Customer Reviews

Between Seasons

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Descriptive. That's the one word that comes to mind when I think of Aida's debut novel - a touching tale of a nineteen year old young man who dies on the very first page. What comes after that almost disturbingly detailed account of a simple fall down a flight of stairs is a beautiful and unique look at life... and love... after death.

Patrick haunts his childhood home for decades, alone and isolated from the rest of the world... until the day Sara walks in the door. Almost immediately she seems to have a sense of something or someone in the house, watching her, interacting with her. She does what many of us have probably done at one point or another - she talks to the nothing around her. And she absolutely captivates the dead young man still roaming the shag-carpeted halls.

This book absolutely drowns you in the emotions of its characters. From the loneliness and sorrow of a long-dead Patrick, trapped in the same house he died in, to the anguish of the heartbroken Sara. Through the sweetness of falling in love and the bitterness of lost dreams. From the pain of feeling disconnected from everyone to finding that special someone who gets it... gets you. Even if he is dead.

The bad: Take everything you think you know about ghosts and throw it all out the window. The world Aida builds includes touching... kissing... sleeping. It's a fresh view on life after death, and I absolutely loved it!

The characters are written true and bold, with flaws and quirks that make them stand right up off the page. The plot is intriguing and keeps the reader engaged right from the first page. The writing is witty, a bit snarky at times, and utterly captivating. I definitely recommend buying this lovely, unique, wonderful novel and giving it a read. It's well worth the time. I'd love to see a sequel written, Miss Aida.

Nineteen year old Patrick Boyle gets up one morning to the smells of his mothers pancakes and while rushing down the stairs trips and falls breaking his neck. Although they come and take away his body he stays behind. Distraught over losing her only child his mother convinces his father to move to a different state but she can't bring herself to sell the house. So Patrick, who can't leave the house, is by himself left to wonder why God hasn't taken him to heaven. The one day a young woman moves in and Patrick finds out that it has been 40 years since his death, that his parents have died, and that he has a strange connection to Sara.

I was so excited when I won this book from Goodreads and it didn't disappoint me. From the very first page you are hooked. I love Patrick and he and Sara are so cute together. You feel his pain at not being able to move on, or have people see or hear him. I felt so sorry for him when he found out his parents had both died. I read this in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. Everyone should read this book. It is amazing.

I am familiar with Aida's work. She has written stories that I have enjoyed before, but this one is a MUST READ!

I think all of us, no matter what our religious beliefs or non-beliefs, wonder on some level "what is next?". For Aida's main character, Patrick doesn't have to wonder too long. You find out from the beginning that Patrick doesn't survive the first chapter. What happens next is surprising to say the least.

This book had me hooked from the start. Aida writing is descriptive and compelling. You can feel what Patrick feels (or doesn't feel) in this story, and when the unlikely heroine finally shows up - you are as happy to see her as Patrick is!

Between Seasons is a fantastic read!

A ghost story, that I read on Halloween...

But I wasn't scared at all...it was charming and I fell in love with Patrick.

He was nineteen and rushing down the stairs to get to his mom's pancakes when he tripped and broke his neck.

Poor Patrick waited for forty years to get to heaven because he was sure he wasn't going to Hell!

I wanted to hug him when his parents moved and left him in the lonely house. He can't get out, can only watch the seasons change.

Then a ray of sunshine comes into his life. Sara Oswald. She's a bit odd, with her talking out loud...but he likes to pretend that she's talking to him...

...And then she does!

Although it had an ENDING, it left me hoping for a sequel, that's for sure!

This is a really intriguing concept for a book, I mean could you imagine being stuck in a house for years after your death? I myself am not a fan of a lot of ghost stories, mostly because they tend to lean towards the horror genre, and thank goodness this is not a horror genre book. I do however like a good story that makes the ghost a character that has depth as well as draws me into the character enough for me to forget that they are actually a non-corporeal person.

Patrick's story is just so sad right off the bat, you can't help but feel bad for a guy who dies and is trapped in a house. It's hard to watch the parents who have lost their child leave the house and watch poor Patrick have to go through his own wake. I think the most impressive thing about the book and about Patrick was that the book didn't get stale. Even though the book takes place in one real location, with someone essentially stuck there, it never got repetitive. I can't stress how much of an accomplishment it is that the book didn't get old throughout the entire thing.

I think the biggest concern for me in this book was, I was really craving some kind of emotional relationship with the two characters. So when Sara shows up my main concern was how the relationship was going to pan out and when she moved into the house, I literally felt like I was on pins and needles waiting to see how the two of them are going to finally going to talk and interact and maybe even fall in love.

Overall I enjoyed the book, and the whole thing was a pleasant surprise. I'm not entirely sure I would recommend this book for YA readers, but anyone who likes a good romance or even looking for a new take on the idea of a "ghost" story.

