Self-published review – New Beginnings by Johanna Nield
Winner of my March Self-Published competition – I was interested to read NEW BEGINNINGS by Johanna Nield because her tag line ‘Tasha’s in love with the wrong man at the wrong time, leading her into a minefield of moral dilemmas and social taboos’ had me wondering how this love affair would develop.
Tasha finds her colleague Jamie attractive but is wary of letting him know, as he’s married and has a handicapped child. Once Jamie’s wife dies in a tragic car accident, Tasha is upset for him, but also delighted to be able to get close to him and help him recover from his unbearable grief.
I won’t expand further on the plot, but Jamie’s troubles aren’t over. The novel is written as a confessional from Tasha’s point of view, she’s writing a blog but keeping it private, so in effect it’s a 21st century diary.
I found it very disturbing that Tasha could continue to pursue her rather teenage crush as Jamie’s world crumbles about his ears. That obsession could be the start of a very powerful psychological thriller where Tasha turns out to be an unreliable narrator, but currently the author seems to want the reader to like Tasha, and be pleased for her happiness.
Nield did manage to get a very strong sense of what Tasha was like but it’s a shame the book didn’t develop along more sinister lines. Relying on the diary format also leads to a lot of reported speech, and that becomes repetitive.
Classed as erotic fiction in the Kindle store, this does have some steamy but realistic sex scenes – very difficult to write – but the plot surrounding these elements needs work.
Thank you Johanna for letting me read NEW BEGINNINGS.
April’s Self-Published Saturday will be going live on Saturday 14th April. I look forward to hearing your pitches!
March 24, 2012
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