Customer Reviews

Rooms: A Novel

5 star:		(136)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(27)
1 star:		(89)

 

 

At twenty-five years old, Micah Taylor has it all: millions of dollars, amazing Seattle penthouse apartment, his own software company and more. Or does he?

Micah receives a mysterious letter from his great-uncle stating that he is now the proud owner of a brand-new 9000 square-foot home on the Oregon coast. It's mysterious, because his great-uncle has been dead for years, and this home is brand new.

The thought of traveling to Cannon Beach dredges up terrible memories for Micah. However, curiosity piqued, he travels to Cannon Beach where he finds that there is more to this house than meets the eye. Somehow, new rooms keep appearing in the house - rooms that are very personal.

Between the enigmatic house, his new friend Rick, and potential love interest Sarah, Micah finds himself spending nearly every weekend at Cannon Beach. Slowly, his life begins to change, and only he can decide what is most important to him - Seattle, or Sarah?

Okay, so I know it's cliché to say that I couldn't put the book down, but I literally couldn't. I read the whole thing straight through, pausing only to wipe the tears from my eyes to continue reading. It also has me using the clichéd hyphenated phrases like starry-eyed, heart-wrenching, and soul-searching.

Rooms is really about what's inside us. It's about how sometimes when it looks like you have it all, you may not have it all together inside, and that's where it counts. It's about dealing with tragedy, then coping when the tragedy becomes too much. It's also about questions, and questioning ourselves. The biggest question of all is how to deal with life. Rubart's answer is simple - turn to God.

I picked this book up on Kindle for free and once I started I couldn't put it down.

It was an amazing and insightful book outlining one man's struggle to find what world he belongs in. Exceptionally inspiring with just the right amount of action, suspense, romance and Truth. Definitely challenges the reader to examine which world they are living in, whose voice is guiding your actions, and the very real consequences each has.

I still can't believe it was free--there is no reason not to pick this up.

I can't wait to read more from this author!

This could be a challenging book review to write. I loved this book - really loved it, but it is the type of book that I can't tell too much about or I could give too much away, but here goes....

As the book description says, the main character, Micah Taylor, is given a house on the beach. The more time he spends there, the more bizarre things happen to him. It turns out that the house's weird rooms are "rooms" in his heart.

I liked and enjoyed the main character. I found myself identifying with him and his struggles, defeats, and victories. At times, I found myself misty-eyed, other times smiling. The plot was awesome. The author has to be really talented and also guided by God to write this type of book. It could have been a weird book, but he does an excellent job of showing the battles in a man's soul by using rooms in a house, and instead of the book coming off as weird or bizarre, it comes off as inspiring, challenging, and even convicting.

The book came in the mail today, and I decided to start reading it after supper. Well, even though it wasn't a suspense book, it was one of those "read-in-one-sitting" books I mention occasionally, and suspenseful in the way that it was a definite page-turner. I was quickly drawn into the story, and was eager to see where the story would go, and I was not disappointed.

On the cover of the book, is an endorsement: "An extraordinary read. Part The Shack, part C.S. Lewis. I thoroughly hated The Shack and consider it heretical, but this book has some similarities, but it is so much better. There are no weird depictions of the Trinity in this book or other heresies. This is one of those Christian fiction books that will really make you think, and I often recommend books I review, but I very highly recommend this. If you want a book that will cause you to do some self-examination of your spiritual state and priorities, this book is for you. It is definitely worth reading, and could be one of those life-changing books that are talked about.

Rooms is an outstanding story in depth and philosophy. I love how the author uses a house as a metaphor for the soul. Each room held such powerful revelations and thought provoking situations, which made me WANT to reflect upon the rooms of my own soul. This book is not just entertaining, but challenging as well. You can't walk away from Micah's house without clearly taking a look within to see which rooms need dusting, consideration, or even reinventing. A powerful book!

It seems like all of the negative reviews have two things in common. They do not understand the genre. Yes this book contains Christian themes. Yes this book is fiction, not fact.

This book is a page turner. The end is a little predictable once you get close, but early on there is a lot of surprises.

I would recommend this book to anyone who does not get offended by Christian literature.

