Miles Away by C.W.J. Henderson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
There are aspects of this book that I enjoyed and just as much that I didn’t enjoy. The writing is good without multiple grammatical issues which is a huge plus in my book. That said, the writing didn’t help with connections and at times made me want to either skip to the next chapter or pick a different book to read. Having raised two teenagers of my own and worked with troubled teens I found the constant negativity from Miles to be over the top. This negativity began to grate on my nerves about half way through the read. Parts of the book felt well thought through, even well researched, while other parts felt as though they were lacking any solid foundation. This is especially noticeable when referencing dated aspects, with some dating issues being more obvious to me and pulling me out of the read. I have mixed feelings about the science fiction explanations for time travel and how it supposedly would work. I don’t feel this will be a huge deterrent for YA readers, however I wouldn’t recommend this to YA readers due to the language usage by Miles. I don’t believe foul language does anything to add to a book and I certainly wouldn’t want my son reading this. Overall the plot is intriguing and with some minor fixes would fit well among other YA books. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion.
Book Reviews & Giveaways 
Ah! I didn’t pick up on this being a romance! :-\ And it’s true—females curse, too! I know I do though shouldn’t :-\ I totally agree with vulgarity in written works. It really turns me off in a BIG way and don’t feel it’s necessary.
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Jenn, I’m sure it’s rough for the author to hear a less than stellar review, but honesty is the key. I haven’t looked into this beyond your review, but it sounds like the common problems relative to self-published, so that’s an assumption on my part. I agree about the language aspect, too. Do you think the author was going for a male audience?
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I’m honest with my impressions and opinions, even though they do not always mirror others. What turns me off may inspire another reader. I don’t mind that some people will disagree so long as they are polite about it. I do wish more self-published authors would take the time to polish their work and have it both content and copy-edited.
As for the intention of this author and his audience? I don’t feel that foul language is inherently male. Some people just talk that way. I don’t feel it’s necessary to have it in a book, regardless of the intended audience. I’m not entirely sure there was an intention to write towards a particular audience, male or female. Just being male or female does not preclude you towards a particular style of writing although it may be true when it comes to genre. I haven’t researched it but I would surmise that more females read romance than males.
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