Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Poughkeepsie by Debra Anastasia




Title: Poughkeepsie
Author: Debra Anastasia
Publisher: Omnific Publishing
Published Date: November 18, 2011
Format: Paperback & Kindle

Buy on Amazon: Paperback or Kindle
Author Website: http://www.debraanastasia.com/#!poughkeepsie









Synopsis from Back Cover:

He counts her smiles every day and night at the train station. And morning and evening, the beautiful commuter acknowledges him-just like she does everyone else on the platform. But Blake Hartt is not like the others . . . he's homeless. Memories of a broken childhood have robbed him of peace and twisted delusions into his soul. He stays secluded from the sun, sure the world would run from him in the harsh light of day. 

Each day, Livia McHugh smiles politely and acknowledges her fellow commuters as she waits for the train to the city. She dismisses this kindness as nothing special, just like her. She's the same as a million other girls-certainly no one to be cherished. But special or not, she smiles every day, never imagining that someone would rely on the simple gesture as if it were air to breathe. 
When the moment comes that Livia must do more than smile, without hesitation she steps into the fray to defend the homeless man. And she's surprised to discover an inexplicable connection with her new friend. After danger subsides, their smiles become conversation. Their words usher in a friendship, which awakens something in each of them. But it's not long before their bond must prove its strength. Entanglements from the past challenge both their love and their lives. 
Blake's heart beats for Livia's, even if her hands have to keep its rhythm. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love never fails. Love never fails, right? 
In an interwoven tale of unlikely loves and relationships forged by fire, Debra Anastasia takes readers into the darkest corners of human existence, only to show them the radiant power of pure adoration and true sacrifice. Complicated families and confused souls find their way to light in this novel, which manages to be racy, profane, funny, and reverent all at once.


My Thoughts:

I need to be honest, Debra Anastasia's Poughkeepsie is a book that I started to read with great hesitation.  I had read fantastic things about Poughkeepsie on numerous GoodReads message boards.  I had also seen that it was recommended to read if you enjoyed the Fifty Shades trilogyThis wasn't where my reluctance was coming from.  My problem was that I had read a synopsis of Poughkeepsie which basically said the book centered around a homeless man who fell in love with an educated woman.  The lady cured said homeless man of his issues, he got a job, and they all lived happily ever after.

WRONG WRONG WRONG!  My perception couldn't have been more flawed.  I would really be kicking myself had I not read Poughkeepsie.  Debra Anastasia has written an excellent novel that grabbed me in the beginning and never let me go.  She was able to create a world with extremely flawed, yet realistic, characters that I came to love. The plot was very solid, with many surprising twists and turns.  Poughkeepsie really is a great novel, and I am already looking forward to rereading it.

In Anastasia's novel, Grad student Livia goes to the Poughkeepsie Train Station every morning to get to school.  There she observes Blake, a quiet, homeless man who is always there.  She is the one person who doesn't look right through Blake; instead she always has a genuine smile for him.  One morning, Livia stands up to a group of teenagers that were harassing and roughing Blake up.  Things were never the same as Livia realizes there is more to Blake than meets the eye.  What starts as a friendship quickly develops into something much more that they expected.

Blake's two brothers are Cole, an aspiring Priest, and Beckett, a man who wears many hats (mainly the hats of drug distributor/pimp/arms dealer.)  While these three men are not biological brothers, they became foster brothers at an impressionable age.  When the world turned its back on these three abuse survivors, they came together and created their own family.  After aging out of the Foster Care system, Beckett, Blake, and Cole remained brothers.  Even though each brother chose a very different life path they remained incredibly devoted to one another.

While Blake and Livia are the main characters in Poughkeepsie, I really fell in love with the supporting characters.  Cole, Kyle, Beckett, and Eve were all great 3 dimensional characters.  Kyle had me laughing out loud at pretty much every word that came out of her mouth.  My absolute favorite characters in Poughkeepsie were Beckett and Eve.  Beckett and Eve are the most violent characters, and start chaos without blinking an eye.  However, these are two beautifully flawed characters that I really bonded with.  Beckett and Eve are who they are because of their painful pasts. Life is definitely not fair, but these two characters took the reins and made their own destiny.

Please be aware that this book is NOT for minors.  Debra Anastasia's book is filled with profanity and graphic scenes.  If you do not like cursing or violence in the novels you read, Poughkeepsie is probably not for you.  Nevertheless, I think the language accurately reflects the people and circumstances in the novel.  

