3 out of 4 stars
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Guardian of Deceit by William H. Coles is a story about how people thrive with great persistence to live in this world full of harsh realities. It shows that no matter what and who we are and what we do for a living, we all strive to be happy in the end.
The main character, Darwin, a mere teenage boy, was sent to live with his cousin Luther, a famous football player and his newly appointed guardian. When Darwin first arrived in the mansion, he did not receive any warm welcome, instead he was given a small storage shack as a room and was treated as a nuisance. He realized by then that there is no one left to depend on except himself. He started to work hard for his dream in becoming a doctor.
In terms of family, Luther treated Darwin as a loyal servant than a family member. Luther is out of the house most of the time, and so Darwin developed relationships with the house staffs, with Granny and the household manager, Mrs. Thomas. There was also Dr. Malverne, whom he had met on the plane and had helped him through medical school. He treated Darwin as his own son. Additionally, Sweeney Pale, a celebrity and Luther's girlfriend, also became a big part of Darwin's life as she has shown him that fame isn't everything. This book illustrated more than enough that strangers have become family in the end.
The book's plot started when Darwin was a teenager then continued on as he get married. The author focused more on Darwin's day to day life with the other characters. Cole never highlighted or gave too much attention on Darwin's successes and achievements. The story focused more on each character's flaws and how they dealt with those flaws and how it affected their lives and the people around them, which is the brilliance of this book. You want to know more about what happens to each character and that is why this is a page-turner.
Also, one might think the story may get a bit tedious and draggy since it spans for 10 or more years of a character's life, but it isn't. Also, it may seem too "unhappy" and "gloomy" to some since most of the time the story revolves more on the terrible things that this world has to offer and Darwin saw almost all of them. This isn’t a story about a poor boy who suffered and then later on became successful in life, because that is such a cliché if you ask me. It's more about life and its dangerous pit holes. Jealousy, anger, envy, pride and greed were like shadows that kept on following each character but in the end, it showed love and peace in different forms. It showed how one move through life's mazes.
However, some parts are frustratingly and unnecessarily repeated. The situation was already established, the groundwork was already laid but the author kept on adding stuff to make it, I don’t know, maybe even more obvious? It was frustrating at times. In addition, the title is also misleading. I was hoping and waiting for more but found nothing that I could somehow relate to the title. Also there's the issue with the editing, some unfortunate typos that are recognizable.
Guardian of Deceit is interesting in its own way especially in the development of its characters. I'd give it a perfect rating if it weren't for the somehow poor editing, frustrating moments of some chapters and the misleading title. Though, it's not really my preferred genre, I found it very interesting until the end, thus I'd give it a 3 out of 4 stars rating. If you're into character development and long-term, laid-back kind of story, then this book is for you. However, if you're more into action-pack and fighting-your-way-through-life based kind of story, and if you're a little too impatient, I wouldn't recommend this.
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Guardian of Deceit
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