Hi there! Today I'm gonna talk about one of my latest reads: REUNITED by Daniel Gothard.

When I first talked about this author in the blog, I was reviewing Simon Says and I did tell you about his upcoming release. Well, Reunited was published a few days ago, and I bought it in my kindle inmediately. Why, maybe you're wondering. The answer is easy: first of all, 'cause Daniel's work is always a good read. His previous book was awesome, and I was waiting for this book to be published for a long time. 

Reunited is a piece of art. While I was following the timeline between 1992 and 2012 I felt as in a time machine. It was like being back in highschool, with all the joy and the troubles that were typical in the classroom or the playgrounds. 

As a character, Ben Tallis was well developed. He grew up through the pages, his feelings spilled al over the book: his doubts, his fears, his love. The dilemma between go the reunion or stay home and ignore it... I felt it. It was so realistic and perfectly understandable. Ben, as a journalist, was a inquisitive man. The way he see everything is different... he wants to know, not just the fact but the reasons and the circunstances around the fact. So his mission in the reunion wasn't just reconnect with his past, but understand what happened then and how that affected his life.

To summarize:

I really enjoyed this book and the easygoing narration of Daniel Gothard. Reading this book is like drive a time machine, kick-ass soundtrack included. Ben Tallis was a wonderful character and I loved to be in his head while he was writing his journal. The humor, the music and all the feelings about Ben facing the past were perfect. I feel like I was there, walking to my own High School reunion... It feels so real to me, and I love when a book makes me feel this way. Definitely a must read!

Find this book on Amazon and Goodreads.

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I don’t remember many stories that have touched me the way 'Simon Says' did. It's a fun story that will make you think about friendship, love, relationships... but above all, about finding yourself. Among musical references and dialogues of films, Simon tries to understand how a lie put his world upside down, triggering a series of misunderstandings. 

I found myself taking notes about movies (many of which I've seen hundreds of times) and dialogues between Sean and Simon (as hilarious as deep). I even found a perfect word for when everything goes to hell: FUBAR (I invite you to read the book so you can understand, lol). 

Reading this novel is impossible not to imagine every scene like a film sequence (with its own particular soundtrack). You will laugh out loud, yes, but also reflect... and possibly discover that sometimes you do not need to say a word (to say everything).

You can find this book on Amazon and Goodreads.

According to Goodreads, the next book by Daniel Gothard will be published next year, but you can take a look about the blurb and the cover now:

In 1992, Ben Tallis is coming to terms with the recent death of his father. His ability to cope isn’t helped by the fact he’s secretly in love with one his best friends. At least keeping a daily journal helps him make sense of events, and he believes it’s the perfect preparation for his plan to one become a successful journalist. 

In 2012, Ben has achieved his career ambition—he’s a highly respected journalist and is engaged to a hardworking and ambitious lawyer. But this seemingly "perfect" relationship is fraught with problems. Ben mentions in passing to his editor he has received an invitation to a 20 year school reunion but doesn't want to go. His editor, however, smells a great feature article and insists Ben returns home, faces his past—including his secret teenage yearning—and writes a feature on how much we change and yet in so many ways stay the same. 

As Ben reluctantly re-engages with his past, he soon comes to realize that we can never run from the truth—or who we truly are. 

Comentaba en Twitter esta semana una de mis lecturas más recientes, y no podía esperar para compartir los detalles con ustedes.

Simon Says (Simón Dice, en español) es una novela del escritor británico Daniel Gothard que recibí a través de NetGalley, y que me conquistó desde la primera página.

No recuerdo muchos libros que me hayan conmovido del modo en que 'Simon Says' lo hizo pues en su simplicidad, entre las bromas, esconde pensamientos profundos sobre la amistad, sobre el amor, sobre las relaciones... pero sobre todas las cosas, sobre encontrarse a sí mismo. 

Si me piden clasificarla en un género, diré que es una comedia romántica, pero a diferencia de la mayoría de las novelas del género esta no se centra en la perspectiva femenina sino en los personajes masculinos (lo que la convierte en una apuesta bastante interesante).

Entre referencias musicales y diálogos de películas, Simon intenta comprender como una mentira puso patas arriba su mundo, desencadenando una serie de malos entendidos. 

A pocos meses de su boda, este personaje llamado igual que un popular personaje de la Tv descubre que su pareja lo engañó, y no sabe cómo manejar la información. 

¿Qué decir? ¿Qué hacer? ¿Dónde ir? 

Todo se vuelve confuso para Simón, y allí es donde entra en escena su mejor amigo Sean.

Sean, que es un personaje que adoré al instante, es de esos tipos que pasan muchísimo tiempo frente a la Tv (como el propio Simon), y que tiene un repertorio realmente amplio de escenas de películas o series para explicar las diferentes situaciones de la vida. 

Desde clásicos de la literatura adaptados por la BBC hasta Star Wars, pasando por 'Salvando al soldado Ryan' o 'FRIENDS', estos chicos lo han visto todo (y suficientes veces para citar las escenas de memoria.