Bill Rolfe

*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.*

The intent behind this story was really nice. And it is a very sweet story. But, there's a lot that's lacking, which made it difficult for me to connect with it.

Daniel is a workaholic who has trouble maintaining relationships. But he inherits a house from an unknown uncle who lived in England. He gets there, tries to fix up the house, and injures himself, having to go to a hospital. There he meets a beautiful nurse, who cares for terminally ill children.

Their relationship progresses way too quickly and they magically fall into bed one night, and "make love into the night"

The language in the story is so forced and stilted as it is. When I got to this "sex scene" (It's so awkwardly written that I don't know if I would call it that) I groaned and had to read it out loud to my husband to explain my reaction. Even he agreed it was awkward.

Daniel and Claire are spending all of their possible time together, and calling each other "dear" and "sweetheart," without any actual emotional development between the two of them.

Their are some happenings at the house involving the terminally ill kids that are a nice touch to the story, but unrealistic. I won't spoil it for others, though. But I will say that had this twist figured out with about 50 pages left in the book.

I didn't feel any emotional connection to any of these characters, even with the serious subject matter. Because of this, the ending was entirely too campy for me. Everything wrapped up in a neat little bow.

Nice concept, and I appreciate the idea behind it, but the story is unrealistic and seriously lacking in character development.… (mere)

The Living Room is a heartfelt story about life and death, love and sacrifices, family and, let’s not forget, miracles.

Daniel Clay has a very bland character in the beginning. He was very serious all the time, he’s super workaholic, and he doesn’t have enough time for himself. So when his boss and godfather, Art encouraged (more like commanded) him to take a vacation, Daniel doesn’t have a choice but to do what he was told.

So Daniel went to England to check out the house he mysteriously inherited from an unknown distant relative. And that’s where everything changed. He met Claire, who taught him how to love and care unselfishly, and met a bunch of inspiring little kids, who taught him what the true meaning of life is.

I have no doubt in my mind that this book is made to give hope and courage people especially those who are facing difficult stages in there life right now. And I truly believe that this will inspire them.

But if I could change one tiny bit about this book, I would probably use the first person POV here instead of the third person POV. I just thought that it would make this book more personal to me and in turn, would make me feel more emotion if it was in first person. You see, there were a few times where I felt disconnected to the story because I felt like an outsider, watching all the scenes unravel from the distance and because of that, the emotional impact that I felt was lesser than what is expected. I guess, it would be more effective for me if I was seeing the story through Daniel’s eyes. But that’s just me.

Overall, this book will inspire you to live your life to the fullest and will teach you to not be afraid to take chances and risk. Because, you will only live once so enjoy it.… (mere)