To Nourish and Consume [Kindle Edition]

Ryan O'Reilly (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A HAUNTING RETURN TO A FIERY LOVE TRIANGLE

Brian Falk and his best friend, Dabney, share a passion for the beautiful and wealthy Jackie, their childhood playmate and the prize catch of their social set. But, the young men are also drawn to each other—a secret, illicit connection that is cut short when Jackie chooses to wed the more moneyed Dabney.

Soon after graduation, a devastated Brian flees his hometown and, for ten agonizing years, tries to overcome the anguish that has all but consumed him. Now he is drawn back to try to answer some of the questions he can no longer ignore: Is he over Jackie? Was what he felt for Dabney really love? Does Jackie still love him?

As Brian desperately searches for closure, old wounds are reopened, a new love appears and revelations about his past throw his life into renewed turmoil.

About the Author
Ryan O’Reilly’s is the author of critically acclaimed travel novel, Snapshot, which was published in 2007 and received rave reviews from Kirkus, Midwest Book Review, fellow authors and his many devoted readers and fans. He is also a freelance contributor to newspapers and periodicals across the country and a member of the National Writers Association and the Writers League of Texas.

About the Author

Ryan O Reilly is the author of the critically acclaimed travel novel Snapshot, which received rave reviews. He is also a freelance contributor to newspapers and periodicals across the country and a member of the National Writers Association and the Writers League of Texas.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 312 KB
• Print Length: 300 pages
• Publisher: Black Oak Press (January 28, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0036B8YA8
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #714,577 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars O'Reilly's TO NOURISH & CONSUME Delivers In A Big Way, May 12, 2011

By 

C. A. Webb "Conversations Book Club" (Jackson, MS) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Nourish and Consume (Hardcover)

In an incredibly written narrative called TO NOURISH & CONSUME, author Ryan O'Reilly introduces readers to Brian, Dabney and Jackie: three individuals who are having to deal with the fragile structures of their lives. Told in Brian's voice, we are able to see him as he sees himself: an outsider in many senses of the word who is dealing with the feelings that if admitted or discovered threaten to destroy him.

What all of us can relate to about Brian's story is always feeling as though we are having to sacrifice our own happiness for the sake of someone else's. He also has to deal with the thoughts that where he comes from means more than the person he knows himself to be.

In the end will he realize that he is just as worthy of love as anyone else? That is the journey we embark on, and it is one well worth the literary trip. O'Reilly's TO NOURISH & CONSUME delivers in a big way, giving us characters and a storyline that keeps us turning the pages, looking for the happy ending that is not always to be but is a welcome addition to any great experience.

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensitive and Perceptive, October 12, 2011

By 

ShoreGirl (Littel Egg Harbor, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Nourish and Consume (Hardcover)

To Nourish and Consume
Ryan O'Reilly

Did you ever what the story line of Sex and the City might be like if the story had been told from a make point of view? It would definitely be different, but would it be better? I don't really know, I do know that this story is better because it is told by the lead male character, Brian Falk. When I first started the book, I kept going back to the beginning to be sure that it was being told by a man and not a woman. I kept thinking that I was reading a coming of age story form a female point of view. This didn't matter once I got into the story. The story held my interest, it didn't matter which voice it was being told in.

Brian Falk returns to his adolescent home to try to discover what shaped and made him that man that he turned out to be. Brian fled his home town after his high school graduation and spends the next ten years agonizing over what might have been. He is part of a trio of friends that shaped him more than he shaped them. He falls in love with both of his friends bit in different ways. He is warned by the grandfather of one of them, that he will never be right for his granddaughter. Brian is very human at this point; he hears what he thinks is being said, not what is really being said. He is also very much a teenager. He reacts by running away, not by staying and questioning or fighting. His two friends, Jackie and Dabney, grow up and apparently forget about him. They marry each other, make a life and make a mess of it. Jackie is cold and manipulative; Dabney has anger issues and is explosive. Brian also makes a mess of his life. Brian's mess is that he can't get over either of them, and can't form meaningful relationships because of them. He carries the past with him and always wonders what if. He is successful in other parts of his life, and hopes that by returning to the scene of the crime, so to speak, he can make peace with his life and move on. No more spoilers here, you need to read the story to find out what happens. Is he successful or is he pulled back into his old life?

Reilly has created a wonderful character in Brian Falk, sensitive, perceptive and caring. On the surface, he is the kind of man that every woman is looking for. Brian is also quite capable of being a "bad boy", also what some women look for in a man. The underlying story revolves around Brian's questioning of all the "what if's" in his life. What if he and Jackie could have had a romantic future? What if he could have been a better friend to Dabney ? What if he had stayed and taken over the family business? The what if's go on and on and held shape the story. I'm not sure how many writers can pull off developing a character this way without destroying the character; I know that Ryan O'Reilly pulled it off. In the end, all of the characters realize that they shape their own future and Brian realizes that he has come to a good place in his life.

I also learned that a story of self discovery and growth can be told equally well by a male voice.

This is a book that I will recommend without reservation. I give it 5 stars !

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT READ!, August 21, 2011

By 

Kennalea B. Pratt "Kennalea Pratt" (Springfield, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Nourish and Consume (Hardcover)

To Nourish and to Consume grabbed my interest with great characters, subtle situations and really poetic descriptions. It's a complex and mesmerizing story. The book came yesterday afternoon, and I finished it before bedtime. I could not put it down. This is a book I will reread. Mr. Ryan in a new novelist with a fine future before him.