Review of Later
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Annabell Samuel
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Review of Later
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Later" by Colette R. Harrell.]
"Later" by Colette R. Harrell is a love story of two people from different decades. In 1859, Sari was having a dream where she was in love with a white man. As a black slave girl, she could not tell her father, John, or brother, Junie. However, she was convinced the man she saw in her dreams would be her husband. Meanwhile, in 2023, Zachary's marriage to Sylvia was about to hit the rock. Since he was a teenager, he had dreamed of where a green-eyed lady visited him and how he was in love with her. This dream kept recurring even after he got married. Will these two lovers, separated by decades, ever find themselves?
I love it when authors stretch their imaginations to create unique and exciting literary pieces. Reading this book made me respect the author's creative prowess. She was able to tell a story set in two distinct periods in history without creating plot holes. I seamlessly flowed with the narrative and was elated when some discoveries were brought to light (I wouldn't give details to avoid giving away spoilers).
I liked that the author made it easy to keep track of the timeline in which a particular event was happening. For the most part, events happening in the past were not muddled up with events happening in the present. The author always moved to a new chapter whenever she wanted to shift to another timeline, especially when it had to do with moving from the 19th century to the 21st century and vice versa.
Beyond the theme of love and inter-century romance, the author used this book to highlight societal issues like modern-day slavery and media censorship. Even though slavery has been abolished, some folks still subtly promote ethnic and racial supremacy. For instance, the replication of the pre-Civil War plantations by Edgar Burstein and Senator Jacob Benson in 2023 speaks to the fact that slavery and racism are still ingrained in the DNA of many people today. We also see in this book how news reporters are made only to report news that will not harm the image of politicians and influential people in society.
The book was professionally edited. However, I had two issues with it. First, I did not like that the author failed to separate reported speeches from direct speeches. There was a mix-up of sentence structuring, especially when the author was narrating events of the 17th century. It was okay to see how the uneducated slaves spoke back then. However, using that to also narrate was not okay, considering that the book was not written in the first person. Secondly, there was no discernible method for the author's usage of italics. At first, she used them to show what a character was thinking and not speaking out. However, towards the end, I saw long stretches of text written in italics without connections to any characters' thoughts. It was confusing for me. As a result, I'd deduct a star and rate the book four out of five stars.
You will likely love this book if you enjoy love stories that cut across centuries.
******
Later
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
"Later" by Colette R. Harrell is a love story of two people from different decades. In 1859, Sari was having a dream where she was in love with a white man. As a black slave girl, she could not tell her father, John, or brother, Junie. However, she was convinced the man she saw in her dreams would be her husband. Meanwhile, in 2023, Zachary's marriage to Sylvia was about to hit the rock. Since he was a teenager, he had dreamed of where a green-eyed lady visited him and how he was in love with her. This dream kept recurring even after he got married. Will these two lovers, separated by decades, ever find themselves?
I love it when authors stretch their imaginations to create unique and exciting literary pieces. Reading this book made me respect the author's creative prowess. She was able to tell a story set in two distinct periods in history without creating plot holes. I seamlessly flowed with the narrative and was elated when some discoveries were brought to light (I wouldn't give details to avoid giving away spoilers).
I liked that the author made it easy to keep track of the timeline in which a particular event was happening. For the most part, events happening in the past were not muddled up with events happening in the present. The author always moved to a new chapter whenever she wanted to shift to another timeline, especially when it had to do with moving from the 19th century to the 21st century and vice versa.
Beyond the theme of love and inter-century romance, the author used this book to highlight societal issues like modern-day slavery and media censorship. Even though slavery has been abolished, some folks still subtly promote ethnic and racial supremacy. For instance, the replication of the pre-Civil War plantations by Edgar Burstein and Senator Jacob Benson in 2023 speaks to the fact that slavery and racism are still ingrained in the DNA of many people today. We also see in this book how news reporters are made only to report news that will not harm the image of politicians and influential people in society.
The book was professionally edited. However, I had two issues with it. First, I did not like that the author failed to separate reported speeches from direct speeches. There was a mix-up of sentence structuring, especially when the author was narrating events of the 17th century. It was okay to see how the uneducated slaves spoke back then. However, using that to also narrate was not okay, considering that the book was not written in the first person. Secondly, there was no discernible method for the author's usage of italics. At first, she used them to show what a character was thinking and not speaking out. However, towards the end, I saw long stretches of text written in italics without connections to any characters' thoughts. It was confusing for me. As a result, I'd deduct a star and rate the book four out of five stars.
You will likely love this book if you enjoy love stories that cut across centuries.
******
Later
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Red Dirt Revelations by Chad Spawr
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Rozy Momoh
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Modern day slavery and media issues are interesting themes to highlight in books and in real life. I like the themes of love and romance also, which are a plus because i love them. However, the different time settings is not my thing. Such an element confuses me, but since the reviewer says the author did it well, I hope readers who love such device will enjoy it. Thanks for your clear review.
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Amarachi Stephanie Ejike
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"Later" by Colette R. Harrell seems to be an intriguing tale of love between two people from different decades. The author being lauded for her creative prowess in this review is worthy of note considering that the plot told of a love that spans different eras which got me curious about how the two lovers eventually met.
The perspective of loving someone from a different century doesn't raise much fanfare to me since it sounds unrealistic. However, the theme of slavery and muzzling the media is quite relatable.
The perspective of loving someone from a different century doesn't raise much fanfare to me since it sounds unrealistic. However, the theme of slavery and muzzling the media is quite relatable.
Latest Review: Columbus, Slave Trader by Marcus Wilson
