G1140 Book Review of 120 Days by Ronald L. Ruiz

Name of Book: 120 Days

Author: Ronald L Ruiz

ISBN: 978-1-937484-67-5

Publisher: Amika Press

Type of book: Law, lawyers, relationships, ambition, romance, forbidden deeds, attractions, court rooms, California, OWN VOICES, modern times, interracial relationship, American female/ Hispanic male

Year it was published: 2019

Summary:

Barbara Blake is a bright, young, attractive, and ambitious defense attorney. Alejandro Soto, an inmate already serving two life sentences for the brutal murder of a drug dealer and the man’s mother, is on trial for a third murder, one he did not commit but that could well result in the Death Penalty. When Blake and Soto meet in the San Cristobal, California courtroom, they begin a 120-day journey that will invariably alter both of their lives. Together, they spiral ever more deeply into the dark heart of a quintessentially American story of sex and love, truth and lies, justice and prejudice, crime and punishment, and, ultimately, life and death.

Characters:

There are a lot of memorable characters from Barbara Blake's world of lawyers and courtrooms, to Alejandro Sotos world of prisons and dungeons. Main characters would be Barbara Blake, a middle aged and talented lawyer who is known to be very ambitious, devoted and always wins her cases. She pretty much gives up human relationships, friendships and romances both, to be the best she can be. She is also bold, brave and is beautiful, although the author focuses a lot on her personality. Alejandro Soto is a guy that should be hated, but one can't hate him. He is proud, desires to repent and is also driven to better himself through reading and vocabulary. He is also a thoughtful individual. Secondary characters are also drawn well, from Barbaras co workers to Alejandros prison mates and guards. 

Theme:

I read the book from cover to cover, but besides the idea that stories don't have endings, I am not sure what else I should have gleaned from the story.

Plot:

The tale is in third person narrative from Barbaras and Alejandros points of view. And both characters will bring out sympathy far more than wrath and anger. The characters are extremely well crafted and I grew to like them. So far my experience with the law is limited, and I appreciated the extra details that the author included for those who are not versed with it. I also appreciated a bit of an interesting power dynamic between Barbara and Alejandro, because Barbara seems to be in an upper echelon than Alejandro. I also should mention that there is a mention of animal cruelty within the book, something I didn't expect at all.

Author Information:

Meet the author: ​

Ronald L. Ruiz is a retired attorney whose entire career was spent in criminal law as a deputy District Attorney, a District Attorney, a Defense Attorney and a Public Defender.

Connect with the author: Website ~ Facebook

Buy the Book:
Amazon.com ~ Amika Press
Add to Goodreads
Opinion:

I am not a stranger to Ronald L Ruiz's novels, having previously read JESUSITA and LIFE LONG, both wonderful and powerful tales of the wronged and the downtrodden, OWN VOICES novels, one a searing portrait of historical fiction during 1940s in California of migrants, and the other a thriller of a young man with schizophrenia journey and escape to Mexico. 120 DAYS is no different than the previous two, but this one has no clear answers to give, in my opinion. Also, in 120 DAYS, it seems as if the author is experimenting with the romance angle, something he didn't really do with the other two. This book reminded me of a class I took in a university, where we had to read a similar short story to this one. The teacher told us afterwards that creative arts students and medical students had very different reactions to it: medical students slammed the woman's actions and character, while creative students sympathized with the woman. In this one though, I imagine that a lawyer will slam and slander Barabaras actions and character, while someone outside the role will have more sympathy for her. A bit like, how can I hate when I can understand?

This is for iReads book tour

Aug 5 - Literary Flits - book spotlight / giveaway
Aug 7 - Gwendalyn_books_ - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Aug 8 - T's Stuff - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Aug 8 - A Mama's Corner of the World - review / giveaway
Aug 12 - Celticlady's Reviews - book spotlight / giveaway
Aug 13 - Life as Leels - review
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Aug 14 - B for Bookreview - book spotlight / author interview
Aug 15 - The Magic of Wor(l)ds - book spotlight / guest post
Aug 16 - Books for Books - book spotlight
Aug 19 - StoreyBook Reviews - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Aug 20 - Sefina Hawke's Books - book spotlight
Aug 22 - Adventurous Jessy - review / giveaway
Aug 23 - Lisa-Queen of Random - spotlight / giveaway
Aug 23 - Working Mommy Journal - review
Aug 26 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review
5 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)