You know how a book sometimes just grabs you
by the throat …
Catherine
Hudson recommended Sway to me (in an
almost incoherent message punctuated with exclamation marks) so I knew it would
be good. I’d never heard of Amy Matayo so I checked her out on Amazon. There
were two previous books and I read those first. Glad I did it that way around.
They were entertaining, but Sway? Whoa.
Yes,
it’s a romance. That’s the bulk of what I read. And I think it’s because Caleb
and Kate take turns in telling us the story in first person, present tense that
the story is extra special. And Amy Matayo’s use of imagery and figurative
language is fabulous along with a bunch of pithy statements like:
’Assumptions
aren’t usually pretty, and they’re hardly ever right. Kind of like thinking a
girl is shallow just because she likes the colour pink.’
Love it.
We find out
about twenty-four-year-old Caleb first, learn he’s uncomfortable sitting in a
bar because he used to frequent them. We know he’s there to watch out for some
of his boys, but who they are and what Caleb’s occupation might be isn’t revealed
until just over a third of the way into the book. Clever move.
What we do
find out in the first chapter is that he is a man who listens to nudges from
God even though it could cause him grief. What Caleb doesn’t expect is for his
heart to be captured that night.
Kate, a
college student, is there because her friends thought it would be a good idea
to go to a bar for her twenty-first birthday. When it all turns to custard
(in an all too realistic fashion) Kate is rescued by Caleb.
What follows
is an intensely emotional story of two people falling in love and then
discovering they can’t possibly ever be together. I’d read the blurb but
had no idea what the conflict could be. And once it was revealed, I couldn’t
put the book down until it was resolved.
Of course,
being a romance, Sway has a satisfying
ending, but the ride left me breathless. And I don’t think I’ve ever read a
better last line - albeit before an epilogue - in a Christian novel.
I can’t wait
for Amy Matayo’s next book.
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Wow … what a review, Andrea. I've got this on my Kindle due to so many raving reviews. I must get to it soon.
ReplyDeleteIt's so tempting to go read that last line … arghhh … must I must resist.
Hi Ian - I suggest you put all other books aside and read this one, lol.
DeleteCan't wait to see what you think of the last line (before the epilogue, remember). This book has taught me so much about deep POV so it's worth reading with your writer's hat on as well.
Intriguing :)
ReplyDeleteYep, that's one word for it :)
DeleteSeriously made me cry. Thank you for your very kind words.:)
ReplyDeleteAmy, lovely to have you here. Sway is a treasure of a book, one I'll read over and over. Thank you for writing it :)
DeleteThank you, Andrea. Definitely sounds like one I'll have to add to my high TBR pile of books - and somehow find time to read it.
ReplyDeleteHi Mary - like I suggested to Ian, read this one before the others! As a romance writer as well as a reader, you'll love it :)
DeleteOh how I love this book! It was perfect timing for me, right in the middle of my Margie Lawson study and such a fabulous example of fresh writing. I'm so happy Amy has popped by and been blessed by your fabulous review Andrea. And here's a txt message from a friend I have loaned the book to last week: "Can I just say I am LOVING Sway. I love a book that makes me smile as I am reading it and makes my tummy flip flop"
ReplyDeleteCan't get better than that! :)
Your friend clearly has very good taste :)
DeleteThank you, Catherine. And I'm glad your friend is liking it so far. :)
DeleteYou won't be disappointed, Josephine-Anne! Thanks for stopping by :)
ReplyDeleteHa! Love how recommendations keep on giving :) I've just had the pleasure of reading Amy's novella in the Just One Summer collection with great reads from Jenny B. Jones, Tammy L. Gray, and Nicole Deese, too.
ReplyDeleteBut Sway, yep, it's something else :)
Hi Rel - I've read her novella too. It's good, but Sway? As you say, it's something else.
DeleteAndrea, you surely know what my to-read list looks like! Catherine has been hounding me to read this ... it's just the question of when.
ReplyDeleteNow. (lol)
DeleteAndrea, excellent review! Sway is in my Kindle app and gradually climbing to the top of my reading list :)
ReplyDeleteCan I per-Sway-ed you to get it up there faster? :)
DeleteSigh.
Delete