Synopsis:
With a passion for hockey, but
disdain for media attention, Sawyer Reed tries to rebuild his life after fame
by reconnecting with his estranged brother in NYC. While there, he meets an odd
girl who won't take no for an answer.
Nora Maddison is doing her best
to maintain some level of normalcy while rising to fame quicker than she
anticipated. As she disguises herself and meanders about the city, she finds a
mysterious man who refuses to give her the time of day.
Eventually, the two find solace
in their late night conversations, but when their true identities are revealed
they must decide if their hidden romance is worth more than their dreams.
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Review:
Marilyn Grey has a knack on
tackling life’s simple issues in her novels, and I love that about her. She pulls
out the simplest thoughts and weaves it into a story that will have you reflect
on it. She doesn’t need extravagant words to drive the point in, because the
simple words she uses in her books are enough to make you thinking. She has
written five beautiful novels with the different faces of life and love, and
this sixth book of the Unspoken series, When
The City Sleeps, is no different. However, though I loved all of her
previous books, this one is, I think, not for me.
The story follows Nora Maddison, a
fast-rising Hollywood star, and Sawyer Reed, a hotshot hockey player that made
the papers a couple of years ago because of a scandalous episode (which wasn’t
revealed until later in the book), who crossed paths in a restaurant in New
York City. After a few phone conversation when the city sleeps, they started to
fall in love—and of course, the complications soon followed.
The concept is great. It teases
the readers’ minds about the complications between a famous couple and if the
love for each other can outshine the desire for fame. It makes the readers
think how big shot celebrities handle their romantic relationship with the
press hovering everywhere documenting their every move and reporting it for the
world to know. And here’s the infamous but—but
the execution of the novel didn’t serve justice for the great concept.
The plot started out fine, but it soon started to whirl down the
drain. The story is fast-paced, which should be a good thing as to not bore the
readers, but it is so fast that
sometimes I got lost in the story, and not
in a good way. For the first few chapters everything happened so fast—they
talk on the phone about “anything and everything” and that’s it. The narrator
just told the readers that they talked about “everything” but there is no depth
in those conversations. Oh, a few life riddles were thrown in within the said
conversations, but it lacks the depth that is actually needed for the story to
make sense. The next thing I know the girl started falling in love but I don’t even have an idea where it
started or what spurred the feeling. There wasn’t any indication where it
started, or maybe I just missed it (shame, if I did). Since books contain only
words to provide the readers a proper visual, it should be more detailed and precise.
I was actually confused when the female character started thinking that she
might be falling in love because there wasn’t anything that stated where it
started—was it the sound of his voice? Something he said? The way he laughed?
There was nothing where there should be something.
The next few chapters were just a
mess, for me at least. There were a lot of words thrown around, but most of the time those
words weren’t enough to tell me anything, just the characters’ babbles. Sure,
most of those conversations are great because it consists of those life riddles
and it makes me think and reflect, but sometimes it seems like it doesn’t fit
the story. I think I feel that way because there is not enough details. I don’t
mind long conversations—it’s what keeps the book interesting for me—but in this
case, I would have given anything to have more narration and more details. I
wanted to see deeper things, like maybe more of the characters’ feelings
portrayed so well that I can see a better visual, but sadly, I didn’t see any.
A lot of times I had to fill in a lot of blanks just to connect the dots on
what is happening.
The characters are okay, but I
did not feel connected to them. Probably because of the lack of depth and
details. Actually, maybe most of the reason why I didn’t like this book is
because of the lack of details. The concept is promising, but the execution is
not enough to see it through.
I’m sure this book will touch
others in a way I wasn’t. It’s just not for me this time.
~ Zee
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