Official Review: Finding A Way Forward by Karen Games

[Ari Martinez]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Finding A Way Forward" by Karen Games.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Finding A Way Forward by Karen Games begins when Natalie finds Scott, her husband of many years, cheating on her with her best friend, Anna. To move forward with her life after that horrific event, she decides to travel to France. In France, Natalie meets a lovely man who does everything he can to win her heart. Meanwhile, Scott misses his wife terribly and wants her back. Will she stay in France with her new love? Will she return to her husband? Or will she stay as a single woman? The novel is narrated in third-person and follows the lives of Natalie, Scott, and Anna as they all move forward with their lives.

Each chapter was dated, which made it very easy to follow the story along. I also liked how informed the author was on the topics presented in the novel. Games gave such detailed descriptions of France that I felt as if I were there. Additionally, she included specific information on a couple of other topics. Games did her homework on the book’s topics and timeline, and I definitely appreciated it.

I instantly felt a connection with the main character, Natalie. Her personality and the way she dealt with her life reminded me of myself. Natalie’s character was my favorite aspect of the book because I saw myself in her. Another character that I grew to like was Anna. I liked seeing how her character developed as the story progressed.

I have never before cared about whether a book made me shed tears or not. Therefore, I was surprised to find myself disappointed when I realized this novel did not make me cry. I thought I would mention this since it was the only thing that bothered me about the book. Since this book deals with strong negative emotions of characters that are in constant turmoil, there were a few missed opportunities to really appeal to my emotions and make me cry. With the right wording, this novel could bring many readers to shed a pool of tears.

The ending! Wow! I still can’t decide if I hated it or loved it. Either way, it definitely kept me up at night. One aspect of the ending I unquestionably enjoyed was that it instantly reminded me of the beginning of the novel. I love it when an ending brings the readers back to the novel's beginning.

Besides recommending it to people who like the storyline, I would also recommend it to people fascinated with France. Since this novel is full of negative emotions, people with depression, or people who are currently going through bad times, should skip this one. The book does mention sex, but very briefly, and nothing is extremely explicit. Consequently, I feel mature and sensible readers who are underage can also read this book.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I don’t think my lack of tears is reason enough to give it less than four stars; however, this book did have more than ten editing mistakes. The mistakes were mostly missing quotation marks, and they were not distracting in any way.

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Finding A Way Forward
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[Mara Executive]

Waooo, this is interesting, l believe in the say, if you love a bird, let it fly, when it comes back to you, then it truly belongs to you, if it doesn't, then it's not yours.
I personally admire the initiative Natalie took. Marry the person that loves you not the person you love, there you learn to love him or her accordingly. Relationship is a compromise though and a risky business per say.

[Ashlee Atkins]

Thank you so much for this awesome review! It definitely lays out a clear explanation of the book without giving away too many details. I will definitely be adding it to my "want to read" bookshelf!

[markodim721]

I think it's great that the author has managed to describe the whole range of different feelings of the characters in the right way.

[ROSEY-ANN]

I enjoyed your review!! Not a fan of romance novels but I am fascinated by French culture and history.

[Reader-247]

You sure know how to write a cliff-hanger, I thoroughly enjoyed your nail biter of a review
The missing quotation marks are definitely a distraction!