Love Hurts

The Preservationist
by Justin Kramon
336 pages
$9.99 Kindle version

To Sam Blount, meeting Julia is the best thing that has ever happened to him. Working at the local college and unsuccessful in his previous relationships, he’d been feeling troubled about his approaching fortieth birthday, “a great beast of a birthday,” as he sees it, but being with Julia makes him feel young and hopeful. Julia Stilwell, a freshman trying to come to terms with a recent tragedy that has stripped her of her greatest talent, is flattered by Sam’s attention. But their relationship is tested by a shy young man with a secret, Marcus Broley, who is also infatuated with Julia.

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The character development is excellent. I couldn't predict the behavior of Julia, Marcus or Sam, and the supporting characters provided some great misdirection. I was guessing all the way to the end, and I enjoyed not knowing what would happen next.

I think the using three POVs to tell the story helped keep me on edge, and each switch is clearly labeled. However, the POVs overlap on the story's timeline, so I was a little confused at first. I think readers will get a kick out of seeing the same situation from three different perspectives...and yet Kramon doesn't reveal everything about his characters' inner thoughts - that is the real key to the suspense.

I hope to read more by Justin Kramon.

As always,
AstraDaemon