Paradise Bay

A very entertaining read that caught my eye and I couldn't put it down. Pratt weaves a unique story of love, life in the 50-60's and Vietnam. I found the story to be a real page turner and Pratt's simple but effective prose worked wonders. The life of Levi especially during the war was very well done and the characters were colorful and personable yet also innocent at times. The story itself is a compelling tale yet unrealistic at times the story reads extremely fast. I ploughed through it in a couple hours and I am not a fast reader. Each page kept me going. My only problem with the story was it's Hollywood style happy ending. Filled with grief, mourning, and hardships throughout I was shocked to see that in the end Pratt briefly wraps it all up in a simplistic manner and over the course of only a couple pages. had the ending been more realistic and thoroughly portrayed I would have given it a 5 star rating.

Absolutely a must read for those hopeless romantics that enjoy shedding a tear here and there. As always, James Michael Pratt touched my heart through his story of Paradise Bay. The characters in his stories are so life-like and portray deep emotional feelings, as real-life so often does. He creates his characters and shares their innermost thoughts so that by the time you are just pages into his story you can almost feel yourself as one of the characters themselves. I picked up his first book, The Last Valentine, in paperback at a local store several years ago. . .since then, I anxiously anticipate his next arrival! He goes on my "best reads" list with Nicholas Sparks, Kristin Hannah, and Debbie Macomber. His books are fit for anyone to read--very clean and heartful! Don't miss out!

When I saw this book, I did judge it by the cover, and I thought it would be a pretty good book. So checked it out from the local library and read it. I have to say, I couldn't keep it down, I kept reading till I was done. This book keept me reading from cover to cover. This is an amazingly written book, the idea and plot is unthinkable. This book is worth reading, infact it's worth owning. It would be a pleasure to read it over and over again, which is why I reccomend this book. Rating this book five stars was a mistake, it should be ratied ten stars or a hundred stars, or infinity stars. So if you are looking for a fantastically-great-full of adventure-never put down to stop type of book to read, I more than recommend this book.

Never having read Mr. Pratt's previous works I decided to give this one a try since my book club reviews praised it highly. Usually I read mysteries and this did have an air of mystery about it. Also I just finished Up Country where I learned a lot about Viet Nam geographically and culturally and was able to place the locations mentioned in this work though nowhere near as detailed as in the former. The beginning was slow and I guess I would have to say the whole pace was slow except for the war episodes. I could relate to all the music and musicians mentioned and life in the 50s to the present. Levi Harper was one loyal loving guy and his Jenna the heart and soul of his being. A love that strong can carry you to heights of delight and excitement and carry you when burdened with imminent death. All the characters, including Jack, were interesting personalities and seeing how their lives were woven together because of love was delightful. Paradise Bay sounds idyllic as does Catalina Island - 26 Miles Across the Sea. Without explicit sex, graphic violence, and foul language, but with religion, love, humor and music James Pratt told a wonderful love story through journals, flashbacks, and characters' insights. It was thoroughly refreshing. Have already bought A Ticket Home!