My review of The Landing by John Herrick

About the book:

The power of a song: It can ignite a heart, heal a soul-or for Danny Bale, resurrect a destiny. When songwriter Danny escaped to the Atlantic coast seven years ago, he laid to rest his unrequited affection for childhood friend Meghan Harting. Now Danny, haunted by an inner stronghold and determined to win Meghan back, must create a masterpiece and battle for the heart of the only woman who understands his music. As memories resurface, Danny and Meghan embark on parallel journeys of self-discovery-and a collision course to seal their mutual fate.

My review:

This novel had a distinct "deep point of view" feel to it, especially when you are in the hero's point of view. I really love this author's voice. The set up for this story was interesting in that the story jumped around to different time periods, so you had to shift your mindset each time the dates changed, but it was a neat way to show the way the characters bonded when they were younger, so it made sense as to why they were still drawn to each other years later.

There was no real faith element in this novel, but that was okay because it was still inspirational in that it showed how following your heart and taking risks are always worth it when you truly love someone. The story also illustrated that it is a precious gift when you see into someone's soul, especially when they normally have their guard up. Pain can draw hearts closer and deepen bonds. Also, when someone gives you a glimpse into the vulnerable part of their being, it means something and should be treasured.

The theme of this story is layered, but the primary one is that there is more to love than staying with someone because it's comfortable, especially when they refuse to marry you and never fully merge their life with yours. The other theme is when friendship deepens to a more intimate level, don't run from it. There were a number of deep themes to ponder in this book. The story was clean and heart-felt and I enjoyed it very much. I can't wait to read another book by this author. He really knows how to communicate from the heart in his stories. More than that, he always makes me think about my life. I love books that do that.

*One cool thing about this book is there is a line from my review of From the Dead by John Herrick inside the cover, so the author sent me the book as a thank you and I ended up devouring it and loving it to.

The Landing was published by Segue Blue and releases August 28, 2012. I got an "early reviewer" copy.