Review by JLBlumenstock -- Days Passed by Mcentry Dunbar II
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Review by JLBlumenstock -- Days Passed by Mcentry Dunbar II
[Following is a volunteer review of "Days Passed" by Mcentry Dunbar II.]
Days Passed begins by introducing two young adolescents, Brittany and Tony, whose childhood friendship morphs into romance as the two become teens. After a romantic night watching Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, their relationship is cemented and the two become inseparable. Their happiness, however, is cut short when Tony’s father is fired from his job for embezzlement and the family is forced to relocate to the city. Brittany’s father refuses to allow any more contact between the two due to the scandal Tony’s father has left in his wake. Brittany is devastated and the father-daughter relationship begins a decline with long-reaching consequences. Tony, upset at not hearing from Brittany following the move, throws himself into his schoolwork and is determined to save his family name.
While attending different colleges, they each meet new friends and form new relationships. Brittany finds herself married to Blake right upon graduating and Tony, having met fellow college student Eva, moves in with her following his graduation. Both Britany and Tony find their post-college corporate jobs going well, just as they planned. All is not as it seems, however, and a number of losses for Brittany are threatening to send her spiraling out of control. Tony’s family past and the scandal that undid his father is looming and could come back to haunt him. As fate would have it, Brittany and Tony cross paths again. How will they react? How will their meeting impact the turmoil already going on in each other’s lives? How will the love they once had for each other feel now that they both have moved on in different directions?
Initially captured by the beautiful cover work, I started this romance novel assuming it would take the traditional path of “boy meets girl, boy loses girl.” Then they would reunite, and everything would wrap up nicely. However, the author put a few twists and turns in there, which quickly made me re-assess my original assumptions. The characters of Brittany and Tony aren’t the simple, lovelorn teenagers I initially expected them to be and I admire the way they were written as complicated, nuanced characters who only become more complicated as they mature. I definitely rooted for them to overcome their circumstances and find the love and peace they seemed to be searching for.
While the two characters felt real, however, some aspects of the story did not. For instance, Brittany and Tony never tried to contact each other as they moved through college, despite how important they were to each other. Brittany even continues wearing the ring Tony gave her throughout the years. Yet, neither ever mentions the other to new college friends once contact is cut off. There is also the sidebar story of Jeremy, Tony’s best friend in college, that is perhaps my least favorite aspect of the novel. The character is never really fleshed out and the unravelling of the friendship between the two seemed quick and unresolved. While it served to give a bit of insight into Tony’s character, it never seemed truly necessary to the main plot.
Despite my reservations with the realism of certain plot points, the uplifting messages of hope and forgiveness, and love and romance will stay with me for a long time. All ages and lovers of the romance genre will find this book heartwarming. There was no graphic sex in the book, just mentions of affairs, and no explicit language. However, there were a number of grammatical and spellings errors, more than ten on the first few pages. Given lack of professional editing, I must give Days Passed by McEntry Dunbar II 3 out of 4 stars. If the reader can look past the errors, the novel is a gratifying and positive read.
******
Days Passed
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Days Passed begins by introducing two young adolescents, Brittany and Tony, whose childhood friendship morphs into romance as the two become teens. After a romantic night watching Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, their relationship is cemented and the two become inseparable. Their happiness, however, is cut short when Tony’s father is fired from his job for embezzlement and the family is forced to relocate to the city. Brittany’s father refuses to allow any more contact between the two due to the scandal Tony’s father has left in his wake. Brittany is devastated and the father-daughter relationship begins a decline with long-reaching consequences. Tony, upset at not hearing from Brittany following the move, throws himself into his schoolwork and is determined to save his family name.
While attending different colleges, they each meet new friends and form new relationships. Brittany finds herself married to Blake right upon graduating and Tony, having met fellow college student Eva, moves in with her following his graduation. Both Britany and Tony find their post-college corporate jobs going well, just as they planned. All is not as it seems, however, and a number of losses for Brittany are threatening to send her spiraling out of control. Tony’s family past and the scandal that undid his father is looming and could come back to haunt him. As fate would have it, Brittany and Tony cross paths again. How will they react? How will their meeting impact the turmoil already going on in each other’s lives? How will the love they once had for each other feel now that they both have moved on in different directions?
Initially captured by the beautiful cover work, I started this romance novel assuming it would take the traditional path of “boy meets girl, boy loses girl.” Then they would reunite, and everything would wrap up nicely. However, the author put a few twists and turns in there, which quickly made me re-assess my original assumptions. The characters of Brittany and Tony aren’t the simple, lovelorn teenagers I initially expected them to be and I admire the way they were written as complicated, nuanced characters who only become more complicated as they mature. I definitely rooted for them to overcome their circumstances and find the love and peace they seemed to be searching for.
While the two characters felt real, however, some aspects of the story did not. For instance, Brittany and Tony never tried to contact each other as they moved through college, despite how important they were to each other. Brittany even continues wearing the ring Tony gave her throughout the years. Yet, neither ever mentions the other to new college friends once contact is cut off. There is also the sidebar story of Jeremy, Tony’s best friend in college, that is perhaps my least favorite aspect of the novel. The character is never really fleshed out and the unravelling of the friendship between the two seemed quick and unresolved. While it served to give a bit of insight into Tony’s character, it never seemed truly necessary to the main plot.
Despite my reservations with the realism of certain plot points, the uplifting messages of hope and forgiveness, and love and romance will stay with me for a long time. All ages and lovers of the romance genre will find this book heartwarming. There was no graphic sex in the book, just mentions of affairs, and no explicit language. However, there were a number of grammatical and spellings errors, more than ten on the first few pages. Given lack of professional editing, I must give Days Passed by McEntry Dunbar II 3 out of 4 stars. If the reader can look past the errors, the novel is a gratifying and positive read.
******
Days Passed
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Project Tau by Jude Austin
