2 Book Lovers Reviews

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Contemporary Adventure

There are many different factors that will draw me into reading a particular book.  The cover, let’s be honest, we are all drawn to good covers; The Man in the Lighthouse has a great cover.  The genre, I have become a huge fan of dark Nordic mysteries and thrillers over the past few years.  Even the publisher is a factor that will influence a reader’s decision to read a particular book.  I have been fortunate to have read a lot of great books from AmazonCrossing.  I enjoy the perspectives that I get from other geographical locations.  The Man in the Lighthouse, however, just wasn’t for me.

I’m always disappointed when a book that I was looking forward to reading falls short.  Can I put my finger on the reason why I didn’t connect with this book?  No, it’s simply a case of me making a bad book decision, assuming that Erik Valeur’s book would be in the same vein and spirit as the other books that I have read by other Nordic authors.  It wasn’t.

This book really made me think about star ratings, how they work, and how I want to approach them.  Although Valeur’s writing and I didn’t connect, there is nothing wrong with his writing and the product that he has put forward.  The characters were well developed, the story was new and creative, and there were no major issues with the proofing, editing or translation that made the story unreadable.  The Man in the Lighthouse was technically sound.  For me, the four and five star books are based on how much the author made me feel and how connected I was to the characters, while the one and two star books are based more on the technical competence of the author.

Erik Valeur wrote a story that was without flaws.  I can appreciate that this story could connect with readers, other than myself, but it just didn’t make me feel.

*3 Stars

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The Man in the Lighthouse 

By Erik Valeur