Review: The Feel Good Story of The Spring!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 15, 2014
Brittainy Chantal Cherry writes like Ashlyn Jennings’ and Daniel Daniels’s favorite writer, The Bard! I kid you not. She knows how to turn a phrase, to string words together, to tickle the eight parts of speech. This woman should write songs, or poetry, because those lyrics for Romeo’s Quest, Daniel Daniel’s band, were literally to die for. I love how Daniel and Ashlyn met and connected so profoundly that their dialogue upon meeting made them sound as if they’d known and loved each other for eons.This story came from such a pure place, there really isn’t a serious comparison to be made to any other coming of age, forbidden love, teacher/student book out there. Loving Mr. Daniels is Cherry’s unique spin on this trope, and I enjoyed reading it immensely.There is so much to praise about this story, that when one turns to honest critique, the only things I can come up with has to do with some things Ms. Cherry isn’t even responsible for. Her editor might have done her a disservice by not combing through it thoroughly enough for disembodied motions, passive voice, the odd typo, and a few plot points and a bit of melodrama that could’ve been smoothed out by a good developmental editor. But these are craft issues, one and all, which at the end of the day don’t matter to the people who matter most: readers and book buyers.The average reader won’t care about those things as much as we writers who also read. When readers read it, all they will come away with is how this story made them feel. Having just finished reading this wonderful story, I for one can tell you the answer to that question will be without equivocation: “Pretty Damn Good!”So, don’t read this story if you’re looking for a study in writing craft. You won’t get that here. But if you want a gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, love and life story full of so many beautiful one-liners, you can’t decide which ones you’d like to quote first, read Loving Mr. Daniels. I am so glad I did!I rate Loving Mr. Daniels 4.5 StarsI received an ARC for an objective review.