GIVEAWAY & REVIEW: Chasing The Sun: A Novel by Natalia Sylvester

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

Partially inspired by her grandfather’s kidnapping in Peru, CHASING THE SUN: A Novel is Natalia Sylvester’s suspenseful debut about a man whose wife is kidnapped just as their marriage is falling apart.

After going out for an errand, Marabela Jimenez doesn’t return home and her husband suspects she has left him – again. Only, the next day a letter arrives in the mail that reads:
 Querido Andres,
I’m being held by three men who say they’ll keep me safe as long as you cooperate. They say that means no cops and no media. They say they’ll call when they’re ready to talk to you. Kiss our children for me and tell them not to worry. Keep me in your thoughts as I will be keeping you in mine.
Marabela
Despite their crumbling relationship, Andres quickly realizes he must do whatever it takes to get Marabela home. He can’t possibly afford the ransom the kidnappers demand or handle this threat to his family alone so he hires a consultant to help negotiate with the terrorists. He also reaches out to his estranged mother, who has never cared for Marabela and even reconnects with an old friend who may hold the key to his past and his wife’s future. As each day passes without the return of his wife, Andres is forced to come to terms with whether or not what he and Marabela have left is worth saving and how far he’ll go to bring her home.

Set against the backdrop of the political turmoil and terrorist threats of 1992 Peru, CHASING THE SUN is a story of how trauma has a way of exposing our most difficult truths and healing past wounds and regrets.

my thoughts:

Wow!  I absolutely LOVED Sylvester's novel, Chasing The Sun.  It was fantastic!  Tense, dramatic, and utterly captivating.  I started this book and did not put it down until the last page was turned.

Lima, Peru in the 1990s was a dangerous and turbulent time - there was civil unrest and plenty of kidnappings.  Andres and his family are successful - they have their ups and downs.  Andres and his wife, Marabela are a different story - their marriage is broken.  Marabela has run away from her family before, but returned when she realized she couldn't be away from her two children.  So, when Andres finds Marabela gone from home, he just assumes she has run away again.  Until he receives a note from kidnappers wanting money for his wife.  In the first part of the novel, we learn about Andres' feelings toward this time apart from his wife and the lengths he goes to to come up with the monies to free her.  In the second half of the book, we deal with the aftermath of the kidnapping and Marabela's return to her unhappy home.  I was spellbound!

Dark, suspenseful and thoroughly engrossing, Chasing The Sun is a terrific book to get lost in.  The characters are beyond interesting and the writing is excellent.  I would most definitely recommend this book to fans of great novels - you will love this book!!

Check out what other bloggers have to say about Natalia Sylvester's novel, Chasing The Sun.  Here's the TLC Book tour schedule for: Chasing The Sun

GIVEAWAY:   US/Canada residents only.  Thanks to the publisher I'm able to give away one copy of this book!  Just leave me a comment letting me know that you want "in" for the giveaway. Don't forget to include your email so that I can contact you if you win.  Last day to enter is June 20th, 2014.  Good Luck!!

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!