Author: Gabrielle Olexa
Book Name: Jenny of Lebanon
Release Date: July 4, 2019
Series: *
Order: *
Genre: Literary Fiction/Short Story/IndieAuthor
Overall SPA: 2.5 Stars
Blurb: All’s quiet at 318 White Ash Lane—which is good. Billy could use some quiet. He’s got enough trouble paying off his bills, keeping his cat fed and healing the ribs he bruised in a wreck with a Honda.
But maybe this is just a bump in the road. Maybe all he needs is a few weeks to heal up before he gets his life back on track. Fate, though, has another plan for Billy. That plan’s name is Jenny, and she hits a lot harder than a Honda.
Main SPA Evaluation Areas:
Characters: 2.5/5 Stars
Believability: 3/5 Stars
Personal Opinion: 2.5/5 Stars
I normally don’t read short stories because I always feel like there is just not enough page space to get a really good feel for characters and what is going on enough for me to enjoy them. This one wasn’t an exception. It is essentially a story that gives the reader a very brief glimpse, not much more than a long moment, into a rather tragically dysfunctional and toxic relationship. Because this is a short story and you do only get that glimpse, you don’t get any sense of anything outside of that and the hints of the history behind it. There is no real substance or satisfying ending.
I honestly didn’t know what to think when reviewing the blurb for this and didn’t know what to expect, in part because it seems to fall between genres. Though it really wasn’t to my tastes and felt more depressing than I want to read, it is well written, if a little flowery at times, and heavy on setting details.
*I received a copy of this book from the author. Opinions stated are honest and my own.
