Tour and Review: Leaves by Michael Baron

Hey All!  Welcome to my stop on the 'Leaves' Tour which was organized by Providence Book Promotions. Thank you to the great gals over there that allowed me to participate.

Genre: Contemporary

Pages: 332

Edition: Kindle

Source: Providence Book Promotions

'Leaves' is a story of love and loss, of family and friends and of the fluidity of relationships. The Gold children were raised in Oldham, CT, learning the ins and outs of small town life. They grew up in and helped their parents run The Sugar Maple Inn. Now that both of their parents are gone, the kids have decided it's time to sell the inn and move on. Before the sale goes through the family is going to throw one last huge Halloween bash, after all the Sugar Maple is famous for them. That is if they don't drive each other crazy first. They have always been a close family, has the loss of their parents and the pending sale of their childhood home changed that?

I was completely captivated by this story! The author does a wonderful job setting the scene in each of the locations, though most of the story does take place in Oldham. With his descriptions of the scenery, I really felt like I was there in the moment with the characters. The fact that Tyler, the youngest of the Gold children is a photographer by trade gave the author more room to be descriptive without overwhelming the reader. I will admit that after reading 'Leaves' I have added “Connecticut during Autumn” to my places I need to visit list.

In my notes, I referred to the story as a sampler platter. Throughout the book we are introduced to several characters the main ones being the Gold children, and the supporting cast their significant others, children, love interests, etc. Because there are so many characters to get familiar with, it felt like I didn't get to know them as well as if there had only been two main characters. That being said, I do think the author did a fantastic job developing the ensemble cast and I was excited to learn that we haven't heard the end of the Gold children. Michael Baron made his characters real. They are believable and best of all they aren't perfect! Some of my favorites are Deborah, Tyler and Sage (love that name). My least favorite was Corrina, and that's just because I wasn't fond of the type of person she was. She was extremely well written though and at times very punchable (to me at least). I cannot wait to learn even more about this family.

All in all I was extremely happy with this book and I'm so glad to have Michael Barons on my radar now. I will most definitely be reading more of his work.

My Rating: 4/5 Autumn Leaves

About the Author:

I grew up in the New York area and I’ve lived there my entire life. I worked in retail and taught high school English before I got my first book contract. I have gotten several additional book contracts since then, which is fortunate because I didn’t have the patience to work in retail and, while I quite enjoyed teaching, my approach was a bit too unconventional for most school systems. One school administrator told me that, “there are more important things than being a dynamic teacher.” Since I couldn’t name any of those things (at least in the context of school), I figured I didn’t have a long-term future in the profession. Hence, I became a writer, where I believe people appreciate a certain level of dynamism.

Though I started with nonfiction, I have always loved fiction and I have always wanted to write it. Since I can remember, I've had a particular affection for love stories. In fact, the very first book-length thing I ever wrote, when I was thirteen, was a love story. Mind you, it was the kind of love story that a thirteen-year-old boy would write, but it was a love story nonetheless. I have a deep passion for writing about relationships – family relationships, working relationships, friendships, and, of course, romantic relationships – and I can only truly explore this by writing fiction. These novels have given me a way to voice the millions of things running through my head.

My wife and kids are the center of my life. My wife is the inspiration for all of my love stories and my children enthrall me, challenge me, and keep me moving (and have served as the inspiration for several of the kids I've written about). One of the primary reasons I wrote my first novel, WHEN YOU WENT AWAY was that I wanted to write about being a father. Aside from my family, I have a few other burning passions. I’m a pop culture junkie with an especially strong interest in music, I love fine food (as well as any restaurant shaped like a hot dog), and I read far too many sports blogs for my own good.