Breach Point, from Steve Spatucci

In the beginning of July, I received from author Steve Spatucci a review-only copy of his new book, Breach Point (thanks again!). I finished it last Thursday, but it was all so intense that I needed to absorb the book first, haha 😉

Me, my glasses and my ebook, from my Instagram account 🙂

But let’s go to the story: Clara is a teenager that just went through a social trauma with her best friend, Jerilyn, and decided she needed a change of scenarios in the summer – she was having serious troubles with her mother as well. Clara wants to go to the engineering area at college, so she signs for a trainee summer program at a company at Breach Point, the island where her Aunt Maureen lives (just wanted to say that Aunt Maureen is a sweeting <3).

After having her phone and electronics confiscated and a calm and reflexive trip, Clara arrives at the fictional island of Breach Point and immediately feels better, free. Unfortunately, the feeling is brief, as Aunt Maureen has a serious heart condition and doesn’t seem to be so well in health matters, even that she tries to cover it with her funny and sassy personality.

As soon as Clara goes out exploring the town, she meets Nicholas, a seventeen boy with a pretty smile and a nice personality, as well as the town’s big mystery: the Breach Point Castle. The castle used to be a horror attraction of the town that burned down several years ago and nobody seems to know what happened, as it was never properly investigated. Nicholas’ uncle, Kevin, seems to have a very complicated relationship with the castle, just like his friends, as all of them worked in the castle.

Even after her trainee program start, Clara wasn’t able to forget about the castle’s mystery, always researching and digging more, having this strange need to understand what happened there, why the fire started and why people didn’t want to know it as well. Each person that she meets seems to be involved in some way in this mess – even Nicholas.

Clara would only be sure of the supernatural forces acting on the island after Aunt Maureen suffers an accident – but then, it was too late to leave everything as it was before. Clara and all the people that try to help her are now in grave danger, as a huge secret is hidden in the waters of Breach Point.

Now, let’s go to the analysis! This is only my opinion of the facts and my impressions as a reader, ok? Just a reminder 🙂

I loved this book. Its start is a bit slow, as the story is kind of first person narrated and Clara is not a self-centered character; I mean, she doesn’t think a lot about herself, her personality or even her looks. She thinks about what happens to her, in her feelings. The reader discovers her personality through her actions in the book, like practically all the other characters – Clara just is not the descriptive type, haha!

The whole mystery was very good and I only understood what was really going on nearly in the end – and this is very unusual, as I kind of study the characters as I read and tend not to be surprised by the events at all, haha! Spatucci was ingenious while maintaining the conspiracy atmosphere and the “someone is watching you” feeling. The reader gets insecure, as it’s impossible to be sure in which characters we can trust and who is lying. It reminded me a lot a Clue board game, you know? At each place that Clara went, she discovered a new clue and we had to redo the whole castle theory and it wasn’t always that the clues made sense either. It’s the kind of book that breaks your heart when it ends, but have no fear, the sequel is on its way! (and if it wasn’t, Steve would hear me online screaming with him ;D)

In narrative matters, as I commented, Clara is not a descriptive person, so I don’t even know how she looks like and I already finished the book. I presume she has long hair with a medium or high stature and pretty enough – all thanks to the events of the book, haha! This would normally bother me a lot, but it didn’t. Clara notices the island and the places on there, so it’s easy to construct the characters’ appearance by the small details that we are given. I had never read a book like this and I can’t imagine anyone doing this like Spatucci – congrats!

By the way, it was impressive how easy it was to connect with Clara, even with her very unique personality. She’s not a silly girl that only dreams and sit to wait things to happen. She goes after what she wants, doesn’t expect anyone to help her, but knows when it’s the time to go ask for it without being proud or ashamed. Definitely I won a new bookish friend, haha! And a bookish boyfriend, as Nicholas is a sweeting ❤

Now, there was some characters that I thought a bit unreal. Clara’s bosses, Shane and Theresa, were totally out of the world for me, in professional aspects. People just aren’t like that in the market. I already had incredible bosses, stupid bosses, all kinds of good and bad bosses and none of them behaved like Theresa and Shane, in this sympathetic, calm or even slow way, even more giving that they have high positions on the company. Kevin, Nicholas’ uncle, also was a bit forced too. I understand he has a difficult personality, but he always seemed the same boring and uncomfortable type even in scenes that he was supposed to be having a good time – while he didn’t know that Clara was around. It wasn’t enough to make me hate anyone, but it bothered me, haha!

Describing is for sure the strongest point of the book. Spatucci spent years working on the story for a series of reasons, so you can feel that Breach Point is real, you know? It seems like if you open an US map, you can find the island there. This care left me speechless. And it’s also a bit funny, as the characters seem to be mere ghosts in a place with its own life, haha! But in a good way 🙂 Even the supernatural element of the plot seems real and natural, it’s crazy cool!

The castle mystery also is a funny phenomenon in the book. It’s the king of deal that you know that is there, but you don’t really care. Then, things start to get really weird and, before you know it, you have this craving to understand what the hell happened in the place. Clara awakes a kind of obsession in the reader, slowly and gradually, so one day you catch yourself daydreaming with the possibilities and trying to solve the mystery even when you’re not reading! How is it possible? Hahaha!

In one of the e-mails that I exchanged with Steve, I joked that he deserved some online screaming thanks to some of the events of the end of the book, but now, way calmer and with my breath on its place, I can say he only deserve compliments.

Breach Point will be released on August 26^th (don’t forget to check it out on Amazon!) and it will be available in paperback and ebook formats. I can’t wait to have my own paperback version of the book! (Anyone else here that, when reads a very good ebook, also wants to buy the paperback/hardcover version as well? o/). The book also features an extra chapter with a scene from before the fire in the castle and bonus materials telling all about the creation process of the book. It is very cool to read, Steve had so much work, haha!

That’s it, guys! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy Breach Point as much as I did! And thank you again, Steve, for allowing me to meet and read one of the best books of my 2015 list and for introducing me to the wonderful world of Breach Point ❤