Sedona Hutton

Rating: ★★☆☆ (2/5 Stars)
Title: Nora's Promise
Author(s): Sedona Hutton
Character(s):
― Nora Williams: Brunette, Green Eyed
― Davey Johnson: 25 years old, Blue Eyed
Setting: Serenity, Tennessee
Tag(s): Romance, Contemporary
Content Rating: ―
POV: Third Person
Smexy Level: ―
Favorite Quote(s):
― “Stay focused. You can’t afford the distraction.”
Overall Opinion:
With the sudden death of her sister, Nora becomes the new guardian of her nephew Ben. After years of not knowing, she finally reaches out to his father to allow them to reconnect. The blurb drew me in and I had high expectations which unfortunately weren't meant. I just wasn't able to connect with the storyline, content nor characters despite pushing myself through thinking it'll get better with time. By chapter 7 at 23% I had already knew this was a goner. I will also like to mention that there was something about the writing style that turned me off. Sadly, despite the interesting blurb, this just wasn't my cup of tea.

… (mais)

After her sister dies, Nora’s life changes. She adopts her nephew and is promptly dumped by her boyfriend Matt. Her world is seemingly falling apart around her, but she forces herself to keep it together for her nephew. Not trusting men, she is wary to listen when a new job offer appears but goes against her instincts and does so anyway.

The story has some truly beautiful prose, and the paranormal twists within it were not expected but were welcome just the same. The love story is well-written and the characters are very well developed. I love the theme of the story too—believe in yourself and good things will happen.
… (mais)

Sedona Hutton has written a well-constructed contemporary romance novel with interesting characters, complex subplots and a splash of metaphysical theory. This is a book that many will enjoy. However, if you don’t like coffee, and I prepare you a well-made cup and then flavor it with French vanilla (which you do love) you probably won’t like the beverage, no matter how well made it is or how much French vanilla I add. Right?
So, that’s the problem I have with this book. I happen to not enjoy romance novels, with all due respect to those who do. I try to avoid reviewing genres I don’t appreciate, but because of the misleading blurb, it happened. Whatever else has been mixed into the plot, at its heart, this book is written in the romance genre. From the large amount of time characters spend lusting after each other to the focus on appearance and clothes (always beautiful, always hot) the book speaks the language expected by romance readers. I don’t fault the author for doing that, and doing it well, but it’s not what I enjoy or was led to expect.
What I liked best:
1. The book is well crafted. The pacing is nice, the changing points of view are well-handled, the mix of dialog, action and description is effective.
2. The characters are the best part. They have quirks and interesting back stories and occasionally behave in unpredictable ways. I also liked her multi-generational approach. Teens act and talk like teens, older adults are believable and not relegated to bit parts. The emphasis on families is warming.
3. I genuinely enjoyed the story line about the daughter given up for adoption and her reuniting with her birth mother.
4. There is this one scene where Katie-in-a-coma gets to see the energy that connects all of humanity. I loved it.
What I liked least:
1. The book is chiefly driven by a smoldering love affair between two side characters. As much as anything, this is the story of how the two of them finally have sex.
2. I was disappointed in the metaphysical aspect. Maybe a third of the word count during the first half of the book (so like 15% of the story) is about Katie’s time in the clouds where she is being told about the Law of Attraction. Katie is supposed to be an intelligent woman, but her reaction to this philosophical education is in the vein of “I can have anything I want if I believe hard enough? Cool. Good to know.” I am certain that if I found myself on a cloud with two “beautiful” spirit guides and my dead dog and they assured me I could fix everything in my life, I would have a lot more to discuss with them.
So while I don’t recommend this book to a nerd like me, who loves sinking my teeth into a hearty analysis of metaphysical theory, I do recommend this book to anyone who likes contemporary romance and wouldn’t mind a dab of basic new age philosophy with it.… (mais)