Janna GrayReseñas

At first, I did not like the book as I wondered why Nina was so stupid, but then looking back I realized that some girls could be as clueless as boys. Nina really thought she loved her fiance and she was excited to tell him about their baby that grew inside of her, only he chose his family's wealth over her then left her to fend for herself! At first, I wondered why Father Michael spent so much time with Nina as her daughter had died. This book has a strange title, but I did enjoy Nina's powerful tale

Kashmir, Thailand, Ireland, France.

On a positive note, I loved the cover and some of the settings, especially in Kashmir, were wonderful. Unfortunately there wasn't much else about this book that impressed me. I am baffled by the number of five star reviews - in my opinion, this was not a well written book. There were three main reasons why I struggled with this read. Firstly the number of colloquialisms and slang words used - 'snot-rags', 'sprog', 'naff', 'attack of the wobblies', which may have their place in conversation, but were jarring when used within the main text. Secondly, I found the book jumped suddenly at times, with no warning and the narrative felt irregular and clunky. Thirdly, some of the events were just not believable. I can't elaborate for fear of spoilers, but I will just say that the circumstances surrounding the conception of the second child did not ring true for me.

The main character is Nina Maitland, who finds herself pregnant in Kashmir in 1968. Her unwed state makes her pregnancy shameful and when she loses the baby at birth, she isolates herself on a houseboat away from everyone. When a love interest comes along and she starts to recover from the trauma of the birth, it is surrounded by taboos that she cannot overcome.
Events in Thailand stretched my ability to believe in the story, but after these are resolved, Nina returns to Ireland and makes a peaceful home for herself and her son.

Nina's life seems to jump from one drama to the next and the whole novel felt rather Mills and Boon in its style. However, it did touch on some interesting points - illegitimate birth, the problems of being a priest in the Catholic Church, prison life in Thailand and multiple inter-family relationships.

Having stuck my neck out here and criticised this book, I should just add that I was not alone in my opinions - at least two members of our book group abandoned it in spite of the fact that we were due to discuss it, they found it just too far - fetched. It will be interesting to see what the others thought when we meet next week.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book captured my attention from the first page. Janna Gray paints pictures with her words and descriptions, and I could see Nina’s world and feel her emotions. Joyous, outrageous, and sometimes heart breaking, I recommend this book and hope to read something from Ms. Gray in the future.

An engrossing story with the poetry and flavor of Asia, a romantic tangle between an unmarried pregnant woman and a young Irish missionary priest, illegitimate children, conservative backlash but also acceptance in rural Ireland, a stint in a notorious Thai Jail and a long post partum depression in provincial France. The author runs the gamut of emotions with a surprise ending. Once you start it you can’t wait to keep reading as you roller-coaster through all the characters and their emotions.

I'll be honest: I could only get about fifty pages in before I just couldn't drag myself on any longer. I'm just bored. None of the characters are particularly likable and most are just obnoxious. I feel like this could have been developed a little more before the publishing stage, to make the characters more 'real' and polish up the writing, which itself feels mostly disconnected from the action.

This was a vey interesting book. I enjoyed it. There were lots of twists and turns and it kept your attention. Very well written.

A wonderful and moving story! The book takes you through the life of one woman with all her dreams, loves, tragedies, and triumphs. I loved the character with all her human experiences as she falls in love with a priest and how the two of them spend a lifetime dealing with the consequences. I loved all the colorful places she lived and how Janna Gray's beautiful writing made you feel that you were there. I couldn't put it down until I finished it at two in the morning. What a great movie this would make.

This novel was awkward and irritating. The first third of the book was so overrun with similes and an overabundance of adjectives that it was difficult to wade through. The result is that the writing drew attention to itself, rather than being a transparent tool to the story. Many of the characters were unbelievable, especially the priest and the nun who ended up being the manipulative all-powerful villains in the lives of Nina and Michael. Their actions were completely ridiculous and incredible. Does the author have a problem with the Catholic Church? Because that's what's coming across here. Finally, there are abrupt and unexplained changes in the characters that just don't flow smoothly and don't make a lot of sense.

When I read a good book, I expect the author to let me into the story without jerking me into awareness of the process of the writing itself. That didn't happen with this novel. This could have been a really good story - there are some good characters and interesting conditions. But, unfortunately, the author didn't make it happen here.½

Well written story with many twists and turns - characters were decently developed although some of the characters needed a little more explanation or at least some background. Overall it was not quite as light a read as I was expecting but worth my time.