OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Ocean's Veil" by Pamela Whitewood.]

Pamela Whitewood's The Ocean's Veil is a fast-paced romance and adventure novel about a young woman from a wealthy family who is trying to find the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with. Living between Chicago, IL and Palm Beach, FL, Susan Winslow enjoys spending money, going out to clubs with her friends, and bouncing between relationships. She is a sporadic freelance fashion writer who does a lot more shopping and partying than she does working. After Susan's father passes away, her step-mother limits her cash flow, so she sets out to find a wealthy man to help support her and her expensive tastes. Throughout the book, she gets involved with a large cast of characters that all help to shape her life and buy her some extremely nice shoes. In a world where the bathroom is known as the "lounge" and galas and balls are an everyday occurrence, our heroine seeks out her sugar daddy. All she wants in life is a man to open doors for her, both literally and figuratively.

Susan constantly makes questionable choices. She gets involved with a slew of men, including a cop who is slightly crazy, an Elvis impersonator who operates a tollbooth, a mafia guy who owns nightclubs, a scary British dom, and a pyramid schemer who takes her for $100,000. Some of them are married, and most of them already have girlfriends. She looks for rich guys who will take care of her, but she mostly winds up with controlling, slightly crazy guys.

Susan definitely seems like she lacks street smarts. She constantly ditches her friends to go home with strange men, gets into cars with random people, and trusts very unsavory characters. For example, she meets a man named Robert at an empty bar. The first night, he offers to take her downtown, but he has the limo go to a hotel instead. She walks away feeling very angry that he thought he could take advantage of her. The second night, he stalks her, she winds up leaving with him, and the same thing happens again. This time, though, she goes in and fools around with him. To her surprise, he drugs her, steals something from her, and then basically kicks her out. The next thing she knows, she wakes up under a dumpster. This pattern continues and escalates, to the point where he stalks her at home and threatens her. At first, she hides from him, but as he continues to yell and pound on her door, she is charmed by his "charisma" and gives in to him once again!

As for the technical writing style of the book, it is pretty good for the most part. There are a few spelling and grammar errors throughout. One noticeable repeated error was the use of “awhile” the adverb instead of “a while” the noun. There were also repeated comma splices as well as missing commas in conjunctive sentences.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Overall, the last quarter of the book is where it gets really good. The story starts to pick up and focus on just a few main characters. There are twists and turns, and the story is definitely not predictable. The ending took me by surprise but left a lot of unanswered questions. There's also an overarching theme of the allure of evil. One character in particular is written so well that you can just picture him. You are also quite terrified of him and what he might do and does to main and supporting characters. The author is very talented with descriptions of people and places. Despite a few technical errors, the author does a good job on the story and keeping the reader interested.

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The Ocean's Veil
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Like amybo82's review? Post a comment saying so!

Thank you! I liked your review! I hope the main character Susan Winslow really does not sleep around as much as this reviewer seems to think, but just enough to keep it interesting and appeal to a mass audience and the tamer portion of the 50 Shades crowd. Palm Beach millionaires can be quite a challenge, you need to keep their interest up! Susan may be somewhat materialistic, but truly, she is only in it for love! I hope everyone reads this book because the characters are very interesting and memorable. The book takes on different twists as Susan evolves through a span of her life and finally matures when it comes to her choice of men. She is also an heiress who is waiting for her big inheritance and has a new StepWitch coming between her plans. This is what leaves her a bit edgy and a perhaps a tad bit self-destructive.

When it comes to evil, I have cleverly worked with that theme to keep it all very mysterious. Nothing is ever what it seems and each reader can interpret it in their own way. Those who can read in between the lines will derive the most satisfaction. The "devilish" Karl has a playroom which appears to have no exit! This book has its darker moments, but it is fast-paced and definitely entertaining! If interested, just look at the on-line description first and sample chapter there. Enjoy!
The Author
(Anyone wishing to discuss the book or has plot questions can send me a message!)

Thanks for your feedback! It's always fun to get to know a little more about what the author had in mind while creating the work. I have a lot of respect to anyone that has the drive and dedication to write an entire book! I know it takes a lot of hard work, and I hope my review encourages others to read the book as well.

Hmm, the storyline of this book is something new for me. Nice review!

We decided it needs a more exciting title-so effective 3-11-15 the book is now called: DEVILS, MOBSTERS, MILLIONAIRES...and the girl from Palm Beach! This helps to let you know what it is about and spice it up a bit! The Author

Debo- Thank you!

OceansVeil- I think a new title will be great for this book! I think Devils, Mobsters, Millionaires...and the Girl from Palm Beach is an excellent title! It's very catchy, and you're right, it definitely gives a better preview of what the book is about. After reading the book, I understood how the original title related, but I didn't think it was as punchy.

I enjoyed the review. I also read the sample available. An outstanding problem I found was the extraneous paragraph breaks that interrupted the flow of the story. I believe this was not intentional on the part of the author, but in transferring from one size print to another. When such happens, it's because the author implanted carriage returns, instead of allowing the 'system' to insert them. The result being that a new paragraph is begun where it shouldn't occur. Incidentally, I learned of this by experience. Such a lesson stays with you. From the brief sampling I read, I think it is something I would read. I would have liked to read of Michael's actions, as he saw Susan leaving the Cabaret, at the time it happened, rather than added later on. Just my personal thought.

Great review! This sounds like an interesting story, although I'm pretty sure that the main character's choices would probably drive me up the wall. However, I could get over it if she matures somewhat by the end of the story.

great review, I think the author will be able to find this useful. I think I'll add to my list as well

Thanks to everyone for your comments! I think this book is definitely worth a shot. It will be of particular interest to people who enjoy mystery and romance, I think!

Thanks again to the reviewer! I really enjoy your input. (Site won't let me message you directly)
E-Book version in limbo and not for sale until May 1 while awaiting a publisher. It will also have revisions! Paperback only for now...sorry --The Author

UPDATE: Just learned that the new title-- Devils, Mobsters, Millionaires...and the girl from Palm Beach is available in e-book and paperback starting 3-24-15! Exciting Revisions! This book is for those with a slanted moral compass who can handle a bit of tame 50 Shades type of action with regards to one of the main characters. Thank you. The Author

Note: Regarding the comment about the book sample on this site. I do not know why it has that spacing between paragraphs. Never fear-the spacing in the book is definitely normal. My apologies...

I didn't experience any spacing problems with the version I reviewed. Maybe it's just a weird Amazon thing!

Hi. Regarding latest comment by amybo...the other comment was about the spacing for the "Hassle-free" sample exclusively provided for this Online book club. You are right-Amazon and print versions have no spacing issues. Thanks again!

Great review! You make the book sound so interesting. I don't read a lot of romance novels, but I do enjoy mysteries.....and any kind of a really good book.