J. CafesinReseñas

Author's guest post at my blog:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2020/02/foodfic-please-welcome-jeri-cafesin.html

My take:

I started reading this book and was having a hard time getting into it. Needless to say I decided I needed to put it down and read something else. I did some research by reading some reviews and noticed that the star ratings were very high, everyone loved it, I was intrigued to find out what I was missing. It had been awhile since I'd put Reverb down and decided that it was time to pick it up again. This round I was much more focused and was inspired to finish the book. To my surprise the reviews I read were right. It was very well written and the characters and plot twists were very well developed. I was totally surprised with the connection between James Micheal Whren and the man on the hill --

During my sabbatical I read The Goldfinch and loved it. If you've read the Goldfinch, you'll love reading Reverb.

Psychological thriller and romantic suspense.

Check out more of my reviews at http://thebookendsreviews.com

Karen j

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Jane Hunt Writer First Steps

Reverb is a compelling read.

The plot successfully merges the genres of psychological thriller and romantic suspense. Written in both the first and third person Reverb's unconventional writing style adds to its immediacy. For much of the story you are the fly on the wall and sometimes you don't want to be.

Vivid characters drive the story forward and even the numerous flashbacks positively reinforce the plot's momentum.

Realistic and savage many aspects of the story are tragic; James' blighted childhood inability to connect with people and the loss of his muse. The fine line between genius and mental instability is explored. James relives the graphic torture he suffered during the past year ending with a failed suicide attempt. Edward James' biological father's manipulation of his life causes a tsunami of pain and angst.

The inclusion of the torture scenes is essential to the story development but I found them unpleasant, to read. I must emphasise Reverb is an adult read.

From the darkness hope and a life changing romance emerges when James meets Elisabeth. Love heals James's damaged psyche but is it enough.

Reverb has a twisty plot even the well written ending is shadowed with past events which leave you wondering.

I was given a copy of Reverb by the author in exchange for an honest review.


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Title: Disconnected
Author: J. Cafesin
Publisher: Entropy Press
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 5
Review:

"Disconnected" by J. Cafesin ....

What was this novel about?

"Ever drank too much, ate too much, indulged in excess? Ever fall for someone you knew you shouldn't?

Rachel was an artist, an obsessive, straddling the line of addiction. She sought what most women did—to be successful, married and in love, have healthy kids. It was hard enough attracting a man when she wasn't heroin thin and perfectly chic like most L.A. women, sparkly but not too bright, as her mother insisted females need be. But in the 1990s, finding a man looking for an equal partner, wanting a woman beside him instead of behind him, seemed the impossible dream.

Then along came Lee…

Disconnected is an L.A. story, an addicting contemporary romance that never should have been, and like the city itself embodies a very sharp edge."

What I liked from this read....

All I can say is this author really told the reader quite a interesting story. It was really interesting seeing how this author would bring it all out in this well written script. It was really interesting how this author was able to incorporate the 'LA life....with the 'Rodney King' riots into this well detailed read. The heroine (Rachel) was really committed to her stand...putting it out their just what she wanted in her life..."to be successful, married, in love, and have healthy kids." Then Rachel meets Lee. Will Lee be all that Rachel wants and needs in her life? Was Rachel Lynn to have all of this and just when will she did she realize before its to late for her if this would even be for her? The characters in this novel were all richly well developed, well portrayed, where each one seemed to come alive on the pages. I did find Rachel's family quite a interesting bunch...the father, mother and sister. I will say they were not my favorite characters. I will say it took me a minute or two understanding Rachel Lynn thought patterns but in the end I was able to understand it more clearly. Be ready for a read of a little of it all... romance, family relationships, drugs, realism, and definitely self worth. Now, I don't want to give away too much away other than say you must pick this read up and see how this author will bring it all out to the reader.

What I especially liked about the read...

'Disconnected" was a well captivating powerful story line and once you start reading it will be hard to put down until the end. In the end will Rachel will she be able to move on with her life alone having a different mirror of herself...definitely disconnecting? Again you will have to read it to see!

