Monday, March 24, 2014

VABT Tour ~ The Freeing of Jonathon Mark

*Book source ~ Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review.
Author ~ Nathan Gross
Publisher ~ Nathan Gross
Published ~ 8 December 2013
Genre ~ Thriller/Paranormal
Pages ~ 320
Amazon | B&N 

My Rating ~ 3 bites and a nibble out of 5

Jonathon sits in a little brown room all day and listens to people bitch and complain. Why? Because he’s a Taker. He gets paid to sit unmoving, unblinking and silent while his patients go on and on about the things that piss them off. He takes all of their grief away and at the end of the day he empties it all into a little box. But sometimes the emptying isn't enough and he must indulge in his dark vice. All Takers have a vice of some kind that helps them deal with being a Taker and Jonathon is no different though he has a bit more control than most. Until one day when Pam’s dark vice throws a wrench in the works. Or is it?

A book about people who take grief and their dark vices, sounded like a pretty good premise for a book. However, what it turned out to be was a lot different than I thought it would be. I’m not saying it’s a bad different though. The story is definitely interesting. And I loved Jonathon’s inner monologue that played when he was with clients. Hilarious! The writing style is weird and took some getting used to, but there were many things I didn’t get and that brought down my enjoyment of the book. The world in which Jonathan lives, how he became a Taker, his recurring dream and the entire ending confused me. It’s probably just me though. I never do well with books that have me trying to decipher dreams and I’ve never been good with any kind of symbolism. I like stuff spelled out. If you like books like that though then you’ll probably get much more out of it than I did. I’d read it again just for the inner monologues. :D 



10 comments:

  1. Thanks for taking part in the tour! I'm glad you enjoyed the monologue.

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  2. It made me think of that story about the two farmers, and the one says you work and I'll get tired and sleep under the tree for you..

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    1. I've never heard of that, but it's kinda like that. :)

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  3. Sounds intriguing...I do like the premise. And love the cover!!

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  4. Carol, I just wanted to thank you for reading and reviewing 'The Freeing of Jonathon Mark'.
    Cheers,
    Nathan.

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  5. I LOL Carol, because I also like my reading to be clear - no symbolism please. I don't read to think hard - that's for school! Still, the concept is interesting, I just don't think the book is probably for me either. Thanks for the great review :)

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    1. Exactly. I read for entertainment and for me, entertainment is not thinking hard. lol I like movies where shit blows up and there are weapons (guns, swords, etc) and hunky men. I'm the same with books. Humor, a good mystery, sex...you know, straight forward stuff. ;)

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