I really hope there will be a sequel to Poughkeepsie.  I would love to see more of all of the characters, but especially Beckett and Eve.  I felt that their romance was left open ended, and I would really like Anastasia to revisit these two for some closure.

Debra Anastasia's Poughkeepsie is a fantastic book.  I loved reading it and became attached to the characters she wrote about.  Poughkeepsie is definitely a book that I recommend.  This is one that deserves to be on everyone's TBR list!

Debra Anastasia and Omnific Publishing has provided me with a complimentary copy of the book, Poughkeepsie, for the purpose of review.  

23 comments:

  1. Added to my TBR list for definite! So glad that you pointed this one out :D

    http://thehouseofliterarymirrors.blogspot.co.uk/

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    1. I hope you enjoy it! My TBR list is getting long!

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  2. I love detailed, lengthy and thorough reviews so this was great! I hadn't heard a lot about this particular book before, but I might have to give it a go after this!

    (I followed back from your comment! Can't wait to see what else you review in the future!)

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  3. Hi, just to let you know that I've nominated you for the Versatile Blog Award!

    Just go to my page: http://cathrine-garnell.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/another-award-yay.html

    To find out how to claim it, if you want to.

    Have a great day

    Cat

    www.cathrine-garnell.blogspot.co.uk

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  4. So lovely to meet you, I wanted to say congrats on the blog award from Catherine. Kisses.

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  5. Hi Candace!

    I am so happy I dropped by your blog because I actually ran across Poughkeepsie a couple of months ago, was really interested in reading it, but then had some doubts after reading a few reviews. Then I ended up getting distracted with something else and totally forgot about Poughkeepsie until I saw your review of it!

    Thanks for your thorough, thoughtful review. I just added it to my amazon "Wish List" so I don't forget about it. While I haven't read this other book, it reminds me of Finding Home by Bonnie Dee.

    Anyway, thanks again for the great review! Feel free to come visit my blog sometime!

    Best Wishes,

    Mia @ The Muses Circle

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Mia, Poughkeepsie is a really great read, I'm sad I almost missed out on it! I will stop by your blog!

      Candace

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  6. I read poughkeepsie a while ago and absolutely loved it! Like you, Beckett and Eve were my favorite because they were so extreme and hardcore that you couldn't help but be entertained when you read about them. Debra should totally make a sequel focusing on them, they never got their happy ever after, they deserve one! Great review!

    Shae @ Understanding Shae's Story

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    Replies
    1. I agree, I want more Beckett and Eve! They deserve a happily ever after!

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  7. Thanks for the follow, I'm now following you back. Nice review by the way, I hadn't heard of Poughkeepsie before today.

    Lettora.

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  8. I wanted to say I appreciate the follow and I am following you back! :) I love your blog and can't wait to read more of your reviews! Keep up the great work :)


    Ps: How did you get the tabs at the top of your blog that go to different pages but have the same url? I tried to add a second page on my blog but instead ended up with a completely separate blog page with a different url

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    1. Thanks so much! For the tabs, go to Design at the top of your blog and then on the left of the new page click 'Pages.' That's how I did it!

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  9. Excellent review! I'm looking forward to reading this.

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  10. Hi! Thank you soo much for visiting and following my blog. You have lovely blog as well. It's a pleasure to follow you back :)

    Love, Katie
    http://fashion-coma.blogspot.ro/

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  11. I haven't heard of this one before. Sounds interesting. I like the black and white of the cover too. Great review! I'm following you back. Thanks for stopping by tonight.

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  12. Great review! Haven't heard of this one before but I'll have to check it out sometime :) But thanks for sharing <3

    Thank you for stopping by Book-A-Holic and for following ;)
    xoxo, Mariam
    Book-A-Holic

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  13. Thanks Candace for following my blog and I'm now following yours! After reading your review I am very intrigue by this book. Did you feel that the comparison to the Fifty Shades trilogy was accurate? I haven't read those books and don't plan to, but just curious...

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  14. Thank you, Candace for following my blog http://enteringsoutherncountry.blogspot.com/
    I'm following yours now. Poughkeepsie looks like something I will be adding to my Kindle collection. I'm always looking for recommended books. I love reading mysteries with humor. Thanks for sharing. I will be checking back regularly for your updates.

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  15. Wow this sounds good to read. Putting this one in my wishlist. I'm your new follower =3

    Lisa @ When She Reads
    http://when-she-reads.blogspot.com/

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