Wow! This is one of those books that changes you after reading it. J. Cafesin writing style even though confusing at times, the heartbreak and the darkness of the book is felt on every page so much so that the reader fears at times to turn the page.

James Micheal Whren has everything that anyone could possibly want, he's beautiful, rick, talented and all the women love him. However all these things aren't happiness and the only person who can ever reach James is James. Lost in his lonely world of music he doesn't see the world he is shutting out around him and the loved ones he is pushing away until the fateful day his brother dies of a drug overdose.

Left as the only heir to his fathers immense fortune, a fortune that he doesn't want or need, James finds himself locked and thrown into in a horrid world against his will. A world that James will do anything to escape, even if it means his death.

Now on the run James seeks peace and solace from the horrors of his past in Athens where he meets Elizabeth and her son Cameron also seeking escape and solace in the Greek Island. Together they learn to live in world around them and each other and forget the horrors of the past. But will James take it one step further and confront the people who placed the horrors on him in the first place?

the characters in this story really touch your heart, James is a character that stays with you long after you have read the story. He is the true tortured artist! Elizabeth and Cameron were to sweet and kind to have suffered as they did, but they would have never have meet James otherwise and I was grateful for that. I really felt bad for Julie and my heart still breaks for her knowing her heart will prob always pine away for James that she wanted.

By: J. Cafesin
Published By: Entropy Press
Age Recommended: Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 5
Review:

"Reverb" By J. Cafesin was a "love story, a psychological thriller paced with romantic suspense." I truly could not have said it any better because this was truly a story of redemption. I enjoyed the first POV from James Michael Whren and the other characters are in third person POV.. all giving the reader a good story. The author was able to create a emotional intensive feel that ring high from the 'backstories' on to a much needed happier ending that we were given in the end. The reader was able to feel the tension that radiated from James, his dad and the other characters to a point of making it seem you are there in the midst of it all. You will definitely find yourself being brought into James's world. This author was able to use all of this through the 'accusations, deep talks, revelations, and the many arguments only to bring out to the reader a good intriguing dialogue. In the end I can only say I thought "Reverb" was a awesome read that I could not put down until the end.

However, be ready for a few scenes that maybe a little 'graphic in nature and languages that push the boundaries' for some of the faint hearted, but still I did like the way this author presented it all.

"James Wren is brilliant, beautiful, wealthy, and taken - with himself, or more precisely, his genius for creating music. But on the evening of his brother's funeral, his father turns James' life upside down." This is where the story will take off and James meets widowed Elisabeth and her young son Cameron. Now, to get the rest of it all I will say to get the rest of the story you must pick up "Reverb" to see how this author makes it all clear to the reader.

The characters: James Whren, Edward Whren and Elisabeth Whitestone and her son Cameron were really the main characters who were colorful, real, even believable. However, for some of these characters you will be able to feel the 'angst, anger, frustration, pain and betrayal' that will be all up into this interesting story.

I agree that "Reverb" was "fast paced, fascinating, shocking but most of all a riveting read" that I would recommend to you as some compelling story.

I have looked at the book cover many times trying to figure it out...then it came to me.... "Reverb" is all about James... who was of "echoes, repercussions, consequences, aftermath fallout to backlash." Well done author J. Cafesin!

First off, I have to say this isn’t my usual genre but the music element intrigued me so I decided to read it. The book wasn’t what I expected. Once you get past the slow moving plot, you find an emotional tale about a man’s obsession and the roads he has to travel to find himself again. He meets Elisabeth and her son Cameron on a small Greek island and slowly moves closer to that goal. This was an emotional read and I really enjoyed reading it. Jeri weaves a gripping emotional roller coaster ride.
I give this book 4 star rating as I didn’t get into it as much as I thought I would but it was a good read nonetheless.

Reverb is a story about a man, James, betrayed by his father and forced to run and hide. While hiding, he meets and falls in love with Elizabeth and her son Cameron. Elizabeth was recently widowed and decides to "save" James from himself and his past.

