Blog Tour: THE FINEST LIES by David J. Naiman

 

The Finest Lies

by David J. Naiman

 

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GENRE: Young adult

 

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BLURB:

 

2021 Best Teen Book Award Finalist Indies Today

 

High schooler Nicole Hallett has just about had it with her brother Jay, so when a mysterious man appears with an offer to replace him with a better one, she doesn't hesitate. Nicole has always been impulsive, but this time, she finds herself in a predicament far worse than anything she's experienced. Just like that, an average snow day—usually filled with hot cocoa and snowball fights—is commandeered by the stranger, who forces the siblings into a dangerous game.

 

Confronted by past reflections, tested by present complications, and threatened by future possibilities, Nicole has until the end of the day to disentangle the riddle of her life.

 

This suspenseful, yet winsome novel by award-winning author David J. Naiman explores the power of family and forgiveness. But take heed. The truth can cut like shards of glass, especially for those who'd rather avoid it. Sometimes, only the finest lies will do.

 

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Excerpt One:

 

Maybe I should call, Nicole thought. A brand new brother sounds perfect.

 

“That’s it. New and improved! Call now.”

 

Nicole smiled, sensing a personal connection as though this commercial spoke directly to her. She cradled her phone in her hands. A fingertip flicked across the screen without her even needing to concentrate. Her phone had long ago become an appendage, as integral as a foot or a kidney.

 

After Nicole entered the number, her finger hovered above the dial icon. Something held her back, but she couldn’t imagine what it could be. She might have guessed self-preservation had she any means to gauge the lurking danger. Had she any inkling her impetuous nature would fix her on a chaotic course beyond her control.

 

She did want a new brother. As long as he wasn’t like Jay, who always said things to upset her and never did what she wanted him to do. She thrust aside her unease and tapped the icon. Instead of a ring, Nicole heard more of a choking sound, a gasp as if someone strangled.

 

“Hello, Nicole. Are you ready to change your life?”

 

The voice on her phone was identical to the voice-over in the commercial. Nicole figured this guy must own the company or something. “Maybe,” she said. The man on the TV screen stared at her while she spoke. Nicole leaned to the left and right, and the man’s face tracked her each time. She hesitated. “How much does it cost?”

 

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Review: What if you could order a new brother? For Nicole, that would be a dream come true. So, when she saw a commercial advertising for a new and improved brother, she took it. Naturally!

What could be so wrong with having a nice and considerate brother for a change? Nothing…if you don’t mind your brother being a robot. Oh…

Each time there was a malfunction in the Bro Bot 3000, she contacts the guy for a fix, which he is more than willing to oblige to…at a small cost of course. Just small things like burning lava and moving holes.

The story had an easy narrative that engages the reader quite well, however, at times, it deviates a little too much from the storyline and we get a little more info about something that’s not so important. Part 1 kicks off to a good start, but then it tapers down to a slow and trivial pace. As you go into Part 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, it becomes longer and more complex. It’s like ¼ of the way in, the genre changes on us. At first, it reads like a middle grade fantasy story, but then it kind of morphs into more literary and psychological. The theme is rather ambiguous and hard to figure out, like the cover really, which is not that impressive or a good indicator to the story.

There are a lot of worlds that the reader gets thrown into. I liked how it incorporated the classic “what if” scenarios and twisted them into these arbitrary and abstract outcomes. Like I said, it felt like fantasy, but then it went to talking more about family.

Ultimately, it comes down to this: Was Nicole’s family really that bad?

A fairly nice read. 

Rating: 3 stars

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

David J. Naiman is a best-selling independent author of award-winning books for children, teens, and adults including The Finest Lies and Jake, Lucid Dreamer, first place winner of the Purple Dragonfly Book Award and the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards in pre-teen fiction and Didn’t Get Frazzled, humorous medical fiction written under the pen name David Z Hirsch. He is also a successful physician specializing in internal medicine and an unsuccessful speller specializing in vowels that sound identical to other vowels. He lives with his wife and two children in Maryland.

 

Website: https://davidjnaiman.wordpress.com

 

Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FSB6NJ3

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58967157-the-finest-lies

 

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GIVEAWAY:

 

David J. Naiman will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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