Book 7 of my 2014 Goal

314 by A.R. Wise
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I know they say you shouldn't judge a book by the cover but when I saw the cover of 314 by A.R. Wise it really looked interesting and I love mysteries, paranormal and such so figured it was right up my alley. I should have read the description first but more about that later. The cover really is what sold me on getting it.

I won't recap the story since you can read the author's description for yourself. Just remember this is book one of a trilogy so don't expect every question you have to be answered in this first book. This book covers the building of the story and character development for the most part. The author does a great job with the characters and I did feel a special connection with the main character, Alma. I am not sure if it is out of sorrow for what she went through as a child or if it is because now as an adult she is haunted by the not remembering what happened and needs to put it behind her so she can go on with her life. Between this and her mothers death, her father after her, and a boyfriend she loves but just can't seem to stay in a relationship with, nothing seems to be going right. I can also feel the doubt she has if she really was responsible for her brother's disappearance. It seems for the past 16 years her life has been a nightmare with all these things playing in her mind and the ever present number 314, if she can only remember what really happened.

I have to admit when I was first starting to read the book I became a little frustrated with the way it was written. It kept switching back and forth from 16 years ago to present day. I have read stories where the beginning was the background of what happened a long time ago and then the story jumps to present day and continues but this was written with a little glimpse of this or that which happened 16 years ago and it almost seemed unrelated to what was going on in present day. It was like reading bits and pieces of two different stories however I stuck with it and it wasn't that long until I realized why the author wrote it this way. It was brilliant! Something I wasn't expecting and totally made sense plus I loved how it came together in the end.

Now, back to why they say you shouldn't judged a book by the cover. I read at night before bed for the most part to relax me and I eventually drift off to sleep. Not so with this book and I would have realized it if I read the "Warning" in the author's description. This book is indeed graphic and led me to some disturbing nights of sleep which was totally my own fault. But let me explain, I often look at covers and don't read the description of books to get surprised as the story unfolds. By reading the description I often pass a book by because it really don't sound interesting to me but come to find out, it is a fantastic story. This is one of those books. Had I read the description I would have passed this book by because I am not into the real graphic stuff and I would have missed this great story. Even though it was disturbing to me the story was so good and captivating I couldn't put this book down. The reason I am mentioning it is because if you are not into graphic scenes, don't read it. It will give you nightmares. (Remember, this is the goal of the author and he succeeded with flying colors, 5 stars to you!) So with that being explained, I only recommend this book to adults who like horrors with graphic scenes.

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