30 August 2013

The Silent Swan by Lex Keating - Book Review, Giveaway



Release date: August 26th 2013

Publisher: AltWit Press
Purchase: Amazon


Once upon a time – better known as “now” - Gabriel Pritz reigns as king of his high school. Easy grades, perfect baseball season, a pretty date for prom—he's coasting into a golden future. Until his parents demand he cook dinner once a week. Caught between kitchen fires and ballpark withdrawal, Gabe is thrown into Tam Swann's orbit. Hostile, friendless, and stubborn, she's exactly the sort of person he'd prefer to avoid. 

Tam's sphere of influence expands beyond Gabe's sad domestic skills, rapidly invading everything from his favorite game to parts of his soul he didn't know existed. It's uncomfortable, it's hard work, it's...making him a better man. And that's just what she does to people she doesn't like. The better he gets to know her, the more he has to face the truth: this sharp, heart-breaking outcast is worth fighting for. How many families, fairy tales, and felons will he go through to ride to the rescue of the bravest person he's ever met?



Gabriel Pritz is part of the popular crowd. Not only that he's one of the Pritz boys, but he's also in the student council, he coaches junior leagues, he's got nice grades and not to mention he's got a pretty date for the prom too. All of this is about to go to waste when his parents demanded each of them to cook dinner for one night. He can catch a ball easily but he could not cook to save his life. He'd probably have the whole kitchen burning before he can cook anything edible. 

Here comes Tam Swann - she likes her privacy, doesn't like any friends, she dresses awfully, doesn't care what others think of her - but she cooks like she's born with a ladle on her hand and a chef's hat on her head. She can sew like she was born to do it, and she can play ball. She's hard to live by but she's responsible. She pushed him to do things he never thought he can. The more time he spends with her, the more he gets to know her and admire the person behind the hard exterior. Despite the toughness and roughness she emanates - this girl is pretty amazing. 

I haven't expected for Silent Swan to be that long! I would have loved it more if it were a little shorter - but nevertheless, I enjoyed reading it. Silent Swan isn't really about love, (but the gradual wooing was a bit sweet and a nice touch) instead, its more of family dynamics. This book is filled with much testosterone, I don't know if I can handle more the moment I reached the final chapters. But the author had portrayed two sets of families from different side of the tracks - one broken, one whole. Both have problems of different nature, both went through difficulties, especially with the system - but at the end of the day they're still family - and bonds that strong would never get broken. I adore Tam's character and I would have love to get inside her brain!!!!!!!!!! It's frustrating not to know what she's thinking and she's throwing all these mysterious looks to Gabe. She's one tough female character I'm sure I'd never forget. Her talents, her love for her family, the strength of her character makes her one of my favorite heroine of all time.

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 Lex Keating has been engaged in a passionate affair with books ever since the Velveteen Rabbit wanted to be real. She graduated from a liberal arts college with a BA in literature, and currently resides near Charleston, South Carolina, in a swamp full of barbarians and all their cats. She has been a teacher, a paralegal, a computer programmer, and a hospice caregiver. She currently divides her time between studying old fairy tales and making up new ones.
  

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