Review: AUTHOR'S PREROGATIVE: Masterfully Written
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 28, 2013
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. (Quote) "You know, when I first started in this business, we'd come in at six in the morning to get ready to open the store. People would be sleeping on the sidewalk or be propped up in chairs sipping coffee from a thermos. But, this nonsense is insane."The opening reference is to Black Friday, the frenzied day of shopping that comes the day after Thanksgiving. Last year it was 247 million people. At one store, a shopper was trampled to death, and the paramedics trying to rescue the shopper was also trampled to death. Is this a good way to start a book with a Christmas theme? Doesn't the attractive artwork on the cover promise us a romantic tale?The answer to both questions, for me, is YES. YES, it is a romance. Yes, it is a good way to begin the story. Whereas many authors prefer to start strong, with a significant event jumping immediately off the page and creating maximum interest, others prefer a "crescendo" effect, gently "building a fire" (creating curiosity) through a multiplicity of other means. One of those means is foreshadowing.This foreshadowing device sets up expectations in the reader's mind which Author Jayn Wilde can ratify (or defy), turning the tables on someone who has predicted there will be something significant happening later in the story directly related to this seemingly irrelevant tidbit of information. This is what I call, "author's prerogative", and it lets me know I am in the hands of a Master Storyteller. There is no haste here, no mad rush AKA Black Friday Shoppping spree...Overall, you will finish reading this book in one-sitting. It is practically impossible to put down once you begin. "Four Weeks 'till Christmas" is well-written, smooth, with delicious descriptive images that you will find emerging as the story progresses. I enjoyed this book tremendously and in accordance with the holiday season, heartily recommend it. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.Reviewed by Thomas Jerome BakerAuthor ofLooking For Catarina: A Love Story From Santiago de Chile to Florence, Italy