Official Review: Nights Remembered by Bruce Collier

[Paige Alvarado]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Nights Remembered" by Bruce Collier.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Growing up, Carl Sanford had a very atypical childhood. His father worked on a charter boat in their local marina and, while he was away, Carl's cruel alcoholic mother would partake in multiple affairs. Carl grew to resent his mother, especially following the unexpected loss of his father, but had to learn to live with her. He endured several of his mother's relationships, all of which were very toxic and oftentimes one-sided. On more than one occasion, Carl had physical altercations with his mother's boyfriends.

Finally, after years of surviving his mother's abuse, Carl decides to live with his uncle, Tom. Tom's new wife, Joyce, has a daughter Carl's age named Jill. Jill and Carl become good friends and spend most of their time together. When feelings erupt, things get complicated. They don't want to make Jill's mother and stepfather uncomfortable. Will they forego any chance of a relationship for her parents' sake?

Nights Remembered is a bittersweet narrative about memorable times in Carl Sanford's life. Some of these memories are devastating, such as the night his father passed away. There are also happy memories, such as the time Carl purchased his beloved car, "Blue." My favorite thing about this book was the steady pace of the narrative. There were moments of suspense, but there weren't any lulls in the plot. Bruce Collier certainly has a gift for producing a very immersive read.

My only complaint was that I felt the author gave too much away in his description of the book on Online Book Club. The synopsis was very descriptive and left little to the imagination. It added a bit of unwanted predictability in the story as I knew most of what would take place.

In terms of quality, Collier did an excellent job. I found less than five errors, all of which were incredibly minor and did not distract from the book. It is obvious he took extra care when proofreading this piece, and he likely had it edited by a professional.

Nights Remembered had heavy use of profanity as well as light eroticism and sensuality. For this reason, the book would not be suitable for immature or sensitive readers. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it to lovers of romance and drama. I feel that it would appeal to both men and women. I am happy to award Bruce Collier with 4 out of 4 stars.

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Nights Remembered
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[Nqobile Mashinini Tshabalala]

Romance and drama are my favorite combination. The book deserves space on my bookshelf. Nice review.

[Tarilan]

Great review. The book must be a good read, especially for die hard romantics.

[Tablito]

Being a bittersweet narrative, 'Nights Remembered' comes with mixed emotions; there are good memories created as much as there are bad ones.

[Cynthia Olyy]

“Will they forgo their chance of relationship for their parents' sake?” Well, I don't know. It depends on many other things I'd find out by reading the book.

[HannahsReads]

This sounds like an intense and somewhat gritty memoir. Thank you for a thoughtful review--it's always interesting to discover a new memoir about someone overcoming a challenging childhood.