Customer Reviews

Clouded Rainbow

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

This is a gripping suspense/thriller novel with an overarching romance theme. I really liked the character driven plot. It felt like I was on Roger's voyage as I read and once I got invested into the story, I couldn't put the book down. I never got lost in the story as the author has created a very realistic world. The pacing, characters, and rooting interest for Roger made this a great read. I recommend this to lovers of romance and thrillers.

In this book, Roger and Lois Belkin join literary couples you will never forget. In fact, it particularly made me think of Della and James (Gift of the Magi by O'Henry). With a sudden rainstorm and a tragic accident, they are separated as each one is carried to a different hospital. Roger wakes up, missing parts of his memory and the only one who can make his life complete, his wife Lois.

Roger's journey to find Lois takes him into a life he had not known before, and those who help along the way are often people he would have previously ignored. He discovers a whole new level of people and caring. But all of the time he keeps his focus - all he wants is his precious Lois.

Jonathan Sturak paints incredibly detailed pictures, with a significant use of adjectives and similes to help you see what he means. In the early part of the book, they seemed excessive and were a bit distracting, but as the story proceeded, I found myself drawn into the powerful force of the story itself and no longer noticed anything else except the gripping tale that fully kept me involved.

To give tribute to Sturak's style: I hungered for the rest of the story like someone who hadn't eaten for a week peering through a restaurant window looking directly at a plate with a sizzling, medium rare steak, a perfect baked potato loaded with sour cream and chives, and a side of crisply cooked broccoli with just a touch of butter melting onto the plate.

When I received a request from Jonathan Sturak to review his book, I nearly turned him down, since I have a lot on my plate. However, once I started to read the book, I could not put it down, and I completed it in a single sitting.

The story is tightly written, and powerfully told. It catches your attention and doesn't let you go. It is a story of hope and perseverance. It is truly a 5 star novel.

This story is a page turner, Jonathan Sturak has a knack for keeping you guessing what's about to happen next. Love is a powerful thing it keeps Jonathan's protagonist moving forward on his search. I look forward to the feature film -- keep an eye out for this up and coming writer's next work!

I enjoyed the writers style and think he uses excellent expression. Unfortunately, I felt there was so very little plot, the reading became very tedious. I'm amazed by the writers abilities for writing descriptive narrative, and I hope he continues to write, however I cannot recommend this book.

Ahhhhhh! To love and be so loved! A true deeply romantic thriller. One does not need the usual mushy-gushy kissy stuff to realize this guy goes to the end of the earth for his beloved wife. My attention was totally captured and when I tried to put this book on several occasions, I found myself staying away for only a minute. I ordered this book by mistake and right before I canceled my order, I changed my mind and kept it. Lucky me! This was certainly worth my bucks and I await more from this author.

Read this book and really enjoyed the story because it made a lot of sense. Roger was happy with Lois, the love of his life and then -- because of an accident -- everything that follows goes wrong. I like the way Sturak expresses it, something like "a stub in the toe" and it can change everything. "Little things" that happen matter.

Imagine Roger, the businessman with Lois in a first rate restaurant one night and the next, he comes back seeking for Lois and is mistaken as a tramp. Yes, things can happen in a minute, a second.. It's a romantic novel, but it also is a psychological thriller because I still ask myself what has caused Roger (is it intense love?) to escape the hospital and search for Lois -- was it post traumatic stress? An assortment of psychological factors? And why did he seem to prefer affinity with those who were homeless and "lost"? Did he feel that way without her?

Another interesting part is how the two ambulances went into opposite directions. Would it have been a happier story if they both ended up in the same hospital? More questions, how does the weather affect our daily lives - are we victims of nature really? Other questions, is there any force as great as love?

I wish though that the ending were "different" but the whole point is clear, LOVE wins even over our mortality. Something like we exist because we are loved. Loved the ending when Sturak kinda reminds us that our lives are just like a dip in the vast ocean but we must live to love to become truly immortal - because that is all that matters in the end.

CLOUDED RAINBOW is a fast paced little story about love and devotion and the extremes to which one can go to follow the heart. The action involves a happily married couple who happen to be involved in a strange car versus truck accident that separates the two physically, each fearing the other dead, until the end of the struggle to survive spells out a degree of devotion that is credible yet amazing in its resilience. It would appear this is the first novel by Jonathan Sturak and as such it shows a promise of well-developed story line and how to propel a novel along at a breathless pace. It also shows where the author needs to polish and edit for his next work. The description of the couple (Roger and Lois Belkin) is just so absolutely 'perfect' and passionate that it rings false: overkill on the degree of flirtation and intimacy in a couple together as long as the Belkin couple feels too saccharine, too out of focus. Sturak also needs to decide whether he is writing poetry (his descriptive phrases are very heavy) or a pulp romance suspense novel. This is a good airport book for a fast trip and it may even appear in a made of TV film - attributes that will likely guarantee high sales for this effort. He will be an interesting author to watch grow and to see if his skills become more polished with each next book! Grady Harp, April 10

The author has a strange way of turning a phrase. Things like "she was petting her sister's hand and massaging her ears with her voice" and "Then a picture caught his eye and he galloped across the room." Sometimes the writing would lapse from past into present tense in the middle of a description. The characters seemed wooden to me and the narration frequently lapsed into bizarrely ominous observations.

I was absolutely appalled at the writing of this book. The story's premise wasn't bad, but the writing "style" (if you can even call it that) was terrible - it seemed the author threw in every far-fetched metaphor and simile he could think of, even if they didn't make sense. I tried, but just couldn't finish the book - I found that the poor writing/editing too distracting to focus on the storyline. Don't bother!

I should have known that 14 one star reviews would be an indicator of the quality of this book. It was highly unrealistic in terms of plot and the characters behaviors. Speaking of the characters, not one of them were developed to a sufficient degree. Roger's infantile behavior characterized by recurring thoughts of "Where is Lois?" could easily be construed as "Where's mommy?" We get it, he loves his wife. I would highly recommend reading something else.