Between Seasons starts with the death of nineteen year old Patrick. He is both sad at his death, and excited that he escaped the draft. Such a mixture of feelings in the first few paragraphs of this book, made it more intriguing for me. I can not remember ever reading another book like this one. There is such a sense of loss and loneliness until the "mysterious woman" arrives. I don't like to give spoilers, so I won't tell anymore about the story, but I do suggest you give it a chance. It was a unique reading experience for me, and kept my interest to the very end.

*A special thanks to the author for the review copy of this book.

This was such an intriguing book! The first chapter was so intensely descriptive of Patrick's death and the reactions of his parents. It was heartbreaking, knowing that he was the only child his parents could have, and they lost him.

I understood why his mother wouldn't be able to live in that house any longer and why she felt the need to leave. And it had to be absolutely horrifying for Patrick to be at his own wake.

What I enjoyed about Patrick was that despite the fact that he seemed to be stuck, he never lost his belief that there could be a better afterlife for him besides where he was. He was such an easy going guy, and quite the gentlemen. I really liked that about him.

And I couldn't help but feel for him when someone buys the house and starts bringing in all this new technology stuff that he didn't recognize. Sarah was a bit crazy, as she spoke to herself in the house almost all the time. That's not to say that I didn't like her, I just liked Patrick more.

Her sister was a pretty one dimensional character for me. She was a religious whacko with an agenda bent on fact that her sister fraternized with demons.

The romance part of the story was well written and I enjoyed watching them figure out how to work out their relationship. The ending felt a bit abrupt and I'm not sure if there's going to be another book or if this was a stand alone but I would like to see where this story is going because it felt unfinished to me.

Also, this is not a YA book, as there was language and nudity. I mean, it definitely wasn't erotic, but it definitely doesn't fall into the lines of YA. Just thought I'd throw that in there. :)

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This was a very interesting story. A ghost story, for sure, but not in the scary sense of the word. The entire story is told from the point of view of Patrick, a 19 year old that has just died. His death is certainly tragic, but you get to escape some of the sadness of it since you know he is still around. However, as he is immediately aware of his death and he watches life unfold before him, you can't help but be a bit saddened over this loss. I really liked the way the author portrayed it all though, Patrick's expectations versus the reality of what the hereafter was for him.

Fast forward forty years into the future, our present. It is 2010 and a girl in her mid-twenties has just bought Patrick's house. She is a bit unusual herself, and things are a bit off right from the gates with her. But this isn't a bad thing. I instantly liked Sara. And while I wished there were some points where the story could have been told from her point of view, with Patrick watching on with such a keen eye you don't miss a thing. It's very interesting how these two begin to interact with each other, and one of them doesn't even realize it - at first. Sara is definitely sensitive to his presence, and seemingly almost speaking to him at times.

Patrick is unable to leave the house, and he doesn't really know why. This is such a hard constraint for the author to introduce new characters and yet she does it beautifully. You don't long for much outside those doors, other than you desperately wish Patrick could venture out them himself. For being a young man of nineteen years old, he certainly is a mature man. Of course, he's had forty years of near isolation to mature. It's a wonder he didn't go stark raving mad.

Sara is a likeable character. She's recently divorced and not without her own baggage and drama. But you are definitely rooting for these two to be able to interact, to become aware - to be together. And once the ball gets rolling, you almost think it is too good to be true. Something happens that could absolutely change their lives forever - together and apart.

There is one particular character that I absolutely did not like. I'll keep their identity a secret, for the sake of a spoiler. However, this person is just an irony of the facade they are trying to put forth. I wanted to smack that person so much! Such nerve and cruelty, it made me wish for the couple only that much more.

This book was very well rounded, for basically taking place within one house over a 40 year time period. I really grew to care for the characters, and shared their happiness, fears, and sadness. I only wish it was longer - but luckily it looks like there might be a sequel in the works!

Don't let my rating fool you, Between Seasons really is a good read. While I thoroughly enjoyed it, it never personally gave me that "WOW, OH MY GOODNESS" factor. When I would stop reading I couldn't wait to pick it back up and get back into the story. It is descriptive and the complete opposite from any other ghost story I have read.

I felt bad for Patrick, who wakes one morning to the smell of pancakes his mother is making, and takes an unfortunate fall down the steps. Next thing he knows he is dead. No one can see him, no one can hear him. It's always sad when someone so young, with their whole life ahead of them, passes away but even worse when you are stuck in your home for four decades. After realizing that the only things Patrick can touch were his personal belongings, that all goes downhill when his parents decide that living in the home is too much for them and pack up and move, leaving only the items Patrick was able to hide away after his mother packed them.

