3-2-1 Chapter Review for Intended For Harm by C. S. Lakin.
A modern day family saga, loosely based on the biblical story of Jacob.
Never happy to walk past a free offer, Intended for Harm became part of my Kindle library. With its rather catchy title, it did jump the queue of the other free e-books on the shelves. To be honest it had been a while since I read the description so I was expecting some kind of thriller. It isn't. What it does is tell the story of a man, a son, a brother, boyfriend, lover, father. The author tells it quite well - it's just not the sort of story or pace that grabs my attention. All that aside here's my 3-2-1 Chapter One Review.
The Good - At the top of the list of good things about Chapter One are the descriptions. All very well put together in an often unique way.
The Good - Very distinct characters, even the father and brother though similar still come across as definite individual personalities.
The Good - The meeting of Jake and Leah was a sweet rendering that gives hope in the midst of the desolate family life and the war-touched America of the 1970's. Their relationship quickly develops a streak of doom, yet we are still hopeful that this could be it for Jake.
The Bad - One line jerked at my reading sensibilities - 'Jake'd had to bite his lip to keep from...' There must have been several different and far smoother ways this could have been expressed.
The Bad - I couldn't help wondering why Jake's brother Ethan went to wake him up for the hunting trip, since he didn't like him so much. Why not leave him to get in trouble with their father? Or even if he had no choice but to wake him (strict father orders) would he really pick his clothes out for him to wear regardless of whether he needed something to throw at him.
The Beautiful - 'Ethan threw a look at Jake on his way out, a look tangled up in the snarl of his mouth,...'
