Paradise Peak
Thing is , Who is forgiveness for, if not sinners?
Red
Summary:
Neil Travis Alden spent over half his life in prison after a drunk driving incident, which resulted in the death of the other driver. After being released from prison, Neil travels on foot to find Margaret Owens, the mother of the girl Neil had killed. As he traverses the mountainside, he meets Red Bartlett, one of the owners of Paradise Peak Ranch. Red decides to give Neil a ride and, after Neil helped with some chores, Red offers Neil a night at the ranch. Unable to confront his own sins, Neil lies to Red of his identity, introducing himself as Travis. On the ride up, Neil finds a picture of Red’s niece, Hannah Newsome. With a twist of fate, Margaret Owens is a co-owner of the ranch and meets Neil, however, she does not recognize her daughter’s killer. From there, Neil learns to love and forgive himself, but he isn’t able to be relieved from his guilt until he admits his sins to Margaret.
Characters:
Travis Alden is the main protagonist of this novel. He is a calm, mysterious man with a dark past that plays a large role in his current personality. He is searching for a new beginning when he meets Red.
Red is a kind-hearted man that loves his family more than anything. He is the co-owner of Paradise Peak Ranch, and it is his pride and joy. He is more than welcoming when he meets Travis, but Hannah is not.
Hannah Newsome is Red’s niece, and she is stunning. Her kindness and beauty are masked by a troubled past that has put her into a protective shell. She is super defensive with Travis, but she begins to open her heart again.
Austin: 8.4/10
I really enjoyed this book. I’m gonna be honest, this isn’t in the genre of books I typically read, but I really liked this one. The plot is really good, although slightly cliche and predictable. The strongest aspect of this book is either the details put into the surroundings and the story or the characters. The amount of specificity we see in regards to the surrounding terrain is incredible. I had absolutely no trouble forming an image in my head from the very beginning, and that image continues to change and develop. We have certain intense scenes with a drastic scenery change, but the in-depth language doesn’t change, and it allows you to focus on the story instead of worrying about creating an image in your mind. This kind of language makes this a really easy read, almost effortless.
The characters are the other strength of this novel. Every character is developed upon in great detail, but certain details are omitted at the beginning to allow your mind to make predicting and assumptions. We see some really unique characters, and while the plotline is a little bit cliche, the characters do a good job to stay away from that.
This is a solid book, one that I would read a sequel of. The style of writing and the flow of the plot makes this a really enjoyable read. It brings a lot of good things to the table, and if a cliche plot doesn’t bother you then I suggest you pick this one up!
Sebastian: 8.2/10
I have never really read a book of this genre but having now read Paradise Peak it was actually an enjoyable read. While reading the novel I really liked the characters and found that they were well described and you felt for them. The characters and their emotional situations are what worked in this novel as I felt they were well written. My favourite character was definitely Neil Travis Alden as I really enjoyed his journey as he strives for redemption and forgiveness for his crimes of the past. I felt that this novel actually touched upon some very interesting topics such as forgiveness, moving on, and whether convicts deserve second chances, and these points really grabbed my attention and kept me engaged throughout. Another part of the novel that I enjoyed was the level of detail given to almost everything in the story. Whether it was the characters themselves or the scenery they were given detailed descriptions that made the location of Paradise Peak and the people who lived there feel real. This book was a quick read which is not necessarily a bad thing especially in the first half of the book with a looming threat of a fire it really adds to the intensity. My only real issue with the novel was that the plot had quite a few predictable plot points that I wished they had gone a different direction with.
All in all, this was a good book that was filled with great detail, some good drama, and solid characters that I recommend to anyone who enjoys these types of narratives and to others as well as who knows you could find yourself enjoying it as I did.
Nathanyal: 8.0/10
Romance novels have never been the type of novels that I have enjoyed. However, this novel hit differently for some reason and I wasn’t able to put the book down. Now, it wasn’t a crazy page turner where I wasn’t able to sleep at night, but it was still an enjoyable book, nonetheless. Although there were some instances where the story was predictable, the core elements of family bonds were still strong. This story explores a lot of themes of love and forgiveness, and the difficulties of letting go and moving forward.
The best part of this novel are the themes and the characters. Neil Travis Alden is the lowest of low. He was an addict and a murderer. But his redemption story inspires hope that there are second chances. The other characters on the ranch also have their own issues and the methods of watching them grow was very enjoyable.
The only issue with this novel was the predictable points in the plot. Although there are moments where the plot was obvious, it was still enjoyable to read how other characters respond to different situations.
Overall, this novel was an enjoyable read. It wasn’t the most difficult and featured great characters and strong themes. For those interested in romance novels, I recommend this novel to you. Even those who are not really into romances can still enjoy the novel.
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