Excerpt:
Johnno grabbed
the bottle and turned it upside down. The letter caught in its neck. Then with
a bit of prying using his car key, he was able to gently pull the letter from
the bottle and let it fall onto the table. It lay there wrapped only with a
small hair ribbon tied in the centre. Anton reached across to untie it as
Johnno stood the now empty bottle back in the centre of the table.
“Well here
goes.” Anton said as he uncurled the two pages and held them up for his friend
to see.
The pages were
cream in color, decorated with a border of flowers entwined along the edge of
each page in black ink. At the top of the first page before the letter began,
was a small turquoise colored love heart someone had painted, again in what
appeared to be nail polish. It left a slightly oily stain around the edges
which only added to the letter’s charm. Around them, the air filled with the
scent of women’s perfume that wafted up from the page. With their curiosity now
firmly aroused, Anton and Johnno huddled in closely and began to read.
To whoever
finds this,
If I’ve washed
up on your distant shore,
From a land
far over the sea.
Please tread
carefully on the morning sand,
And know
you’ve set me free.
Wrapped in my
mother’s ribbon,
This letter is
but a token.
A plead to let
her see the world,
From a young
heart torn and broken.
A turquoise
heart that was my Aunt,
Left
footprints in the sand.
Her magic just
a memory,
You now hold
in your hand.
So I light a
candle for my Dad,
But this gift
I give to you.
He always told
me to make a wish,
So today may
all yours come true.
It’s time to
live, to find true love.
Before the
winter’s scorn.
Somewhere it’s
always summer,
May my true
love’s arms be warm.
P.S. Please
return me to the sea at sunset.
My Thoughts:
This book is a very clean read that anyone who likes contemporary would enjoy. I liked that all the characters had different beliefs. I appreciated that Tanya was a Christian and not afraid to let that be known. She did get on my nerves a little. I think it was because she came off as a little prissy. The name of her dog annoyed me to no end. I loved Anton & Johnno! They cracked my up. They all seemed to grow and develop quite well through out the story. I could see this movie on the Hall Mark Channel or on Lifetime. The chaos that ensues as the characters try to make sense of the sudden granted wishes is hilarious! One thing this book brought to my attention was the way we throw the word wish around. I can't imagine the consequences that would result if I got what I wished for every time I said "I wish...". By the end, the story was a complex tapestry perfectly woven bringing everything together. This book is a fantastic read for the beach or a lazy Sunday afternoon.
*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading
Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author.
Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no
payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation
to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may
not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or
readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade
Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and
Testimonials in Advertising*
About the Author:
Phillip
Overton’s writing has been compared to none other than Nicholas Sparks (http://
www.readerviews.com/ReviewOvertonAWalkBeforeSunrise.html),
and his latest novel Last
Wish of
Summer offers readers the perfect book to spend a summer’s day reading at the
beach. In
a book that reminds us to be careful what we wish for, it manages to weave the
wholesome,
virginal qualities of the main character Tanya with her band of misfit friends
in their
pursuit of being able to reason why a washed up message in a bottle is somehow
granting
their every wish come true. Often in a manner that is both coincidental and
strangely
bizarre.
Just as a
movie adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel will appeal to people of all ages,
so too
will this
story that follows the adventures of a group of twenty-something’s on the last
day
of summer.
The book not only manages to cut through any pre-conceived ideas we hold on
morals,
body-image and social status, but delights in helping us discover what may
already be
right
under our nose to begin with.
http://sbpra.com/phillipoverton/
Twitter:
@phillipoverton
Links
to Buy (currently paperback only)
