Book Review The Middle Aisle by Taylor Dean

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.)

(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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