My Crafting a Novel students at Sheridan College will be studying this as an example of 'how to do it.' Thorough, and thoroughly entertaining. There are clips in here so catchy, they are going in my promotion file.
Thank you, Helen. YOU Rock!
A Review of The
Goddaughter: Gina Gallo #1
by Helen Beaufort
Part
one of The Goddaughter series (Gina Gallo:
#1) seems to have readers talking for all of the
right reasons. Combining clever comedy, thrilling
suspense and fast paced narrative in this tale of the
misadventures of the title character, Melodie Campbell really
has crafted a novel which can be enjoyed in it's own
right as well as setting up the coming novels in the
series beautifully. Marketed as a 'rapid read' at a
fleeting 136 pages, this laugh-a-minute book is a great
way to spend an afternoon and could make a perfect
Christmas gift for the bookworm in your life this year.
Here are my thoughts.
The
story
You
can choose your friends but not your family, right? Gina
Gallo knows this only too well. Gina has tried to
distance herself from her mob family in Hamilton and
concentrate on her career as a gemmologist but when you
are the 'Goddaughter' trouble seems to track you down
and saying no to your Godfather Uncle is no easy task.
Gina finds this out for herself when her cousin is
whacked and she finds herself drafted in to transport
some priceless gems in her killer heels (?!) with her
unsuspecting love interest Pete in tow – some way to
spend a first date! But when the gems are stolen the
unwitting pair find themselves embroiled in an epic road
trip across the country to steal the stolen stones back
before Uncle Vince finds out and dishes out some mob
style retribution. Expect comedy and calamity from this
modern day Bonnie and Clyde as they deal with debauched
politicians, armed robbery, angry mobsters, dead bodies
and shoe fetishists...and that's just for starters.
The
characters
In
short stories and novellas it can be hard to form
attachments to the characters and sometimes it can feel
like the story is just too short for character any real
development to build successfully. In The
Goddaughter this wasn't the case. There is
enough detail for the reader to learn about the
characters without becoming to bogged down by their
respective 'baggage' but still come to care about them
and become enthralled in their journey. It's hard not to
like Gina who is clearly moral and hardworking yet still
loyal to her family and willing to break the rules if
necessary. Pete is a genuinely good guy who knows about
Gina's background and still wants to help her and has
great sex appeal to boot. Best of all, both characters
are witty and fun. Some of my favorite scenes include
those where Gina's family are quizzing (aka threatening)
poor Pete in the humorous, if slightly clichéd, way that
you'd expect a mob family to react to a daughter's new
date.
The
writing
Melodie
Campbell's writing style really is outstanding. With her
unique brand of wit and humor she has crafted
an incredibly well written novel that is fast
paced, packed full of action with a touch of romance and
plenty of suspense. Add a hefty dollop of hilarity into
the mix and you're onto a winner – to cram all of this
into a mere 136 pages in a massive achievement for this
Canadian writer. Her writing style is short, snappy and
straight to the point. The plot is very tight and the
action never lets up. But best of all her humor
encompasses everything from the subtle to the absurd and
then back to knowing, familiar humor that will have
readers resonating and nodding their heads in
recognition. She even manages to cleverly draw in
characters from her
other books while elusively trying to persuage the
reader to buy more of her work. From some authors this
could appear arrogant but Campbell has a knack of
writing in a humble, almost self deprecating tone which
is as endearing as it is entertaining.
In
conclusion
I
really enjoyed this novella. It doesn't take itself too
seriously but is entertaining from start to finish. It
literally was laugh-a-minute with some truly side
splitting humor that I wasn't expecting from a jewel
heist novel. I can imagine that many readers will plough
through this novella in one sitting because the action
is constant and the narrative fast paced so there never
seems like a good moment to put it down and as a rapid
read, why would you need to? A really great read and I'm
excited to see what's to come in part 2 of the series.
The Goddaughter is available in Chapters, Indigo, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Zehrs, and online retailers.
On Amazon
(Sale price of 2.59!)
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