Official Review: The Last Valentine by Felix Alexander

Toria Mason · Post by **Toria Mason** » 17 May 2017, 21:11

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Last Valentine" by Felix Alexander.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Felix Alexander is either a man who knows love, and knows it deeply, or he is a man the heart should fear. His ability to put love into words is nothing short of swoon-worthy, and will melt the heart of anyone who has known love, has lost love, or has been to the depths of suffering only to find the light of love lifting them up again.

He seemed to believe that when the wings of birds and butterflies fluttered they somehow changed the winds of fate and led lovers to find each other in the darkness of a chaotic world.

The Last Valentine takes murder and politics in a new direction, infusing it with the realities of romance. In the aftermath of the Spanish-American war, Puerto Rican friends Olivia and Isaac take off on a search for the Labyrinth of Love Letters, a safe haven for forbidden lovers that has been lost to legend. Olivia and Isaac fancy themselves Sherlock Holmes out to fulfill the last desire of a mysterious man whose murder will turn their little town of Old Sienna upside down...or right-side up. They get in over their heads as their good intentions find them in a web of lies, love, secrets, betrayals, mystery, and murder. Will the web catch them in its snare, or will the truth finally be unveiled?

The story is filled with one beautiful, relatable quote after another. The murder mystery isn't much of a mystery as you start getting answers early on; however, the story is a puzzle that only gets solved piece by piece. It's a great plot that is enjoyable to follow along with.

The Last Valentine is told from the points of view of nearly every relevant character, but somehow manages to do it flawlessly, which I tend to find a rarity. The downside to so many points of view is there isn't enough focus individually to develop a connection with any of the characters. The book could benefit from a little more editing as well. There are sentences that are often repetitive, as if the author wasn't certain where or how to put some descriptions, so he left both. (At one point, a character gets intoxicated, and is offered a drink where he is informed that it is a hangover remedy...only a page later to read that the character drinks the concoction which he "later" discovers is a hangover remedy.) There were also a lot of fragmented/incomplete sentences, sentences separated by a period that should have combined the two with a comma, and a handful of typos.

The writing style is dreamy yet realistic, the emotions are relatable, and the plot is fascinating to unfold. However, there is a fair bit of technical editing that should be done, and I'd greatly love to see a longer story that allowed more time for the reader to truly connect with the characters, which is a necessity of any lasting book. I would hands-down read more from Felix Alexander for his superb writing style alone, but due to the recurring errors and lack of connection, I have to rate the book 3 out of 4 stars. Still, it is one I would most definitely recommend to any lovers of love.

******
The Last Valentine
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Chrys Brobbey · Post by **Chrys Brobbey** » 23 May 2017, 14:26

It's great to be able to weave a story of love amidst politics, war, and murder and still come out as an enjoyable book. The review is also great. Kudos.

Amagine · Post by **Amagine** » 23 May 2017, 17:31

It's hard to write a book with multiple POVs. It seems like this author did a pretty good job with It though. Also, your intro was wonderfully written.

Great Review! ?

Jaime Lync · Post by **Jaime Lync** » 23 May 2017, 18:12

This sounds great - I really liked how you described it as a puzzle (I love puzzles). Great review.

Spirit Wandering · Post by **Spirit Wandering** » 23 May 2017, 20:31

I like your description of the author as a man the heart should fear-very poetic. Thanks for the review.

sunnelro · Post by **sunnelro** » 24 May 2017, 08:55

Is a great book that stimulates the feeling you shared with your partner

Toria Mason · Post by **Toria Mason** » 26 May 2017, 00:10

Chrys Brobbey wrote:It's great to be able to weave a story of love amidst politics, war, and murder and still come out as an enjoyable book. The review is also great. Kudos.

Thank you! I believe they did an excellent job of it.

-- May 26th, 2017, 12:12 am --

Amagine wrote:It's hard to write a book with multiple POVs. It seems like this author did a pretty good job with It though. Also, your intro was wonderfully written.

Great Review! ?

I agree. Usually even 2-3 points of view can be confusing for me, even if only for a few sentences. I can't think of a moment where I had difficulty following along and they had more POVs than I've ever personally encountered. I was impressed. And thank you so much!

-- May 26th, 2017, 12:15 am --

Jaime Lync wrote:This sounds great - I really liked how you described it as a puzzle (I love puzzles). Great review.

I thought it was enjoyable seeing the "mystery" as more of puzzle pieces being put together. Thanks!

-- May 26th, 2017, 12:26 am --

Spirit Wandering wrote:I like your description of the author as a man the heart should fear-very poetic. Thanks for the review.

Thank you!

-- May 26th, 2017, 12:29 am --

sunnelro wrote:Is a great book that stimulates the feeling you shared with your partner

It certainly made me appreciate the love I have with my other half!

gali · Post by **gali** » 10 Jul 2017, 06:24

A book that " takes murder and politics in a new direction, infusing it with the realities of romance" sounds quite the read. Too bad about the lack of editing. I will take a look, though. Thank you for the review!

Post by **kandscreeley** » 10 Jul 2017, 07:26

Wow! Sounds like pretty high praise. Even though the book could benefit from a little more editing, it sounds like the writer really has a way with words. I love the quote from the book that you including. Sounds like a worthy read.

GCamer · Post by **GCamer** » 10 Jul 2017, 07:54

I stories about solving mysteries. This book sounds very intriguing especially with the infusion of politics and culture. I read the sample and was a little bit confused with the many characters introduced. Despite that, I'm still curious about the plot and would live to get a chance to read the whole book. Thanks for your great review.

OmololaAK · Post by **OmololaAK** » 10 Jul 2017, 08:37

The book sounds interesting, particularly for the mix of a love tale with typical real-world intrigues that challenge love - the politics, the culture, or more. Good to peruse through it.

Jeconiaomolo · Post by **Jeconiaomolo** » 10 Jul 2017, 08:47

Great review! It is interesting indeed. I am looking forward to read this one.

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 10 Jul 2017, 08:53

Love, secrets, betrayal, mystery, and murder? Wow! Sounds like an amazing and captivating romance! I love how the writing style was something that captured your attention. Too bad about the editing issues. Hopefully, the author will have this fixed since this seems like something I would enjoy. I'm glad that you were still able to enjoy the read!

Christina Rose · Post by **Christina Rose** » 10 Jul 2017, 09:42

This does sound like an intriguing book, but I wonder how off putting the poor editing would be, as well as the lack of connection between characters. I do enjoy a book told from different perspectives, though, as this can make for a more interesting read, and allows the reader to connect with more characters. Thanks for the review!

Rajanis · Post by **Rajanis** » 10 Jul 2017, 10:35

Felix Alexander's ' The Last Valentine' will melt every lover's heart.
The story takes murder and politics in a new direction, infusing it with the realities of romance. In the aftermath of the Spanish-American war.
A search for an urban legend where the transients of forbidden love leave missives for one another leads Olivia and Isaac Quintero into Old Sienna’s darkest secrets—the perils, madness and depth of tragic love.