Friday, August 3, 2012

"Gilboa Iris" by Zahava D. Englard Book Review


Remember my promotion for this book on Monday?  There is still a giveaway of the book going on until the 25th of this month.  All I can say is that if you have not entered, you should!  This is my current favorite read. Read my review below!

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Not very often do I find a book that so captures my attention that I almost literally cannot put it down. I had many other things I should have been doing on a Friday night, but I was unable to do them.  I absolutely had to finish this book!  In fact, I got to a really exciting point last night, and I did not want to go to sleep!

When I began reading this book, I knew absolutely nothing about it.  It seemed fine to begin with.  Roni and Dara are star-crossed lovers, love at fist sight--the usual stuff.  I have to admit that I wasn't even that interested during the first 30 pages of reading or so.  But I was quite smitten with Roni.  Give me a rough, strong guy who knows what he wants and doesn't beat around the bush--yes, that is Roni. They made such a sweet couple.

What I did not see coming was the international intrigue and espionage.  In fact, there was much I did not see coming.  The story seemed normal until Dara returned to the U.S.  And the twists and turns did not stop.  The more I read, the more I was on edge.  I kept telling my mom that I had to finish the book so I would know if I was right or not!

All I will say is that I mostly figured out the direction the story was going.  But the author still kept me on the edge of my seat.  The book was one wild ride with sweet (not sappy) romance along the way!  I connected with this book on so many levels, and it has quickly become my current favorite read.

Okay, it had some minor profanity throughout, but I will tell you, that none of it truly offended me because of how it was used.  And although there were implied bedroom scenes, they were not described in any kind of detail.  In fact, a part of me truly enjoyed the physical relationship between Roni and Dara.  His indomitable sense of humor always showed through.

I do not believe I have read a book that takes place in Israel since I was college age.  The author is incredibly knowledgeable about her people.  I even managed to learn something that I did not remember ever reading in the Bible concerning Mt. Gilboa.  I will let you discover the meaning behind the title of this book--which is quite clever, by the way.

I would recommend this book to lovers of history, fiction, romances, thrillers, and Jewish literature. You will not be sorry that you picked up this book.  I would say more about this book, but I don't want to give it away.  This is a fabulous debut novel, and I understand now why the book has been rated so highly.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are 100 percent mine, and I was not financially compensated.


1 comment:

  1. Dear Ruth,
    Not only am I thrilled that you enjoyed my novel, but I am truly humbled by your wonderful review.
    Thank you,
    Zahava D. Englard

    ReplyDelete

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