Monday, February 27, 2012

Book Review: Otherwise



Otherwise

by Jennifer B. White
Release date: 21st December, 2011
Publisher: OakBluffs Press / OakIvy Publishing
Pages: 340 (ebook copy sent for blog-tour)

Summary from Goodreads:

Reluctantly, Delilah Gray has returned to her childhood home—a ramshackle cottage where her compulsive, hoarding grandmother, Meema, raised her. Meema’s ghostly manifestations refuse to let Delilah clean the filthy house, or to stay there peacefully. And that’s just the beginning of Delilah’s problems.

Lonely, angry, and hiding a painful secret, she tries to find a place for herself in a town that she once discovered was “in-between”—a portal to the worlds of the supernatural. Upon her arrival, Delilah unwittingly gets caught in the middle of important business between The Keeper, whose job it is to keep souls on the physical plane, and The Sender who helps speed the dead on their afterlife journey.

When Delilah discovers that she is connected to Lily Defoe, a woman who leapt to her death many years ago, and to a man who refers to himself as The Gravedigger for Lost Souls, she realizes there is more to her homecoming than she anticipated. Who she is, and who she’s been, crosses the boundaries of life and death. Nothing—not the people she meets, not this very moment in time, not even the tragic death of her daughter—is what it appears to be. Not only does Delilah have her own “soul searching” to do, but she must work with some of Green Lake’s oddest characters to uncover the mysteries of several unsolved deaths that have never been forgotten.

While strange and supernatural occurrences threaten Delilah’s already fragile emotional state, she still has a crucial choice to make that will change everything. She comes to understand that there are some things that are worse than death. There is Otherwise—to be confined to a twilight state between the spiritual and the physical worlds.

OTHERWISE is a chilling tale about lonely spirits, protective forces,
and departed loved ones who are never really gone—and a woman who,
after wanting to die, finds a reason to live and to love again.
Only to discover what it is to be Otherwise.

Review By Alaiel Kreuz:

Otherwise was, I assure you, a fantastic read. Not only the whole concept was very refreshing but also the characters were full of personality and color.

Jennifer did an amazing job portraying a whole town where the main character, Delilah, and the reader itself, discover together that Green Lake hides a lot of secrets... some of them very disturbing.

First we have Delilah's Meema, a woman who had a compulsion for collecting items: boxes, newspapers, clothes, empty cans, rotten food... you name it she had it. That's why Delilah took off as soon as she turned 17 and never looked back. At least until now. Once her Meema dies everything changes and she now has to go back, clean the house and fight her old fears.

But she soon will discover that in Green Lake there are two kinds of people: the real ones and the "otherwise". And here is when Delilah's struggles begin: not only is difficult to recognize who is who but also there are murderers that she has to solve.

Personal opinion:
As I said before Jennifer has done a great job creating the characters. Beginning whit Delilah who begins as a woman afraid of being alone, afraid of love and afraid of silly little things that make her life very difficult. At the same time she is stubborn and somehow manages to jump to conclusions very fast (and most of the time she is so so wrong...). But the good thing is she wants to heal her mind, wants to improve her life and she is ready to try, ready to take the risks.

The fact that we, readers, discover some things before Delilah does is also interesting. I usually found myself trying to tell her what she didn't know to help her solve the mysteries. It was awesome.

If you are looking for a book where you never know what will happen next, where the twists are so many you will be passing page after page, where the ending will rock your world then pick up this book, take a seat and begin reading.
You won't be disappointed and you will want to read more of Jennifer's work. Trust me.

Alaiel's Rating:



If you really liked it, you can order it here:

5 comments:

  1. Fabulous review, darling!!! I really loved Otherwise, Jennifer's writing style was refreshingly unique and I enjoyed all the plot twists, as well the original, small-town setting :) This book was a treat and your review is spot-on! Thanks so much! <3

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  2. Quite a recommendation. I may just have to look this one up.

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  3. Definitely going on my TBR list!

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  4. I'm honored and humbled. Thanks readers, reviewers, friends. xo - Jennifer B. White

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  5. Great review! Sounds like you really enjoyed this one...Not sure if this is something I would want to read.

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