Book Review: Gooseberry Island by Steven Manchester

It's 2015 and my reading drive has gone down. I miss those days when I would read until my eye burned. Those were the good days. mmmm.

Today, to mark my first two reads of the year, I'm sharing the reviews for the two books I've been slightly obsessed with. Gooseberry Island by Steven Manchester and If There Be Thorns by V.C. Andrews. (If there be thorns review is here)

Gooseberry Island by Steven Manchester 
Genre: Romance, War
Buy it Now: Amazon
Read Reviews: Goodreads
Synopsis

They met at the worst possible moment...or maybe it was just in time. David McClain was about to go to war and Lindsey Wood was there at his going-away party, capturing his heart when falling for a woman was the last thing on his mind. While David was serving his country, he stayed in close contact with Lindsey. But war changes a person, and when he came home very little had the same meaning that it had before – including the romance that had sustained him. Was love truly unconquerable, or would it prove to be just another battlefield casualty?
Gooseberry Island is the most nuanced, dramatic, and romantic novel yet from a writer whose ability to plumb the depths of human emotion knows few peers.

Review

Gooseberry Island is a romance novel that tells a story of soul mates that finally find each other.David and Lindsey meet at the worst time since David flies out to Afghanistan the next day, but that doesn’t stop them from having one of the best first dates.

The perspectives would jump from David’s time in Afghanistan to Lindsey’s time back at Gooseberry Island. The love that these two have was real, sincere, and romantic – really romantic. David and Lindsey kept in contact while he was overseas serving his country, with letters, emails, and video chats. Their love grew despite David being a two thousand miles away.

The dialogue between the two protagonists was so corny. Their words to each other felt somewhat forced and sudden. It felt like they were moving a little bit too fast for my pace – but if that’s what soul mates are like, then by all means, go on being corny. Although, I have to say, the amount of times my eyes rolled, when the two met and began falling for each other was too much to count.

This novel started from something sweet, exciting, and corny to something much more serious than the usual romance novels. I was curious to see how it would all end out.

When David returned from Afghanistan, he became a victim of PTSD. The words Steven put together to describe David’s depression was something I took to heart. PTSD is a hard battle to fight, with all the nightmares, flashbacks, and thinking that no one would understand. It’s hard to deal with, but Steven showed that there is always a way out of all that darkness.

This novel shows multiple others who suffer from PTSD and the consequences of not being strong enough to fully pull through. It makes me sad to think of all those soldiers who had passed due to this.

Gooseberry Island is a novel I recommend to those who enjoy reading corny romance and general fiction. With so much going on in the novel, it makes it an easy read that is unputdownable.

Steven Manchester has done it again, with his heart aching tales and thought-provoking words. He’s novels speak messages of goodness in the world that should be appreciated.

What are the books you've all been reading lately?
Have you been reading at all?