Book Review: Fourteen Days Later by Sibel Hodge

Book Description

Fourteen Days Later was short listed for the Harry Bowling Prize 2008 and received a Highly Commended by the Yeovil Literary Prize 2009. It is a romantic comedy with a unique infusion of British and Turkish Cypriot culture. Written in a similar style to Marian Keyes, it is My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets Bridget Jones.

When accident-prone Helen Grey finds a thong stuffed into the pocket of her boyfriend's best work trousers, it's time for her to move on. His excuse that he needed to dust the photocopier and just thought that it was a rag sounds like a lame excuse.

Helen's life is propelled in an unexpected direction after her best friend, Ayshe, sets her a fourteen-day, life-changing challenge. Helen receives a task everyday which she must complete without question. The tasks are designed to build her confidence and boost her self-esteem but all they seem to do is push her closer to Ayshe's brother, Kalem.

How will Kalem and Helen get together when she's too foolish to realize that she loves him? How can he fall for her when he is too busy falling prey to her mishaps and too in love with his own perfect girlfriend? How will Kalem's Turkish Cypriot family react when they find out

Is it really possible to change your life in fourteen days?

My Review

I have always loved Romantic Comedy flicks, and when I won an eBook copy of this story, I knew I would be hooked to it. And within the day I finished reading all the pages. From the first few pages of Helen's misery until her happily ever after, I had no dull moments. The whole book was filled with laughter and some romantic feelings which of course were just very light.

One of the reasons why I was drawn to this story was because I know how Helen felt when her cheater boyfriend left her. I see a lot of myself in Helen, who kept her world shut from the outside world just because of a broken heart. Having used to living alone because she became an orphan at an early age, she was used to having her boyfriend as her world, so when he left her everything fell apart. Good thing she has her friend Ayshe and her fiance, and her brother Kalem who then turned out to be someone she wasn't expecting.

Although stories like this are kind of evident in reality, it still feels good to somehow read a book that still assures someone of a happy ending. And although that happy ending might not be as fast as 14 days, but surely it will happen.

All in all, I had so much fun reading this book and I am anticipating to read its sequel. I hope I'll be able to score a copy soon because I am just as excited to read the next book as I was with this one.

FREE Two Days Only: A Vampire Novel with Actual Bite!

As the modern world establishes itself and pushes the supernatural into the shadows, the supernatural fights back.

The Darkening Dream is a chilling new dark fantasy novel by Andy Gavin, creator of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter, that has received rave reviews on Amazon and Goodreads and is FREE for two days only on Amazon Kindle (February 7th to 8th)! Download your FREE copy here: http://amzn.to/yTvZPG 

Long-time readers of dark historical fantasy (Tim Powers, Guy Gavriel Kay, Katherine Kurtz) will appreciate the weaving together of mythology, occult, and religion, while younger readers and fans of HBO dramas (True Blood, Carnivàle) or urban fantasy (Laurell K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher) will be drawn to the twisted imagination, graphic action, and romantic tension. 

About The Darkening Dream

Even as the modern world pushes the supernatural aside in favor of science and steel, the old ways remain. God, demon, monster, and sorcerer alike plot to regain what was theirs.

1913, Salem, Massachusetts – Sarah Engelmann’s life is full of friends, books, and avoiding the pressure to choose a husband, until an ominous vision and the haunting call of an otherworldly trumpet shake her. When she stumbles across a gruesome corpse, she fears that her vision was more of a premonition. And when she sees the murdered boy moving through the crowd at an amusement park, Sarah is thrust into a dark battle she does not understand.

With the help of Alex, an attractive Greek immigrant who knows a startling amount about the undead, Sarah sets out to uncover the truth. Their quest takes them to the factory mills of Salem, on a midnight boat ride to spy on an eerie coastal lair, and back, unexpectedly, to their own homes. What can Alex’s elderly, vampire-hunting grandfather and Sarah’s own rabbi father tell them? And what do Sarah’s continuing visions reveal?

No less than Gabriel’s Trumpet, the tool that will announce the End of Days, is at stake, and the forces that have banded to recover it include a 900 year-old vampire, a trio of disgruntled Egyptian gods, and a demon-loving Puritan minister. At the center of this swirling cast is Sarah, who must fight a millennia-old battle against unspeakable forces, knowing the ultimate prize might be her very soul.