Honestly, after the first section, which was interesting and seemingly more carefully written, the rest I was left waiting for something exciting or interesting to happen. I found the overall plot to be slow and unbelievable, the main characters were much too flawed to be realistic, and the ending to be a let down. In spots the writing was less than clear. The book tried to be both a psychological thriller and a romance and in the process did neither well.½

James had a relatively happy childhood with plenty of loving memories of his mother and step-father. His parents nurtured his musical talents. Music became his escape after his mom and step-father's death and then became his life. What follows is an odyssey into self-discovery filled with suspense and romance in Reverb by J. Cafesin.

James has never been close to his father or half-brother, even though he lived with them after his mother and step-father's deaths. He left his father's home in the UK as soon as he could in order to explore his musical talents and work the way he wanted. He has built a successful career as a composer and musician, but he knows that he's living life on the edge. He slows down just enough to attend his half-brother's funeral. However, his father suspects that he is abusing drugs just like his brother and may wind up dead. In an effort to "save" his son, he plants drugs on him and arranges for him to be arrested at the airport and sent to a rehabilitation facility. Unfortunately this was possibly the worst thing he could have done. James is attacked in the rehab facility. He fights back to defend his own life and winds up taking a life. Again an unfortunate turn of events because this was the son of a judge, who in turn sentences James to a mental hospital. James spends two years being tortured and abused before escaping, leaving the UK and returning to the US. He eventually makes it to the Greek island of Corfu where he plans to live a life of solitude and simplicity.

Elizabeth is a young widow with a young son. Her husband was killed in Israel. She knows she could return to the US and the support of her family but she escapes and winds up on Corfu, renting a cottage on property owned by James. Elizabeth and her son Cameron wind up coaxing James from his shell and help him to overcome some of the psychological scars that remain from his incarceration. Elizabeth has her own psychological battles to overcome as she struggles to reconcile her past with her present, focusing on Cameron and James. Can James and Elizabeth build a new life together and will the ghosts from their pasts continue to haunt them? Will James ever truly be free since he is considered an escapee?

Ms. Cafesin provides a fast-paced psychological thriller with a hint of romance in Reverb. James has lead a pretty selfish and insular existence even though he was an acclaimed composer and musician. Elizabeth wasn't so much selfish as she was a follower, subjugating her desires and needs for those of her deceased husband. Although she is selfless in wanting what is best for her son, she has also come to realize that she needs to focus on herself in order to be a better parent to Cameron. Both Elizabeth and James cause a rebound or reset in one another's lives, and that is precisely the meaning of the term reverb in its purest sense.½

I'll not ruin my review of this book with any spoilers, so I'm not going to go into too much detail about it. I want you to experience it as I did. I want you to feel what I felt reading it. I will admit that it had me at the edge of my chair, couch or on my feet! And if you're a `nail biter', be ready to lose a few of those as well!

From the first sentence I just knew that I was in for a ride. This is not just a very well written story. This is a clever story. Every sentence of it has depth including the dialogue. The author took me straight into not just James' head, but into his heart. I couldn't help but feel what he felt, and every word he spoke. Ms. J. Cafesin has built the complex character of James with such meticulous care and gave him breath so that he became real to me.

The dialogue is sharp, too real and altogether refreshing. The story as well as the plot are a tad predictable, however in no way does it take away from the suspense or the excitement of it. Make no mistake; this is one hundred percent character driven story that will have you tied up in knots. Add to that a bunch of wonderful secondary characters like Kate `the pot smoking' chick that gets into a car accident with our hero; Martin and John, his Gay friends; Julia and Stephen, the `ex' and his Accountant; Howard `Harvard' Miller, his father's best friend and secretary-director. And of course Edward Whren, a father whose love for his sons either went too deep or not deep enough. We see James through their eyes and our love and compassion for this man just keeps growing.

Once the author introduces Elizabeth and her infant son Cameron into the story this thriller becomes a genuine love story. The relationship is built slowly and once again with such care that it feels real and not forced. Their falling in love is gradual and the reader feels the build up, so when they finally admit it to each other, I felt joy and was grinning from ear to ear.

Can you tell I liked this book?! If you like contemporary romance or a psychological thriller you just can't miss this one. It is THAT good!