I recently read “An Illusion of Trust,” by Linda Cassidy Lewis. Check out her site HERE.I won the ebook in a promotional contest Linda had when her book first came out. I was thrilled! I’d read her first book, “The Brevity of Roses,” and wondered what had happened to some of the characters. FYI— “An Illusion of Trust” is the sequel.
When Renee Marshall locked the door on her dark past and married Jalal Vaziri, she hoped for a quiet life in a California coastal town. Now, with a sexy, adoring, wealthy husband, one beautiful baby and another on the way, Renee dares to believe happily ever after could be her future. But doors don’t always stay locked. As the stress of living in Jalal’s high-society world increases, the traumas of Renee’s past begin to poison the present and threaten to destroy everything she treasures. Is it Renee’s imagination or is Jalal keeping a secret that will end their marriage and rip her children from her life? And could it involve Diane, the woman who reminds Renee too much of Jalal’s beloved first wife?
Here are a few quotes from the book that I wanted to share, words that kind of left a lasting impression. There were others but these two seems rather poignant.
“On the worst nights, with exhaustion picking at the seams of sanity, I imagine myself erased from the picture.”
“It’s time to accept marriage for what it really is—just two imperfect human beings trying to find a little happiness together.”
I have to be honest. It took me many months to settle down and read this book, but that had nothing to do with the writing or the story. In fact, I’ve been feeling down right crummy about not settling down to read it before now. One of the worst things an author encounters is waiting for someone to read our books, wondering what their thoughts are on the story we’ve pour our heart and soul into. Often times, when we hear nothing from a reader, we tend to take that as something negative. Authors are kind of fragile that way. Only those who write can truly understand that. There always seems to be that tiny place within us that allows doubt to wiggle through from time to time. We tend to forget that people have other things going on in their lives besides reading our books. Who knew?
Since I don’t own an ereader the book was downloaded to my laptop—-the laptop I do all my writing on. This created a real problem for me since I use my laptop for writing not reading and it was very difficult to take laptop time to read.
I do quite a bit of reading in the car since we live far out of town. In that way I like the convenience of books. Not only that I sometimes walk while reading in order to get a little activity into my day, and I’ve been known to use the treadmill while reading as well. In others words, I rarely sit down and read since I also sit to write. Can’t spend my days with my derrière plunked down on a chair. That’s just not good.
I’m not sure I’ll ever be comfortable reading from a screen as apposed to books. Could be I just don’t like the change. Or could be a Kobo or Kindle would be more to my liking. I’m just not sure. For me, it feels as though these reading gadgets are simply an illusion, finding their way into our lives the way all technology does. They still aren’t books and never will be. I can’t deny I like reading from a book, holding it, feeling its weight in my hands, physically turning the pages, marking the pages with bookmarks, closing the cover when I reach the end, looking through the stacks in the bookstore. If we ever come to a place where printed books no longer exist I’ll be more than a little sad. I hope this never happens.
Thank you, Linda, and I apologize for taking so long to read your lovely book.
What do you prefer printed books or ereaders? Have you ever read a book from your computer and if so how did you find the experience?
suzicate
/ March 6, 2014I prefer my kindle for fiction and paper for nonfiction because I like to reference pages of nonfiction and go back which is easier for me on paper rather than digital.
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Laura Best
/ March 7, 2014I do think it would be far easier to read from an eReader than a laptop, and while I won’t say I’ll never get one I think I’d have to be in a different frame of mind than I am at the present moment. Yes, there is something to be said for marking pages when there’s something we’d like to access quickly.
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Crowing Crone
/ March 6, 2014I am a huge fan of Ebooks. Had an Ereader for a while and then switched up to the iPad. One of the things I like the best is that I can increase the font size and adjust the brightness which is a big help to my old eyes. I read almost all fiction on the IPad now and with traveling have taken to reading non-fiction as well especially now that I know how to copy and paste sections I have highlighted.
And I’m going to see if I can find a copy of the book you’ve reviewed here.
