{Blog Tour+Giveaway+Review} The Making of Nebraska Brown

Rating: 6/10

Series: Standalone

Genre: New Adult Mystery 

Publication Date: February 6, 2014 

Publisher: Immortal Ink Publishing

Page Count: 311

Format: Digital

Source: Reading Addiction Virtual Blog Tours Amazon ~ Barnes & Nobles ~ Kobo
 
Synopsis:

The last thing eighteen-year-old Ann Leigh remembers is running from her boyfriend in a thick Nebraska cornfield. This morning she’s staring down a cool Italian sunrise, an entire continent from the life she once knew. The events of the eighteen months in between have inexplicably gone missing from her memory. 

All at once she’s living with Tommy, an attractive, young foreigner asking for her continued love. Though he’s vaguely familiar, she recalls a boy named Shane in America who she reluctantly agreed to marry. Juggling a new world while her old one is still M.I.A is difficult enough without the terrifying movie scenes spinning a dizzy loop in her mind: glimpses of a devastating house fire, a romance gone wrong, an unplanned pregnancy, and a fractured family – each claiming to be part of who she once was – a girl and a past somehow discarded. 

Ann Leigh must collect the pieces of herself to become whole again, but she doesn’t know who to trust especially when Tommy’s lies become too obvious to ignore. And above all, her heart aches to discover what became of the child she may or may not have given birth to. 

The Making of Nebraska Brown tells the story of one girl’s coming apart from the inside and the great lengths she’ll go to reclaim herself and find her way home.

About the Author: Website ~ Twitter (1) ~ Twitter (2) ~ Facebook ~ Blog ~ Goodreads



As a young girl who spent her allowance on Nancy Drew mysteries, Louise realized that one day, she might have a story of her own to tell. Maybe even more than one story. After years focused on raising her children she eventually reconnected with her passion for creative writing. She soon began to craft a large collection of short stories which were published in the inspirational online magazine, Faithhopeandfiction.com. Shortly thereafter, she authored her first novel, Wishless, a contemporary YA, released in 2011.

Louise devotes a portion of each day to honing her skills. She has several other novels currently in various stages of development. A confirmed bibliophile, Louise enjoys reading outdoors on a warm spring day and watching her pup chase leaves on a breeze. She looks forward to meeting others who share her love of the written word and invites you to visit her blog, her website and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

 
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I have to admit that I didn't like the book very much to begin with. In fact I was terribly confused and lost for the first 20 pages. Gradually, I grew to like the book a lot more, and plot aspects started making sense and falling into place. But I do have to warn readers that it is confusing in the beginning. One moment a random guy named Shane is touching Ann Leigh's boob, then she flees into a Nebraskan cornfield, then she's called Ana in Italy, and she finds out a lot of time ,has passed and it's 2004, AND she is now Multi-lingual. It sounds extremely confusing,mans it is. Gradually, we learn that Ana/Ann has no recollection of the time that has passed, and everyone around her thinks she's gone crazy because she was obviously well integrated, and even engaged to a man named Tommy in Italy. This Tommy is a devout, and compassionate man that would do anything for Ana/Ann. While he's taking her to all of their favorite places, she starts to remember her time and life in Italy.  But she's also haviing flashbacks about her time in Nebraska, where she learns that Nebraska is her home, was also engaged to be married to the guy Shane. Ann/Ana even makes a list of known facts ant herself, which at the beginning, end up being 7. What Ann/Ana finds out is that Tommy has a split-identity of a sort.  When her future husband tells her that he's taking her on a trip to 'The States' she jumps on it as a chance to go to Nebraska and try to reclaim her memory to find out what the hec happened to her. 

What I found a little confusing, yet unique was that there was hardly any translation from Italian, and what ever language people were speaking to English. The crucial bits were translated by Ann, but the not-so-crucial items were not. It was also confusing for the main character, until she discovered that she actually could understand people. Sadly I am not Ana, so I don't know what each chapter title (is that a thing?) means. Luckily I had a handy dandy mother that did. But others wouldn't, so just be warned about the Romance languages that you don't know. 

The romance is also a debatable, because Tommy and Shane don't seem like the best of guys either way you soon them. At home, Tommy is loving,loyal, and all other positive adjectives that start with L (Just Kidding ant the L part). But he becomes this terrifying person when he deals with work at the office. Shane haas an inumerable amount of faults which include being a cheap jerky wimp that Ann is constantly asking herself why she agreed to marry. 

Despite being confusing at times, and having unnapealing boyfriends, I did like Caiola's writing style. She wrote in a way that was both descriptive and concise at the same time. There was wonderful figurative language that wasn't cliche or cheesy. There was also subtle humor when Caioloa described various events occurring around Ana that I loved because she wasn't trying to be funny

Conclusion:while it was slightly confusing at times, The Making of Nebraska Brown I a wonderfully written mystery that people are sure to love