Official Review: New Growth by Jayne Menard

AA1495 · Post by **AA1495** » 09 Oct 2016, 17:39

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "New Growth" by Jayne Menard.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Review: New Growth (Spook Hills Trilogy, Volume 2) by Jayne Menard

New Growth by Jayne Menard follows the journey of Mathew Heylen, who gave up a career as a FBI agent for a more peaceful life at his vineyard. He dreams of having a stable life by starting a family with a loving and mature woman. More specifically, by starting a family with Callie, his neighbor’s niece. However, there is one major roadblock. Callie is married and has a daughter. Although Callie’s marriage has hit a rough patch, being a firm believer in the institution of marriage, Mathew does not want to be the reason for her divorce.

Enter Cruze and Julio (Cruze’s cousin). Cruze has engaged in unlawful activities in the past and could now be in danger. Having heard about their brothers’ deaths (Cristo and Eduardo, who were also on the other side of law), Cruze and Julio are willing to provide certain insider news in exchange for more secure and lawful lives. The FBI requests Mathew for help when they discover Cruze and Julio’s presence. With the new possibility of negotiations, Mathew must play an important role in deciding the future course of action while also ensuring safety for himself and everyone around him.

In both these situations, will Mathew follow his head or his heart? Will his dreams of a stable life ever turn into reality?

This book is a sequel to Jayne Menard’s Old Growth & Ivy. While reading the prequel would help understand the characters and their relationships better, New Growth can be read as a standalone book.

The book contains six main characters – Mathew, Callie, Cruze, Julio, Steve and Ivy. Mathew is strong, clever and kind-hearted. I could connect with him and was able to understand all his actions. I was rooting for him throughout the book. Callie is described as warm and loving. However, I found her to be very confused and gullible. I like strong and feisty female characters and was rather disappointed with Callie.

Steve is one of Mathew’s biggest support systems and is also involved in the Cruze-Julio case. Steve and Ivy seem to have a perfect relationship. Their love and loyalty towards each other is portrayed beautifully in the book. Steve, Ivy, Cruze and Julio are shown as clever, strong and kind-hearted characters. Overall, I found all the main characters apart from Callie to be likeable and very realistic.

There are many secondary characters in the book. While some of them are relevant to the plot, some made no difference to it. It was difficult to keep track of all the characters. There were instances when I had to go back to the previous chapters to indentify the characters. This interrupted my flow of reading considerably.

One major problem that I have with the book is that it doesn’t belong to the romance genre. The main plot of the book is the negotiation with Cruze and Julio. While Steve and Ivy’s relationship is described, it is brief. Mathew and Callie’s relationship isn’t given as much importance as I would have liked (or as is described in the synopsis). To me, it seemed like a sub-plot. The book has elements of Romance, but it doesn’t belong to this genre.

In terms of language, the book has been written well. There were no obvious grammatical errors and the book is easy to follow. It is told from all the main characters’ perspectives. While it could be a problem with my copy of the book, the transition between the different perspectives was abrupt. A new perspective simply started with a new paragraph, without any sub-heading or indication. The vocabulary used is simple and the plot moves at a good pace. Overall, the book is easy to read and understand.

The book has considerable drama and runs high on emotions. The mystery element lasts throughout the book and makes the book interesting to read. There are numerous twists in the book. These kept me intrigued and guessing.

The book portrays human relationships beautifully. All the characters support and protect each other. The book shows many forms of human relationships and proves that each relationship is equally precious. The genuine love and affection shown by the characters towards each other touched me. This is what I liked best about the book.

What I liked least was that Mathew and Cassie’s relationship wasn’t given as much importance as described in the synopsis. It felt like their story was told in the form of status updates (in conversations) rather than a traditional narrative. I would have liked to read more about the time they spent together.

I would rate the book 3 out of 4 stars. It has an interesting plot and most characters are likable. It has some mature content. I would recommend the book to an adult who likes mystery and romance.

******
New Growth
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Moizajani · Post by **Moizajani** » 12 Oct 2016, 14:05

Agree that it wouldn't belong to the genre. Thank you for the insightful review!

AA1495 · Post by **AA1495** » 12 Oct 2016, 14:05

Moizajani wrote:Agree that it wouldn't belong to the genre. Thank you for the insightful review!

Thank you so much. Hope you give the book a chance!

Gravy · Post by **Gravy** » 12 Oct 2016, 20:41

Nice review. What genre would you say it belongs in?

AA1495 · Post by **AA1495** » 12 Oct 2016, 21:05

Gravy wrote:Nice review. What genre would you say it belongs in?

I think it's a Thriller. Thank You so much! ☺

Lauren M · Post by **Lauren M** » 12 Oct 2016, 22:16

Great review! It's good that this book can be read as a standalone. I enjoy that authors do that, so I can eventually read them all, or choose not to. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

gali · Post by **gali** » 12 Oct 2016, 22:20

I have read and reviewed the first book and liked it. This one sounds nice as well and I am glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for the lovely review!

AA1495 · Post by **AA1495** » 12 Oct 2016, 23:58

Lauren M wrote:Great review! It's good that this book can be read as a standalone. I enjoy that authors do that, so I can eventually read them all, or choose not to. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Totally agree! I prefer standalone books too! Thank You!

-- 13 Oct 2016, 00:02 --

gali wrote:I have read and reviewed the first book and liked it. This one sounds nice as well and I am glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for the lovely review!

Oh that's interesting! I hope you give this book a chance too! Thank you so much! ☺

Moizajani · Post by **Moizajani** » 13 Oct 2016, 18:18

AA1495 wrote:
Moizajani wrote:Agree that it wouldn't belong to the genre. Thank you for the insightful review!
Thank you so much. Hope you give the book a chance!

I'm thinking of it.

AA1495 · Post by **AA1495** » 14 Oct 2016, 09:44

Moizajani wrote:
AA1495 wrote:
Moizajani wrote:Agree that it wouldn't belong to the genre. Thank you for the insightful review!
Thank you so much. Hope you give the book a chance!
I'm thinking of it.

Great

CrescentMoon · Post by **CrescentMoon** » 14 Oct 2016, 10:57

This sounds interesting. I do like books that have a lot of twists so I definitely think that's a plus. It's a shame about Callie though. I also strong strong and feisty female heroines and she doesn't seem to fit the bill. Glad you enjoyed the book overall though.

AA1495 · Post by **AA1495** » 14 Oct 2016, 11:10

CrescentMoon wrote:This sounds interesting. I do like books that have a lot of twists so I definitely think that's a plus. It's a shame about Callie though. I also strong strong and feisty female heroines and she doesn't seem to fit the bill. Glad you enjoyed the book overall though.

It is interesting although I would have liked the book much more if it had a stronger heroine. Thank you so much ☺

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 15 Oct 2016, 16:43

gali wrote:I have read and reviewed the first book and liked it. This one sounds nice as well and I am glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for the lovely review!

I remember your review, gali, and it seemed like a really good book (especially since I can remember the title).

AA1495, your review was a pleasure to read. It seems like this was a good follow-up to the first one. Thank you for sharing!

AA1495 · Post by **AA1495** » 15 Oct 2016, 16:57

hsimone wrote:
gali wrote:I have read and reviewed the first book and liked it. This one sounds nice as well and I am glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for the lovely review!
I remember your review, gali, and it seemed like a really good book (especially since I can remember the title).

AA1495, your review was a pleasure to read. It seems like this was a good follow-up to the first one. Thank you for sharing!

Thank you so much! Hope you give this book a chance ☺