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Laura Best
/ March 7, 2014I have a friend who reads ebooks when she goes on vacation. She says that’s pretty much the only time she gets to read. I can see where that would be convenient.
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Linda Cassidy Lewis
/ March 6, 2014Thank you for reading my book, Laura. And I don’t blame you for taking so long, I hate reading anything longer than a blog post on my computer screen.
I do like my Kindle because it’s gentle on my eyes. I’ve never had the opportunity to read on an iPad or Fire, but I think my eyes might have the same problem with the backlighting as they do on a monitor.
But I too LOVE paper books. I’ll never give mine up. 🙂
And I hope no reader leaves you wondering what they thought about Flying with a Broken Wing.
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Laura Best
/ March 7, 2014You’re most welcome, Linda! Being confined to the computer screen for reading was very challenging, but then I had to see how it all played out. 🙂
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Carol
/ March 7, 2014Although my hubby bought a Kobo a year ago while he was recovering from some surgery, and he uses it every day and loves it, I still don’t have an eReader. I have over 50 ebooks on my laptop but have read only a few of them. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s because I use the laptop for almost all of my creative writing, and when it’s time for a reading break I want to get away from the computer screen. I love the *idea* of an eReader, especially for holidays and trips, but when it comes to the actual reading, I really prefer a paper book.
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Laura Best
/ March 7, 2014I have another ebook to read, but it will be awhile before I get to it. I’m trying to get caught up on some of the books I’ve won over the years in contests. I just received another the other day.
I fear, in time, that books will be rare so I’m going to hang onto mine for a good long time. In time we all can get used to most things. I hardly even think about pennies any more. 😉 Change isn’t always easy.
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Carol
/ March 7, 2014I may have a Pollyanna view, but I don’t think ebooks will ever completely replace paper ones. There’s a place for both and I think — I want to think — we’re settling into a balance of the two. (But I’m keeping all mine, too!)
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Darlene
/ March 7, 2014I loved Illusion of Trust. Linda’s superb writing really comes through. The characters come to life on the page. You picked two very good quotes from the book. I read however I can. My hubby bought me an e-reader 3 years ago which I love. It goes with me on all my holidays (so much better than lugging many books along) I also have a huge selection of print books that I love. I don’t like reading on my computer as much as I spend so much time on it already.
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Laura Best
/ March 7, 2014I’m sure with all your travelling, Darlene, an ereader is ideal for you. Most people still feel pretty loyal to their books it seems. There’s really nothing like opening a brand-spanking new book and starting that first page. 🙂
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Darlene
/ March 14, 2014Especially when it is a book by an author you love to read, like Laura Best!
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Laura Best
/ March 15, 2014Awwww! What sweet words. 🙂 Thank you.
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David
/ March 8, 2014Prefer reading a printed book. I like having something substantial in my hands while reading.
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Laura Best
/ March 8, 2014My motto is you can never have too many books! I think it’s a good one.
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jenniferneri
/ March 8, 2014I like printed books, try to avoid reading on my iPad, only using it for emergencies when I don’t have a paper book. One reason is I read at night and I find the pixels keep my brain active and I wake a lot during the night whenever I e-read. Plus, I’m just much more comfortable with a hard copy. I think I’m in the minority though.
I can’t imagine reading a book on my computer.
Illusion was a thought provoker for me!
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Laura Best
/ March 9, 2014I’ll admit it was difficult to resist that urge to write while at the computer screen especially with two novels on the go. Yet I felt so bad having not read Linda’s book. Once things quieted down I had to make it a priority. I’m glad I did.
I agree, Illusion was thought provoking.
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jenniferneri
/ March 8, 2014And btw, speaking off taking time to read a book, my local YA bookstore called me about a week ago–the have your latest in now (they ordered it for me). Now, I just have to pick it up! 🙂
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Laura Best
/ March 9, 2014Thanks so much for your support Jennifer. It’s really appreciated. 🙂 I hope you enjoy it!
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