe the head of the school). Outspoken and outdated are each one word and should not be hyphenated. In addition, there were many instances of missing commas, particularly early on in the story. This resulted in several run-on sentences, which were distracting and unprofessional.

I enjoyed reading the book and loved the ending. I was touched by the author’s thank you at the end of the book and am looking forward to reading future releases. With some editing, she shows real promise to become a popular writer. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.

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leighbise · Post by **leighbise** » 19 Dec 2014, 21:43

Thanks for your honest review! I am appreciative of any advice and input I can receive. It will only help me better myself in the future. I have already learned so much about the writing process and what to do differently with my next attempt. You have made me aware of some areas where my intended direction didn't come across to the reader, such as the sobriety of Jaymee's mother, as well as my need for further assistance with editing.

Anyway, thanks again for giving me a thorough and specific review. It is extremely appreciated!

Post by **bookowlie** » 19 Dec 2014, 23:02

You're welcome. It's great to hear from the author! I really enjoyed reading this book. I couldn't put it down and read it in one day. I look forward to reading more of your books in the future!

Skillian · Post by **Skillian** » 20 Dec 2014, 10:44

It sounds like a beautiful story. What a shame that there is a slow start and distracting grammatical errors. However... I think I will keep it on my maybe list. Save it for a rainy day. Thanks for the review!

Post by **bookowlie** » 20 Dec 2014, 10:57

Skillian wrote:It sounds like a beautiful story. What a shame that there is a slow start and distracting grammatical errors. However... I think I will keep it on my maybe list. Save it for a rainy day. Thanks for the review!

Skillian,
I hope my "slow start and grammatical errors" description didn't come across as overly harsh. When I described the slow start, it wasn't compared to some books that are so bogged down in the beginning that you don't want to keep reading. In fact, I liked this book enough that I read it in one day....in my opinion, that is the mark of a good book. As for the grammatical errors, there are that not many errors. I mentioned it as constructive criticism for the author.

The author has just written a second book, told from the male character Jake's point of view. After enjoying the first book, now I want to read the second book since the characters in the first book were so likeable.

Skillian · Post by **Skillian** » 20 Dec 2014, 12:31

oh no. Not too harsh at all. I understood what you meant. I knew it could not have been too detrimental or the book would have gotten a lesser overall rating. I just have two lists... a want to read before I die and when I want a book that will change my life list. Then my maybe list... which is my more laid back... hmm what do I do today? Mayyyybe.... such and such book. haha.

Post by **bookowlie** » 31 Dec 2014, 10:21

Skillian wrote:oh no. Not too harsh at all. I understood what you meant. I knew it could not have been too detrimental or the book would have gotten a lesser overall rating. I just have two lists... a want to read before I die and when I want a book that will change my life list. Then my maybe list... which is my more laid back... hmm what do I do today? Mayyyybe.... such and such book. haha.

Skillian, I like your reading list categories

Some of the best books I've ever read would have been in the "maybe" reading list.