From the TBR Pile: Blog Tour: Olivay by Deborah Reed

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Blog Tour: Olivay by Deborah Reed

Author: Deborah Reed
Publisher:b Lake Union Publishing
Date of pubication: July 2015

We don’t believe that our lives can change in an instant—until they do.

Olivay, widowed for a year and sleepwalking through life, meets Henry by chance. She takes him to her Los Angeles loft, thinking it will just be for the night. But the following morning, bombs detonate across the city; mayhem and carnage fill the streets; and her loft is covered in broken glass and her own blood. Henry is skittish, solicitous, and strangely distracted. Who is this man she’s marooned with as the city goes on lockdown? Why is she catching him in lie after lie? Is he somehow connected to her husband’s death and the terrorist attacks outside?

With eloquent and suspenseful prose, Olivay explores the wreckage of loss and the collision of grief, desire, and terror in its aftermath. As the characters get pushed outside their comfort zones, forced to walk the thin line between destruction and salvation, Olivay keeps readers guessing what will become of Olivay and Henry until the very end.

Olivay seemed like a good premise, but ultimately in the end, I didn't end up finishing the book. I did feel like the author did a good job of portraying the grief and loss that someone feels when losing a loved one. Olivay's struggle to work through tragically losing her husband was heartbreaking. But, the pace of the book was kind of rambling and a bit slow for me. I got about halfway and didn't really feel like it was very suspenseful.

But my main reason for not pushing through was the following. In the story, the two bombings occur during the LA marathon at the finish line. Sound familiar? I could see parallels with the Boston Marathon bombings and for some reason that just really turned me off of the story. I am from the area and work in Boston and can still remember that day as well as that week in the city after. It's nothing against the book, the author or how it was written. I know Olivay has received good reviews. It just wasn't for me.

About the author:

Deborah Reed’s novel Things We Set on Fire sold more than one hundred thousand copies in its first six months, while Carry Yourself Back to Me was a Best Book of 2011 Amazon Editors’ Pick. She wrote the bestselling thriller A Small Fortune and its sequel, Fortune’s Deadly Descent, under her pen name Audrey Braun. Several of her novels have been translated or are forthcoming in German. Her nonfiction has appeared in publications such as the Literarian, MORE, and Poets & Writers. She holds a master of fine arts degree in creative writing, and teaches at the UCLA Extension Writing Program. She is also codirector of the Black Forest Writing Seminar at the University of Freiburg in Germany. She resides in Los Angeles.

Deborah Reed’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, July 6th: Peeking Between the Pages

Tuesday, July 7th: For the Love of Fictional Worlds

Wednesday, July 8th: 5 Minutes for Books

Thursday, July 9th: Kahakai Kitchen

Tuesday, July 14th: Kritter’s Ramblings

Tuesday, July 14th: Sara’s Organized Chaos

Wednesday, July 15th: Staircase Wit

Friday, July 17th: Many Hats

Monday, July 20th: Kissin’ Blue Karen