Forty years is a long time.(Take a moment to think about how many things are different from when you were a teenager!) Forty years also leaves plenty of time to watch the world pass you by. Patrick spends his days re-reading the same books, watching the neighborhood go about their lives from the windows, and watches the seasons change from one to the next. Till the day Sara moves in. Dealing with her own issues, Sara is soon questioning her sanity after she starts to feel Patrick's presence. She soon starts writing stories about events that happened in Patrick's life and finds herself falling in love. Which makes her holier an thou sister Jules go nuts.

The story moved a little fast in parts, leaving me with a feeling of "Wait, What??" The writing leaves little left un-imagined. I laughed, I became teary eyed, I became angry. Lots of story is packed into less than 200 pages.

Looking for a decently written story you can just plow through? Give Between Seasons a try. I think you will enjoy what it has to offer!

This story starts off in 1970 in Media Pennsylvania. Patrick Boyle is a young man of 19 years, chosen in the draft lottery he's scheduled to report to the draft board the next day. As we see in some of Patrick's flashbacks, he's scared and unsure about the Vietnam war and has voiced ideas to his friends about running off to Canada. Patrick's life takes an unexpected turn that morning as he wakes up to the smell of pancakes and heads downstairs for breakfast. Patrick never makes it to breakfast, he trips on the stairs and falls to his death. Patrick's life ends, but his spirit stays.

There is so much going on with Patrick over the next month as he ponders his beliefs in God and Heaven and struggles to accept that he is stuck in the house and cannot leave. I felt like I was going through the emotions as Patrick was feeling them. Shock, confusion, denial and loss. It was interesting to watch him come to grips with how his life ended and what has become of him, ever wondering if this was some sort of punishment from God or if he was just forgotten. Watching Patrick struggle with trying to figure things out and seeing what his limitations were as a ghost both fascinated and saddened me. I really wanted so much more for him and at 19, felt like life was just beginning for him. The day his parents moved out because his mom could no longer live in the house where her son had died and watching Patrick struggle though the act of just watching them leave and not being able to do anything, was hard to read about. Being a mom myself and seeing his parents pain and anger made me a little misty eyed. The author did a great job of bringing out the emotion and raw feelings in this story. I also loved how she incorporated the smell of pancakes several times in this story since it was an important aspect on the day he died

We skip forward to May of 2010 and this is when the story really started coming together. Time seemed to blend for Patrick, stuck in the house and alone, Patrick just...existed and there was nothing else. He got by on his imagined conversations with his mom, until a woman named Sara moved in and bought the house

I loved Sara's character, she was spunky, quirky and different. Sara was a breath of fresh air, not at all what I'm used to heroines being in romance novels. She embraced what made her different and didn't care. She talked to herself and made no qualms about it. She has had some obstacles to overcome and fresh off a divorce and a breakdown, Sara's ready to start anew, but what shocks both Sara and Patrick is that she can sense she's not alone in the house. What follows is a sweet romance that I enjoyed seeing blossom as they both get more comfortable with each-other and Patrick's circumstances change.

Patrick died when he was 19, so there was some very real thoughts and language that I would expect any 19 year old boy to have. His feelings for Sara were growing stronger every day, but he also had a lot of respect for her. It was fun seeing him experience some of today's gadgets that he had never seen before. I would almost forget the year he died until his confusion over Sara's cell phone or i-pod. The author did a great job of incorporating that into the story and keeping Patrick unaware of all the changes in the world.

There is so much I can say about this book, but I don't want to give too much away. You need to experience this story and the changes that both Patrick and Sara go through for yourself. I didn't think a relationship between these two could happen or would even be possible, but the journey they go on and the twists this author brings to the story are unique and I really enjoyed it. One of my favorite lines of Patrick's when he was thinking of how much he missed Sara.
"He craved her like the air his lungs used to need"
I thought it was beautiful and summed up how much Sara came to mean to him.

Not only does this story make me wish that there is such a thing as fate and second chances, but it also gave me so much to ponder about the the afterlife and what awaits us. Of course, there are forces that try to keep these two apart. As much as I couldn't stand Sara's sister Jules, I'm hoping to see her again and see how she will play out in this story. Maybe karma isn't done with her :)

I will point out that there are a few editing errors, but just a few here and there. Not enough to have an impact on the story itself but just to make me pause and then move on. There was a little bit of crude language, but I think it was pertinent to the story and fit Patrick's character well. The only thing that did bother me a little was sometimes the story story would jump forward a night or a week and I didn't feel like I had any warning and got a little lost until I figured out it was a week later.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and would give it 4 stars. The ending was surprising even though there were clues through out the story in Patrick's dreams. It warmed my heart and made me anxious for their story to continue and can't wait for the release of North Of Frost and see what obstacles they need to overcome next.