My Review:
The Middle Aisle is the continuing story of Zoe Grayson. Her story becomes even more alive in this follow-up to Lancaster House. It is a story woven with great detail and raw emotion. You feel Zoe’s pain and confusion. You feel Andre’s struggle. You experience Dr. Channing’s doubt. And in the end, you feel the shock of realization that the things which you knew were true, are not.
This book kept me so enthralled that I read it all in half a day. The story flows perfectly from one scene to the next. It sucks you in. You are part of the story. You are Zoe. You are Andre. You are Dr. Channing. There is such a deep love between Zoe and Andre. There is extreme devotion to Zoe from Dr. Channing.
In this story, as in Lancaster House, you are not sure what is real and what is fantasy. I kept doubting myself. I would think I knew what was happening only to find that I was completely in the dark. If you believe Zoe are you crazy? Or is her story more real than any other love story ever written?
Lancaster House and The Middle Aisle are two of my new favorites. They are quick reads because they keep you engaged throughout. There is no meaningless dialog. No unimportant scenes. I LOVE books like this. Sometimes I think authors just add dialog and unnecessary scenes because they think the longer the book the better the story.
I have found the opposite to be true. Not everyone can write a 700 page novel and keep you engaged the whole time. (Unless maybe you are Leo Tolstoy or JK Rowling writing the conclusion to a boy wizard’s story.) Not everyone can write a 200 page novel and keep you engaged the whole time for that matter. But Taylor Dean can. Her writing is so concise that every word is necessary. Every scene fits with the story. This is true talent. I have read way too many books where the author just doesn’t know where to stop. I am glad that I got to experience Taylor Dean’s writing and look forward to reading many more of her works.
From author Taylor Dean:
My old book covers for Lancaster House and The Middle Aisle
*If you’d like to read one my favorite ‘scary’ excerpts from Lancaster House, return to yesterday’s post at Passion and Life by crawling down this secret passageway . . . Book covers are an extremely hard decision. Everyone judges a book by its cover when it comes to books! In this day and age, most of your book sales will be from online sources. All the average reader will ever see of your cover is a small thumbnail image. It’d better be good . . . eye-catching and visually stimulating.
No pressure!
I went back and forth when making the decision of which covers to use. In the beginning, I found the perfect images, created the covers, and figured that was that. But then my daughter called and said, “Mom, you need new covers!”
I liked my old covers, but, in my daughter’s words, they were boring.
I knew she was right. While my old covers represented the inside of the books quite well, I seriously doubt that they would’ve garnered a second glance from anyone else. Ever.
So here they are: my old covers:
Not horribly bad, but certainly not good either. Kinda dreary. (Note: Lancaster House and The Middle Aisle were never published with these covers.)
I worried people would think I’d misspelled ‘aisle’ on The Middle Aisle cover. After all, it kinda has the appearance of an island, not just a cliff edge. Hence, people would think it should’ve been ‘isle.’ Right? And the proportions between the house and the cliff edge just aren’t right. The house is too big for the cliff!
As I searched for new images, one of my daughters noticed the hand picture before I did. She said to me, “How about that one for Lancaster House, Mom?”
I said, “It looks so Carrie-like!”
“That’s why it’s perfect, like a hand reaching out of the grave,” she responded.
When I found a similar picture that boasted a tree that resembled a Cypress tree, I was sold. Part of The Middle Aisle takes place in Monterey, California—a place that is famous for its Cypress trees. Perfect!
At any rate, I sent out an email to friends and family asking which covers—for all of my books—they liked the best, the old or the new. To my surprise, the answers were varied. It was almost 50/50. Some liked the new, some liked the old.
Personally, I loved the new animated covers. So did my daughters. I loved the images, they just spoke to me. And I liked the idea of being different. I write clean romance—and I felt the covers conveyed the message: the inside of these books do not contain your average romance novel! I also liked the idea of having all Taylor Dean Books have animated covers for the sake of being consistent.
I have found that readers either LOVE these covers or HATE these covers, no in-between. What do you think? I’d love to hear from you!
*To read the prologue of Lancaster House, hang out here in the attic at Christy’s Cozy Corner ’til Sunday . . . go ahead, choose a bed. The ghosts are just a rumor.
(Pictures can be sourced through http://pinterest.com/burgandyice/secret-passageways/)
Tour-Wide Giveaway:
5 WINNERS in USA will receive…. Signed copies of Lancaster House and The Middle Aisle, two Lancaster House bookmarks, two pencils that say, “Believe it, Know it, Accept it,” and a cute little tote bag.
5 International Winners will receive… eCopy of Lancaster House & The Middle Aisle
Taylor Dean:
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| ©iStockphoto.com/tinabelle |
Taylor Dean lives in Texas and is the mother of four grown children. Upon finding herself with an empty nest, she began to write the stories that were always wandering around in her head, quickly finding that she had a passion for writing, specifically romance. Whether it’s paranormal, contemporary, or suspense-you’ll find all sub-genres of romance in her line-up.
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View Comments (11)
I completely agree that I will skip over a book in an instant, never to give it a chance, if the cover isn't intruguing. I love the cover at the top of this post. It was smart of Taylor and her daughter to redsign!
Julie @70WPM
Totally! We do judge books by their covers, don't we?
Hi Christy! I'm going to read your review over and over whenever I'm feeling down! Seriously! You've made my day! What an AMAZING review! Thank you so much for your kind words. I appreciate you taking the time to read and review my books!
-Taylor
Well, they are all true words :) I am so glad I got to read your books! I'm looking forward to the rest!
great review--and we do judge books by the cover--I know I do--it's got to be interesting to me or I wouldn't stop to read the cover
I guess we've learned our lesson! I need to quit doing this because I am sure I miss out on so many good books!
Great review, you had me at seat edge, can't wait to get my hands on book.
Got me thinking about how we do judge content by cover...
Thanks! Hope you get to win a copy!
I'm a librarian, and everyone judges a book by its cover. You can tell a child or adult that it is the best book in the world, but without an engaging and exciting cover, the title will be neglected.
I wonder if the world of ebooks will change that. Hopefully!
I totally judge a book by it's cover - either in the library, bookstore, or even online. If it doesn't grab my attention, I usually pass right by it. The book you read sounds mysterious. Very captivating review of it!