At the time I decided to read and review Chautona Havig's
Will Not See, I didn't catch that it was the second book in a series. Thankfully, she worked in enough of the story from the first book,
None So Blind, to make sense of what was going on . . . but also sparked an interest in wanting to go back and pick up that story as well.
Chautona has an interesting style to her stories, something that I can't really identify, but that makes her writing stand out in kind of a "quirky" way. She enables you to jump right into the middle of her characters' lives, as though you had already met them, and then fills you in on necessary details of their background.
Vikki's story, and the continuation of Ella's story, are definitely intriguing and keep the interest level high. The other characters in their lives certainly added important elements to their stories as well. I have to admit that I had some trouble keeping up with some of the "bad guys" and "potential bad guys" -- who was "in charge," how they fit together, etc. And there were occasional elements that seemed a little choppy and not fitting into a smooth flow of the story. Of course, the overall story of Vikki's life was definitely not one that fit any kind of smooth flow anyway!
Overall this was an enjoyable story that held my interest pretty well. And then there is that tricky ending to the story that practically compels you to go into a waiting pattern for the next book. How in the world will all this work out in the end?
Thanks to Celebrate Lit for providing a copy of this book. I am happy to share my own thoughts for this review.
About the Book
When Vikki Jeffries wakes up in a Rockland hotel with no idea of who she is and why she can’t remember… well,
anything,
the Rockland medical community begins to take a closer look at what may
have happened to cause a second case of inexplicable amnesia.
But for Vikki, this is more than a medical anomaly–it’s her life.
What is she doing in Rockland, thousands of miles away from her home in
Apache Junction, Arizona? Who is she? Why is no one looking for her? Or
are they?
Will Not See: Not everything is as it seems.
About the Author
Author
of the Amazon bestselling Aggie and Past Forward Series, Chautona Havig
lives and writes in California’s Mojave Desert. With dozens of books to
her name, Chautona spends most of her time writing, but when she takes
the rare break, she can be found reading, sewing, paper crafting, or
sleeping and dreaming of finishing the dozens of books swirling in her
overly-active imagination at any given moment
Guest Post from Chautona Havig
The circle of death swirls on the screen and it shifts. The bank
balance appears, and with it, my heart sinks. It’s been a tough few
months, financially. The bottom line proves it.
My reaction? Inhale. Exhale. “Okay, now we know the worst. We can
do something about it.”
My husband, on the other hand, suffers a definite blow. Kevin might
not sleep that night. Instead, he’ll mull over what we could have done
differently, how we can make changes, if he’s a failure at this thing
called life. He’ll pray—for hours.
They say ignorance is bliss. And sometimes, that’s true. It’s also a
personality thing, I think. I tend to be a “let me have your worst” kind
of gal. But when the negative arrives, I also tend to want to shield
Kevin from it all. I don’t know how he can worry so much. He can’t
fathom how I can turn it off.
But sometimes those personality things go deeper—into what can be serious faults. It has been said,
“There are none so blind as those who will not see. The most
deluded people are those who choose to ignore what they already know.”
Or, in the words of Jeremiah,
“Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.”
What does this have to do with not seeing?
As I work on the Sight Unseen series, one recurring theme happens, of
course. Memory loss—the removal of all insight into one’s past. You can
hear who you were, be informed of what you did and why others think you
did it, but you can’t
know your own self the way you once did. It’s a fresh slate, and it can be a good thing in some respects.
Those around you can now see the difference between habits and
personality traits—true dislikes and those conditioned by life. What
might have been a fear once could be gone if the cause of that fear is
blotted out.
But even for these fictional characters, truth doesn’t change. In
None So Blind,
Ella takes her memory loss and uses it as an opportunity to reinvent
herself, if you will. And you know what? If you asked her family about
it, they’d tell you that it fits her personality. That take-charge,
gotta get ’er done attitude Dani may have used in different ways, but
both “manifestations” of the woman had those qualities. Sure, Ella’s was
tempered by recent experience, but not much.
Vikki Jeffries,
is almost the antithesis of Ella in that respect.
The past is in the past. It scares her. Is it because she doesn’t
know it? Because she’s frightened by the unknown? We don’t know. But
what we do know is anything associated with that past, even the few very
personal items she finds, she rejects. It’s as if ignorance of them
will protect her from them. Where Ella runs to face her problems, Vikki
runs from them.
But despite those differences, I find it interesting that both women did the same thing, basically—just at different times.
Before her “episode,” Ella chose to blind herself to her faults. She
knew them. Lived with them daily, but couldn’t face or address them. So,
she “refused to see.”
Vikki—we don’t know. But I think the story shows that she couldn’t
blind herself to truth before her episode. As much as she might have
ached to, she just couldn’t. Now that the opportunity is here, however,
she grasps it and if she insists on squeezing her eyes shut
indefinitely, it may cost her everything—her life. Her soul.
Philippians 4:8, “…whatever is true.”
They say ignorance is bliss. Well, “they” also say, “Truth hurts.”
And sometimes it does. But so do the consequences of that ignorance. I
guess the next time the bank balance dips low, I
won’t be handling the fallout alone. Then again, one can always pray that it doesn’t dip low! I think we’ll start there.
Blog Stops
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Chautona is giving away a grand prize of the None So Blind Paperback,
the Will Not See Paperback, a Journaling Bible (Choice of KJV or NLT), Prismacolor Pencils,
and a Christian Hymns Album!! Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries!
https://promosimple.com/ps/bd17
Cindy Woodsmall concludes her Amish of Summer Grove series in great form in Gathering the Threads. This series is based around Amish and English families -- and some who are on the cusp -- dealing with the consequences of a simple, but life-changing, mistake from years earlier.
Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times and CBA bestselling
author of numerous works of fiction and one of nonfiction. Her
connection with the Amish community has been featured widely in national
media. She lives in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains with
her family.
