Official Review: Little Sparrow by RA Winter

erasmus · Post by **erasmus** » 10 Sep 2015, 20:40

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Little Sparrow" by RA Winter.]

2 out of 4 stars

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Little Sparrow by R.A. Winter is the first book in the A Kiowa in Love series. This story revolves around Karen, a petite workaholic. After eight years, she has climbed up the career ladder and finally become a Project Engineer at thirty. She comes across as a strong, independent woman who doesn’t mix business with pleasure. However, underneath the career woman facade is an emotional wound that has never healed.

After Karen’s father passed away when she was in college, Karen distanced herself from home and her Native American heritage that she’s always been proud of, going as far as to leave for New York, and abandon her dream of turning her family’s farm into a vineyard - the very same dream she shared with her father. From a bright, outgoing girl, she changed into someone who's stiff and distant.

When Karen is given three weeks of forced vacation time, it feels as though someone pulled the carpet from underneath her. At least, until her mother calls, and ropes her into going home for Thanksgiving for an extended amount of time. On her flight back to Kansas, she meets Richard. Richard, like Karen, has devoted himself to his work after his wife, Rose, passed away. However, without realising the trouble it would bring down on Karen’s hard-earned career, they acted on their mutual attraction. It takes little time for Richard to fall in love with Karen. To add fuel to the fire, her family and friends are going behind her back, tearing down the dreams she thought she’d gave up on, in hopes of bringing back the person she used to be. Caught in her family and friends’ machinations for Karen find herself again, she might just end up losing her way even more.

While I cannot vouch for accuracy of the content, Little Sparrow is filled with Native American culture and set in a home with generations of history attached to it. For a clueless but interested reader - like me - the traditions and rich details about the characters’ culture and heritage makes this book rather fascinating. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the plot or writing. The storyline and romance are mediocre, made only slightly interesting with the complications Richard has to face due to Karen’s heritage in order to be with her. Coupled with a telling writing style and grammatical errors, Little Sparrow is, in the end, a love story with a very stilted delivery.

What I feel most strongly against about in this book is the writing style the author has adopted, which has also affected the delivery and tone of the story. In fact, it's very easy to overlook the grammar mistakes and typical plot line. However, the author tells/informs the reader so much that it dulls the whole reading experience. More importantly, I find it very hard to relate to any of the characters because of it. Therefore, I rate Little Sparrow 2 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this book to readers who are only interested in Native American culture and not much else.

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Little Sparrow
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Tanaya · Post by **Tanaya** » 11 Sep 2015, 12:14

You justify the rating well. I've been in a similar position where the premise is intriguing, but the delivery just doesn't live up to its potential. I thought this was a fair and well-balanced review and hopefully the author uses your feedback in future endeavors.

erasmus · Post by **erasmus** » 11 Sep 2015, 18:28

Thank you, Tanaya!

Rachaelamb1 · Post by **Rachaelamb1** » 12 Sep 2015, 11:15

Not really my type of book, but good job on the review!

erasmus · Post by **erasmus** » 12 Sep 2015, 18:30

Thank you, Rachaelamb!

Post by **bookowlie** » 13 Sep 2015, 09:45

I enjoyed reading your insightful review. The Native American info sounds interesting. I can relate to your frustration in reading a book that doesn't live up to its potentiona, due to the writing style.

erasmus · Post by **erasmus** » 13 Sep 2015, 10:15

Thank you, bookowlie! I feel like this book could improve so much if it didn't read like there's an info dump all the time.

Post by **bookowlie** » 13 Sep 2015, 10:35

I like that phrase, "info dump!" It's always better when an author shows rather than tells too much. Part of the fun of reading is discovering the meaning on your own, rather than have it in your face.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 13 Sep 2015, 19:54

Great review!

This review gave a lot of useful feedback, I am sure.

erasmus · Post by **erasmus** » 13 Sep 2015, 21:29

Thanks, Zeldas! I'm glad to hear that it's useful to the author.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 13 Sep 2015, 21:55

I would think the author'd find it helpful! You're welcome.

gali · Post by **gali** » 24 Sep 2015, 21:31

Great review indeed, though I don't know if the book is for me.

erasmus · Post by **erasmus** » 25 Sep 2015, 00:27

gali wrote:Great review indeed, though I don't know if the book is for me.

Thank you, Gali! The book is a little information heavy culture wise, and a lot of it is also integrated into the characters, so I understand some people might find that the book's not their type of reading material.

literarycat · Post by **literarycat** » 29 Sep 2015, 19:52

Sometimes it is good to read a review of a book you've read. I also reviewed Little Sparrow and a lot of things I agree with. I couldn't overlook the grammar errors I found throughout the novel. I also agree there was a lot of information dumped on the reader, but some of the information I found interesting like the whole Thanksgiving scene. It did play ALOT of the culture, maybe the author is trying to get a point across that didn't fully come across. I also agree the romance between Richard and Karen could have been delivered better.

erasmus · Post by **erasmus** » 29 Sep 2015, 21:26

literarycat wrote:Sometimes it is good to read a review of a book you've read. ...I couldn't overlook the grammar errors I found throughout the novel. ...It did play ALOT of the culture, maybe the author is trying to get a point across that didn't fully come across. I also agree the romance between Richard and Karen could have been delivered better.

Thanks, literarycat! The grammar was a little all over the place, and I didn't really know what point the author was trying to get across. I was quite disappointed with the romance actually. Not only was the delivery stilted, but I felt that it got lost among the information on Karen's heritage and culture.