*****
This book was a free Kindle purchase that turned me into a fan of the author; I most certainly will buy his future books. The book description above describes enough of the plot, and I don't want to include any spoilers here. This would be easy to do--the book is one surprise after another. The idea of a man discovering his soul, his priorities in life, and his Christian faith via rooms of a house is odd, but oh, in the right hands (this author's), it really works. I am unfamiliar with any genre like this--sort of a Christian-fantasy-thriller, but not like C.S. Lewis' Narnia, and not like Frank Perretti--more like...well...not like anything I've ever read before.

The book takes place in Seattle, Washington and Cannon Beach, Oregon in the present time. It highlights the conflict between having everything the world can give and all that Christ can give. But it's not a simple book; it has different layers and is complex, a book I'd love to talk to my best friend about for hours. It was hard to put down at first, and then I tried to stretch it out so that I wouldn't finish it because I identified with it and it made me feel so much stronger in my own Christian faith.

This book is definitely for people who are Christians or who are interested in reading about someone discovering their own Christian faith. I read The Shack as well years ago and have seen the comparisons to The Shack by other reviewers. I think that the only similarities between the two is that both are very imaginatively original and both are about spirituality and faith. This book will appeal more to evangelical Christians because of the more orthodox underpinnings of the theology behind it. It is like an evangelical's The Shack, but better. Much better.

Highly recommended.
*****

What would you do?

What if a house you inherited is more than it seems? What if doors appear out of nowhere and lead to rooms filled with mystery? What if your life changed daily in unimagined ways? For Seattle software tycoon, Micah Taylor, these questions are not academic. An uncle he's never met leaves him a house in Canon Beach on the Oregon Coast. Micah determines to sell the home, especially since it's located in a place that holds powerful memories for him. But after a visit, and after meeting Sarah Sabin in a local ice cream shop, he can't quite let go.

Micah walks a fine line between darkness and light, pain and healing, death and life. He faces a choice between two worlds, but first he must fight a battle with spiritual consequences.

Enter the strange and wonderful world of Jim Rubart's "Rooms." I highly recommend this life-changing book for adult and young adult readers.

What a great find! Away for a short weekend, I was searching for an enjoyable book for my Kindle. I stumbled across Rooms and began reading without really knowing what it was about. All I can say is WOW! I could not put it down and certainly did not want it to end! What a journey of belief, unbelief and choices. The imagination of the author amazes me still...days after finishing it! You will love each character and fall in love with Mitch as he goes about his journey and revisits a painful past. It is a story that stays with you and I have told many people about this book. I look forward to seeing where this book goes from here. This will be counted as one of my favorite books.

I read this story slowly (which was excruciatingly difficult) ... BUT, I wanted to savor every scene as it unfolded. I'm not going to rehash the storyline (others have done that here). I simply want to say, this book resonates. For those of us who vacillate between complete surrender and that nagging pull to hold on to the very things which grip us in bondage, let them go.

Take the tour with Micah Taylor, room by room. It's a satisfying story with its dire moments, emotional punch, and views to the 'real' world we cannot see. Resoundingly freeing and oh so encouraging.

I agree with another reviewer who mentioned "The Family Man" - a worthwhile analogy and one that really struck a chord with me. I loved that movie and now I love ROOMS.

Some books merely entertain but some resonate so deep as to change. This book pulls double-duty; still rings within me, and has me evermore convinced of stepping into the room of my passion.

And I have to say, the cover of this book is terrific!

I understand this is fiction - and I understand the comparisons to The Shack.

Something just didn't quite sit right with me in reading this book. I enjoy good reading, and as a Christian, I don't label "good reading" as works by Christian authors alone.

The theology seemed to be a bit off the mark, but I don't know where to begin pin-pointing the exact mark to give specific reference as to what or how. It was an interesting read, even though (at least the free Kindle version) there were way too many grammatical errors and typos.

Micah's journey just didn't seem genuine. So much of what he went through and where he should go had such easy answers that were more drawn out than needed. A lot of the novel appeared too obvious, but it still encouraged enough emotional involvement that I wanted to cheer for Micah to make the "right" decisions.