The Reviews Are In

"A vampire novel with actual bite." ~The Kirkus Reviews

"Mr. Gavin has brought something refreshingly new to a genre now suffused with poorly-concealed bodice-rippers which have more in common with Fabio than Bram Stoker: depth. His big baddies are scary, not romantic interests, and the added religious lore is complex and engaging. Don't expect another Twilight -- the story can get downright creepy, so be prepared for a return to the old horror sensibilities of supernatural fiction." ~Amazon Review

"With Mr. Gavin's video-game pedigree, I was expecting something aimed squarely at the 18-25 year old fanboy contingent; what I got in The Darkening Dream was something wholly unexpected: A period novel with a female protagonist, a crash-course on Judaism in the colonial years, and multi-layered series of plot arcs featuring a crazy cast of natural and supernatural characters populating 18th Century Colonial America." ~Amazon Review

"…A perfect blend of mystery, magic and myth. A grown-up Grimm's fairy tale...emphasis on grim." ~Amazon Review

Read the first two sample chapters here >> http://bit.ly/xXVxXS

Get your FREE copy of The Darkening Dream for two days only on Amazon here. http://amzn.to/yTvZPG

No eReader or Kindle? No problem. Get free apps for your Web Browser, PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, or Android Phone.
 

Cover links can be found at: 

http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/the-darkening-dream/cover

http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/the-darkening-dream/cover-small

Infect Your Friends: A The Way We Fall Giveaway! – Until Feb 8th

What’s up for grabs? Take a look:

-Signed copy of The Way We Fall (or ebook if you prefer)*
-Signed copy of Give Up the Ghost (or ebook if you prefer)*
-The Way We Fall notebook, pen, magnet, bookmark, and hand sanitizer.
-Not pictured, iTunes mp3s of the unofficial The Way We Fall soundtrack songs.

And guess what? Megan Crewe will be giving away SIX of these sets!

How can you be one of the six people winning this prize pack? Here is the rules set by Megan Crewe in her blog post:

The Way We Fall is all about infection — the virus spreading through Kaelyn’s town as it infects her neighbors, friends, and family. To enter this giveaway, I need YOU to infect people. But in a fun way, nothing deadly!

1. Make a post about The Way We Fall on Facebook, Tumblr, and/or your blog. The post must contain the book’s title (The Way We Fall), my name (Megan Crewe), and a mention that I’m giving away copies with a link here (http://www.megancrewe.com/blog/?p=1659 ). Other content is up to you! Say why you want to read the book or why you enjoyed it if you already have. Share favorite quotes (I don’t mind if you quote from the ARC or egalley), link to the excerpt if you like. Discuss survival strategies or makes epidemics so scary. Include the cover, the book trailer, or some of the behind the book info. You can stick to the basics if you prefer, but creativity will help you win. You want to catch other people’s interest — to infect them! — after all.

2. Let me know where you’ve made your post(s) using the “I’m Infecting My Friends!” form below. (If you are having trouble getting the form to work, email me directly with the subject like “I’m infecting my friends!” and a link to your post(s).)

3. The morning after the giveaway ends, I’ll check all the posts. Each comment, like, share, and reblog equals one person infected. (Note: I will not count comments from yourself.) The poster who has “infected” the most people on a given platform (blog, Facebook, or Tumblr) automatically wins a prize pack! One winner per platform = three winners total.

What if you enter later on, or you don’t have many followers yet? I’ll also award one prize pack to the remaining participants in each platform, by random draw! You will be entered in the draw as long as you have “infected” at least five people. One winner by draw per platform = three more winners!

Additional details:
-The virus in The Way We Fall incubates for an average of ten days after infection before symptoms emerge. So entries will be accepted for ten days, until 11:59pm EST on Wednesday February 8th.
-You may post (the same post, or different ones) on two or all three platforms — it will increase your chances of winning! However, if you have “infected” the most people on more than one platform, you will only win one prize pack, and the other will go to the person with the second largest number.
-This giveaway is open to all readers (including previous giveaway winners) around the world.
-If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments on this post.

That’s all there is to it. Infect away!

For more details, check out www.megancrewe.com