Official Review: Candlepower by Janet Doolaege

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brm30180
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Official Review: Candlepower by Janet Doolaege

Post by brm30180 »

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "CANDLEPOWER" by Janet Doolaege.]

This book is a work of fiction by author Janet Doolaege. The story centers around Stella, a young lady working as a secretary in Paris. Through a chance meeting she becomes friends with a mysterious girl named Rose who lives in an apartment on the other side of her street. Suddenly it seems that strange things tend to happen around Rose. Unfortunately Stella isn't the only one who is noticing. Add to that some relationship and family drama, and Stella's life quickly becomes pretty interesting.

I actually liked this story. It was slow at first, but it picked up at about the halfway point and got very exciting towards the end. I found myself looking to see if this author had any other novels on Amazon, and am interested to read any of her future works. There were quite a few things I really liked about the story and only one or two things I thought could be improved on, so overall it was an enjoyable read.

I enjoyed the paranormal feel of this book. There is a very mysterious vibe surrounding Rose, but the author doesn't just come right out and say, "Rose is very mysterious." Instead she develops the mood throughout multiple chapters, which added to the suspense of the book and made it that much more intriguing. I really liked that this story was written in the first person. We only know what Stella is thinking and feeling, which also adds to the story overall. Stella, Rose, and all of the other characters seem very realistic and are very well-developed. The final thing worth mentioning is the ending. The author leaves us wondering if there will be another book to make this a series, and if not that's OK, too. I found myself content with the way the story ended, and even could almost make up more of the story in my head which was fun too.

So a few things I didn't like - first of all, there were some small punctuation errors, like missing quotation marks or periods. This isn't a huge issue, and I only noticed it at the beginning when the story was slower. I thought the book started out a little slow at first, and that it could've done without some of the day-to-day entries about Stella. I also would've been happy if the author had left out Stella's whole relationship with the male "love interest." He was a character I didn't really like from the beginning, and I thought Stella deserved a really great relationship as our main character. Finally, I would've been happy with a little more of the paranormal stuff, maybe more examples of what happened around Rose, but that's not really a huge issue (just me being greedy).

Overall I thouht this was a good read. I gave it 3 out of 4 stars, simply because I enjoyed it and will recommend it to my friends. I thought there were a few things that might have been left out and a few things that the author could've developed a little more to make it a GREAT book, but again, that's just me being picky.

***
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janetdoolaege
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Post by janetdoolaege »

Small punctuation errors? What?! I thought. I'd been so careful about such things, and had had the book carefully proofread. I've now checked with several people who have downloaded it, and they haven't found any punctuation errors. These must somehow have crept in during the process of transferring the book to the reviewer. I am disappointed that they influenced the review.
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Zannie
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Post by Zannie »

I wouldn't feel despondent Janet 4 out of 5 is a rather good rating :)
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Post by janetdoolaege »

Thank you for the encouragement! I wish more people would read it...It's now on Smashwords, too.
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Post by kat6496 »

I appreciated the review, and would like to give this book a read! I think that as far as "housekeeping" goes, sometimes it takes a second (or third) set of eyes to capture everything. All in all, I think the review did the book justice, and made me want to seek it out. thanks brm!
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Post by tabIRinribbons1313 »

I thought that the review was effective. The way the reviewer talked about building the mystery in a natural way made me want to read the book. Not only for the story but also to see how the progression was handled by the author. Very interesting to have the author and reviewer be able to speak to each other. What an opportunity to grow for them.
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Post by Timea »

I like how you described the pace of the book, how it was slow at first and then picked up. You definitely made me curious about the book, so good job ; )
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Post by booknerd1230 »

This sounds like a interesting read. I will have to add this to my books to read list. Great review!
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Post by iprotestforlove »

Sounds good to me! Anything with a bit of mystery in it can usually hold my interest. :)
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Post by bookowlie »

Great review. The book looks interesting and I am adding it to my reading list.
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Skillian
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Post by Skillian »

I'm such a sucker for books set in Paris. It is one of many of my weaknesses. Great review! I may check it out.
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Post by bookowlie »

Skillian wrote:I'm such a sucker for books set in Paris. It is one of many of my weaknesses. Great review! I may check it out.
If you have a weakness for books set in Paris, you will love one of the books I reviewed, Someone Else by Mary Fleming. I wanted to move to Paris after reading it :)
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Skillian
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Post by Skillian »

oooh I'll check out that review too right now!

-- 03 Jan 2015, 00:49 --

I knew it sounded familiar! It's already on my reading list! haha! That's bad when your list is so long you forget what is even on it! I guess that's the point to making a list... to not forget. :D 8)
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Post by janetdoolaege »

Skillian, I have also written another book set in Paris.
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Skillian
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Post by Skillian »

janetdoolaege wrote:Skillian, I have also written another book set in Paris.

Oh man oh man! Paris overload! Must read them all! haha Thanks! I'll look it up!
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