3 out of 4 stars
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This is a truly enjoyable book with a complex story line demonstrating what a family is and what it means to be part of a family, how reality differs from what one expects. This is a coming of age story revealing a smart and strong willed teen becoming a man in a new and unfamiliar environment.
At the beginning of this novel, Darwin Hastings, a teenager who has been orphaned was sent by his aunt who could no longer take care of him due to her health issues to live with his football star cousin Luther Pinnelli. Darwin wants to recapture the love he knew with his parents and become a doctor like his father, his plans get muddled when he moves in with Luther, a cruel and self-serving celebrity who thinks he's doing right by denying Darwin his basic luxuries, making him live in a storage room, making him pay for his room and board and denying him access to the money his parent left him.
Darwin soon learns that the wind of fortune blows in both directions as he is taken in by Luther's eccentric grandmother, a by-the-rules house manager Mrs Thomas, a former homicide detective and chief of security Laszlo Forgash, and Luther's girlfriend Sweeney Pale a celebrity pop singer blindly in love with Luther who cares little for her. He also met Dr. Malverne on the plane on his way to Luther's house, who becomes his mentor helping him secure admission into school and playing a vital role in Darwin's life, both good and bad. Even with all these good fortunes, Darwin's life was still plagued by difficulties as he had to make painful decisions both at home and school and live through the consequences.
Darwin's guardian introduces him to celebrities, crooks, untrustworthy friends and their lust which thwart his search for selfless and caring love as he strives to become a doctor. This book shows that our choices and decisions are not the only things that shape our lives, as the decisions of others and company we keep play an important role in our lives. Darwin's integrity keeps him and sometimes everyone around him, that fades in the second part when the tale focuses more on his relationship with women and a twist involving a murder mistery.
The author holds the readers with his calm and catchy style and a bit of mister as well but the last few chapters looked as if hastily written and some major characters stories ended too soon and established story lines are unfortunately ignored. Other than that I couldn't find any errors or typos, for this reason I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
I recommend this book to anyone that loves to connect with their characters, likes a bit of mister you or watching characters overcome insummountable obstacles.
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Guardian of Deceit
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