AK Dawson

This is a sequel to the excellent Alien Love Story - and just as quirky and charming. I love them both.

Alien Love Song

Amazon.com

My review - 

This continues the story of fifteen year-old Dan and his extra-terrestrial girlfriend, Alexander. At the start of the story, he can't remember how he came to be incarcerated in a locked room. He can't even remember who he is. His memory and powers return to him and he has to fight for his life, and hers.

This sequel to Alien Love Story is charming, funny, and it ticks all the emotional boxes without resorting to going overboard. If you've not read the first novella in this series, it's very good indeed. You don't have to be a young adult go enjoy YA fiction. Just to have been one at some time.

A K Dawson

I've long enjoyed Andrew Dawson's work and this Young Adult story is no disappointment. It oozes humour and charm.

Alien Love Story

Amazon.com

My review -

Dan looks like one of life’s losers. He lost his immediate family in a tragic road accident and now lives with his nana. He suffers from crippling migraines but the proximity of the strange girl he meets, delving in rubbish bins for food, clears them instantly. She’s got massive eyes, a small mouth and, under her beanie hat, not a wisp of hair. Is she an alien? Dan falls for her and learns that he’s no ordinary boy, but the subject of an alien experiment when he was in the womb.

This story is funny, clever, charming and SO readable. It’s intended for Young Adults, I think, but brings up so many questions of love, loss, loneliness and, yes, there’s a bit of kissing to lighten the load. We can empathise with Dan’s fear when his mention of an alien makes those around him think he’s delusional. Eventually he wonders (as do we) if she’s real. Right to the end… There’s got to be a sequel. Readers (at least one!) demand it!

AK Dawson

Andrew is a favourite author of mine; I've never read a duffer by him!  This is his darkest work yet.  It's a deep psychological thriller.

Into Pieces

Amazon.com  Into Pieces

My review -

This book starts off like any dark thriller, with a crime committed and a family in turmoil.  However, this happens in a society where the police take bribes and the family don’t look like achieving closure.  The story becomes a tightly written, tense chiller/thriller and starts to feel very claustrophobic.  Melanie’s sister Claudia and husband Guy decide that the only justice must come from them.  We watch two people spiral downwards, watch psyches under strain begin to crumble.

This is a beautifully written story.  AK Dawson takes the despair and outrage of losing a lovely young woman in a brutal manner and pushes his characters to the extreme.  I was on the edge of my seat with this story and even at the end, when all appeared to be resolved, he brought a shiver to my spine.  A really good five star read.

A K Dawson

Andrew writes in various genres and I enjoy his style.

Clan Fraser, Once Removed

Amazon.com  Clan Fraser, Once Removed

My review -

The main character in this book, Richard, is not a pleasant chap. He's self-obsessed, convinced he's brilliant at his job (graphic designer) and when he's sacked he's certain he will soon be snapped up by another company. His 22 year old special needs brother Charlie comes to stay with him. Charlie is a huge, happy and enthusiastic toddler in a man's body. Everyone loves him except the brother to whom he is a burden. Through its first person narration, we listen in on Richard's thoughts and from his views on other people and especially his brother, we get a clearer picture of his character than he has! There's a woman in the story, there's a castle, a sword and a Dad back home in South Africa. The story all comes together and towards the end we become aware that Richard has grown up a good deal and we like him a lot more.

Andrew Dawson is a fine writer with a delightful sense of humour. There are some wry smiles, some giggles and a few laugh-aloud moments here. I really enjoy his style and feel that at the end of the book I have learnt something about life and had my enjoyment of it reinforced. I recommend this lovely story wholeheartedly.

Poison Oak Summer - Part 1

Amazon.com  Poison Oak Summer - Part 1

My review -

I don't normally read books about teenagers but the product description for Poison Oak Summer drew me in. Lucy, an English eighteen year old, goes to work as a counsellor at an American Summer Camp. She is viewed by many as being boring and law abiding but so are many of us! She is burdened by a heartbreaking event in her recent past and hopes to try to forget a little. She finds the body of a little boy in the river but can't make anyone take her seriously.

The writing is superb and the characters felt real to the extent that I occasionally wanted to give Lucy a shake and to ground some of the girls! At the end of this book Lucy walks to the nearest town and finds some surprising, even shocking things about her fellow campers. The book is long novella length and is the first of three. I have already downloaded the other two. I NEED to know what happens next. It's intriguing, exciting and very good indeed!

Poison Oak Summer - Part 2

Amazon.com  Poison Oak Summer - Part 2

My review -

This second part of the Poison Oak Summer trilogy of novellas starts straight in with the excitement. I found myself deep in the story from the very beginning and AK Dawson ratchets up the tension expertly. I don't wish to give away the story but the young Summer Camp counsellor Lucy finds out about her fellow members of the camp and in the process does some growing up.

I find the author's style of writing fluent, deceptively simple and very engaging. The story continues in part 3 which I shall start immediately. I gave part 1 a 5* review. I now find myself reaching for a sixth!

Poison Oak Summer - Part 3

Amazon.com  Poison Oak Summer - Part 3

My review -

This concluding part of AK Dawson's wonderful story came to a really satisfying conclusion from my point of view. He is a talented writer and I've enjoyed all of these novellas. I can see that if published together they would make a rather long book but it's a great story. As with anything involving the paranormal I have had to undertake some willing suspension of disbelief but it has been a pleasure.

The story became complicated, characters' relationships more involved. The author has managed to make the 18 year old Lucy mature in a convincing way over these three books and she finds herself and her role by the end. I really recommend these books. They tell a great story.