G1189 Book Review of Stefans Promise by Sam Rennick
Author: Sam Rennick
ISBN: 978-1-948261-20-3
Publisher: Hugo House Publishers
Type of book: 1968-2000s? lawyers, Vietnam war protest, St Louis Missouri, Canada, working, friendship, men, wealth, high class, jail, family, problems
Year it was published: 2019
Summary:
The Vietnam War Changed America. Two Best Friends Weren't Spared. Only One Was Drafted.
It’s 1968. America is rocked by assassinations, war protests and political upheaval. Alan Young, 21, is brooding over having been dumped by his girlfriend. This won’t last long. His draft notice is in the mail. Stefan Kopinski isn’t about to let the war get in his way. He spends his days at the mercy of his reckless ambition. When fate steps in, will he finally understand what has been right in front of him for 30 years? "Stefan’s Promise" is the story of Alan and Stefan. Circumstances part them and sharply diverging temperaments further erode their bond. Yet, Alan and Stefan are wrong in supposing their friendship has ended. It’s just getting started.
Characters:
I truly enjoyed the way the author delved into male characters, namely the way he presented and explored their psychology, at least when it came to Alan and Mike. Considering that many people do not have awareness of how in 70s and 60s Polish were not considered standard Caucasian, I wish the author could have explained more about Stefans ambitions and motivations. I strongly feel that at the start of the novel his female characters could have used more work, and that I feel at the start of the story there are constant references to boobs and thighs. In second book there is a lot of improvement and women do become stronger, namely Stefans two wives.
Theme:
Friendship lasts a long time
Plot:
The author has done a lot of things well in my opinion: i loved the imtimate details he used when it came to locales of St. Louis Missouri as well as Canada and California. I also appreciated the courtroom scenes, although i think I would have liked to know myself the purpose of constant objection that was used by Stefan. And yes, the way three separate stories sort of tied up into the title was also cool. I think my main issues with the story is that the chapters are way too long for my taste, and while other books have breaks within chapters, Stefans Promise fails at that, which means the story goes on and for someone who loves to finish chapters before calling it a day, it's frustrating.
(From iRead Book Tours)
Meet the Author:
Sam Rennick began writing Stefan’s Promise forty years ago, but it wasn’t until fairly recently, when he retired from his law practice that he was able to take his manuscript from its drawer and finish it. He admits he wishes he could say he planned this all along, since the two books comprising the novel, though written many years apart, combine perfectly into a compelling narrative.
While many authors have influenced him, he singles out Somerset Maugham as his muse, observing that Maugham always starts with a good story, but often finds a way to insert that “something extra” separating merely a nice tale from literature. Sam’s interest in books is only exceeded by his love for baseball, which began when he was nine years old.
Connect with the author: Website ~ Facebook
Buy the Book:
Amazon.com ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Hugo House
Add to Goodreads
Opinion:
From the summary and title, I expected the story to be a bit different: I thought that the promise would come a lot earlier, and that it would be different and I personally expected for the tale to focus on Stefan fulfilling the promise from the start to finish. What I didn't expect is the meandering and the details as well as attention to Alan and Mike. I think I also would have liked for more of a connection on how Mike related to Alan and Stefan. The things that don't make a lot of sense in the story are wrapped up at the end, and what is now left is seeing whether or not Stefan can fulfill his promises.
This is for iRead Book Tours
Tour Schedule:
Jan 27 – Rockin' Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Jan 27 – Viviana MacKade – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Jan 27 - @momfluenster – book spotlight / giveaway
Jan 28 – Over Coffee Conversations – book review / giveaway
Jan 29 – My Reading Journeys – book spotlight / giveaway
Jan 29 - Olio by Marilyn – author interview
Jan 29 - Olio by Marilyn - book review
Jan 30 - T's stuff - book spotlight / giveaway
Jan 30 – Leels Loves Books – book review
Jan 31 – StoreyBook Reviews – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Jan 31 - Book Corner News and Reviews - book spotlight / giveaway
Feb 3 –eBook Addicts – book spotlight / giveaway
Feb 3 - Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway
Feb 4 –Library of Clean Reads – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Feb 5 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / guest post / giveaway
Feb 5 - Svetlana's reads and views – book review
Feb 6 – Jypsylynn – book review / giveaway
Feb 7 - She Just Loves Books – book review
Feb 7 - On My Bookshelf - book review / guest post / giveaway
4 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.)
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