Official Review: Switched by Lenae Colson

Silvermoon · Post by **Silvermoon** » 21 Nov 2016, 01:29

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Switched" by Lenae Colson.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Switched by Lanae Colson is a Suspense novella with a Thriller undercurrent. This is a cautionary tale about a girl who becomes endangered after a casual date. She and her sister fight for their lives after the unfortunate meeting. This is the inside look into the destructive patterns of a stalker and how it affects his victim's lives.

After a dramatic breakup, Callie has sworn off dating for a year. Aaron is persistent in his pursuit of Callie. Although she has reservations about him, she finally agrees to a double-date. Ignoring her initial misgivings, she goes on a second date. In a fit of jealousy, he strikes her in the face. Callie is surprised and horrified. He tried to make it look like an accident. When it happens a second time, she has no illusions. Realizing he is an abusive and potentially dangerous person, Callie tells him that she never wants to see him again. Angered by her rejection, he begins stalking her. Bruised and battered, Callie has a restraining order put against him. Aaron disregards the restraining order by breaking into her house. She manages to escape and calls 911. Fearing for her safety, Callie's brother buys her a guard dog to stay with her. Aaron returns, and this time he assaults her with a knife, but Callie's dog attacks him and holds him down until the police arrive. The authorities press charges and he is put in jail for attempted murder. While she heals from her injuries, Callie moves in with her twin sister, Alli. Alli lives in another town, and despite the distance from her previous address, Callie's nightmare is not over. Aaron has made bail and is looking for Callie.

I could easily relate to Callie's fear and insecurity of being stalked. This story illustrates that there are actions that can be taken to lower the risk of becoming a statistic. I thought the sisters exemplify excellent ways to be proactive. They demonstrated common sense in their response to Aaron's intimidation. First, Callie went to the police and got a restraining order. Then, she followed through when Aaron approached her again, by immediately calling the police. Next, she increased her protection by getting a guard dog. Even though Callie did all the right things, Aaron still kept coming. Eventually, Callie became tired of living in fear. Unfortunately, she made the mistake that most people do in these circumstances - denial. She made the decision to act as if nothing in her life was different. This was a dangerous attitude. Not only did her actions affect her, but also those she cared about. After reading this book, I feel that constant vigilance is the key factor in staying safe.

Sometimes the story bogs down a little from a lack of development. I believe that it would enhance the story to have more details and descriptions of the setting and characters. Those elements will expand the story and help it flow. It would also benefit from a few more action cues in the dialogue. There were a couple of errors, but they don't detract from the story. Line-editing will take care of the problem.

It is a good suspense novella that matches real life. The story is more than just a warning, it is an in-depth look into actions that are necessary to take to escape a stalker. It has excellent advice for those who are in the dating world. Those who love Suspense/Thriller books will find this a great read. I would recommend this book to those over 18 as it has some love-making in it. This is a marvelous novella, but because of the errors, I can only give it 3 out of 4 stars.

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Switched
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Rachaelamb1 · Post by **Rachaelamb1** » 21 Dec 2016, 00:28

Great review! It sounds like the author write a good, informative book without being boring.

Silvermoon · Post by **Silvermoon** » 21 Dec 2016, 03:58

Rachaelamb1 wrote:Great review! It sounds like the author write a good, informative book without being boring.

She really did a great job. It was very interesting and I enjoyed it.

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 27 Dec 2016, 07:58

My, sounds like a scary book

Scary because there is a great chance that it might happen in real life to real a person. Great job on the review.

Silvermoon · Post by **Silvermoon** » 27 Dec 2016, 13:42

kimmyschemy06 wrote:My, sounds like a scary book Scary because there is a great chance that it might happen in real life to real a person. Great job on the review.

Thank you. The story is a little scary, and yeah, it was too close for comfort, but is well worth reading. It gave me a the idea that second thoughts before accepting a date might not be a bad idea. If you're uncomfortable, don't go!

As you can tell it had an impact on me.

-- 27 Dec 2016, 14:10 --