Official Review: To Blossom and Back by Paul Hopkins

[Maria Esposito]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "To Blossom and Back" by Paul Hopkins.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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In To Blossom And Back, Paul Hopkins narrates his affair with Rose, affectionately nicknamed “Blossom” after a song by Paolo Nutini. The author first met Rose when he interviewed her for a job that she had applied for. Although he was profoundly struck by her beauty and demeanor, she was not chosen for the job. A while later, completely unexpectedly, the author and Rose found each other face to face for another interview. This time, Rose got the job. Slowly but surely, the two got swept away by a wave of passion and desire. The author found himself in a dilemma: would he risk his marriage of twenty-five years to Mitchell, a woman who has always proven her undivided attention and commitment to him? Was Rose truly ready and willing to leave her old life behind to accommodate their love?

Paul Hopkins carefully documented the array of emotions he felt throughout his affair: excitement, adrenaline, enthusiasm, fear, and uncertainty. I commend the author for the honesty he displayed throughout the book: in fact, he did not hold back from describing the deeply uncomfortable emotions that are typical of people who have extra-marital affairs. He was also straightforward about the pain and distress that his affair caused to his devoted wife, Mitchell. The book contains much insight for people who struggle with affairs and seek to better understand their feelings in this regard.

However, that is the end of my praise for this book. Firstly, it was not professionally edited: I found at least one error on each page. The frequency of these errors, which included typos, run-on sentences, and inconsistent use of tenses, was definitely distracting and frustrating. Furthermore, the author made frequent use of abbreviations like “etc.” and “tbh.” In a few instances, I have also come across emojis, that were used to express laughter or sadness. While I have nothing against using abbreviations and emojis during texting or informal communication, I find it rather inappropriate and unprofessional to use them in a book.

Unfortunately, the frequent errors were accompanied by pitfalls that I encountered in the structure and style of the narration. In the first half of the book, the author seemed to be more focused on describing work events that he and Rose attended, rather than tending to the emotional turmoil they were traversing together. For example, while writing about their visit to the Rotary Club, the author described the venue, the food, and the environment in detail, neglecting to provide meaningful documentation of one of his earliest interactions with Rose. Furthermore, there were a few passages that displayed a degree of exaggeration on the author’s behalf. For example, on page 30, he described a trip to Warwick with Rose as “a life-changing, significant, momentous day in history.” Finally, the author often resorted to using derogatory terms and insults towards women. Obviously, I found this extremely disrespectful and out of place.

One final aspect of the book that I found rather frustrating was the fact that the author frequently inserted song lyrics into the narration. I thought it was pleasant to read the lyrics to “Cherry Blossom” by Paolo Nutini, since this song was the inspiration for Rose’s nickname. However, the author included the full lyrics to ten songs in his book. A few times, the lyrics interrupted the narration without being properly introduced or explained. Considering that To Blossom And Back is composed of only 140 pages, this was definitely excessive.

On the basis of the criticism I offered, I rate To Blossom And Back by Paul Hopkins 1 out of 4 stars. While I think that this book has a lot of potential to emotionally support people who struggle with extra-marital affairs, I do not think that anyone would enjoy reading it in its present state.

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To Blossom and Back
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[Petra1989]

I think it is very courageous to write a book on your personal experience especially if that experience is strongly emotional and it is not approved by majority.
What you explained in your review as reasons for not liking the book seems justified but maybe author really wanted to go on completely different writing path. It seems he wanted to write a book different from any other, it is just a shame that it is not edited right since I fell it could ave been something strong and different.

[Kanda_theGreat]

It's sad that such a promising book had plenty of errors.
Thank you for your honest review.

[JKO]

A lot of work has to be done to improve this book. I am sorry you had to read it in this state. Thanks for the honest review.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

A critical, yet very useful review. If not for your rating, I would have chosen this to read. Thank you

[khaulah]

The theme of the book is not to my liking. Thank you for your review though. It was helpful.

[Prisallen]

I don't really care much for the theme, myself. That, coupled with all the other issues, makes me very unlikely to read this book. Thanks for your very honest and informative review!

[kdstrack]

I enjoy books where the author gives an honest assessment of their emotions and the events. The content of this book looks interesting - if you can overlook the errors. I enjoyed your insights and comments about this book. Thanks.

[Splendour0606]

This book is really emotional, my heart goes out to his devoted wife that he is cheating on. Marriage is not based on feelings but a decision to be committed to your partner no matter the challenges or temptations. The potholes in this book are really discouraging but I will give it a try. Thanks for your honest review.

[unamilagra]

Wow, that sounds like a frustrating read. Thanks for your honest review so that I can skip the book!

[purpleroseberry]

Thanks for writing such an elaborate review. It is hard to write a review when the book is not interesting, but you were still honest in your review.

[Dannyphery]

Poor editing can make one frustrated and tired of reading...
I'll just pass.
Thanks for the informative review though.
Nice review

[Adanna Inya]

I won't be reading this book. Cheaters turn me off. Then to write a whole book out of it and it ends up as a mess of unprofessionally done work? I'll pass.

[Stephanie Elizabeth]

It sounds like the book has too many shortcomings for me; plus I don't really want to read about someone's affair. Thanks for the honest review, though!

[awais1]

the theme of book is very sad. this shows how important in life for both wife and husband to committed for each other.either one of them found cheating life become tasteless
. so we should avoid cheating its necessary for healthy relationship.this book shows power of love in practical life.very emotional story.