A review that really "gets me"

So my in-laws asked how my book was doing, and I answered appropriately and let them know I'd gotten another 5 star review. (They have lamented the fact that Amazon deleted their reviews of the book because we're related.) My wife then informed me I had more reviews than I thought I did. So, I checked and sure-'nuff I had two more reviews than I thought, both of the 5 star. One when I read it I thought This guy "gets me". Meaning he recognized both a strength and a weakness in the book that I couldn't have agreed more with. He mentions my bucking the traditional hero model and a slightly repetitive thing I would like to have done a little differently in hind sight. I'm posting the review here, because I appreciate this kind of thorough and thoughtful review... and I thought you might like to read it too.

By 

Andrew Philip Hawkins - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Through the Dark Wood (Treasures of Darkness - Treasures of Light) (Kindle Edition)

I've been reading a lot of Indie books recently and this is one I really enjoyed. The plot was great, as it kind of bucks the traditional hero and plays on a character that has to trust his fate to someone else who is guiding him on this journey. Additionally, while there are dragons, overall the author has created a unique world with unique creatures that you don't find in other books. There are a few grammatical errors here and there, and sometimes the character gets a little repeative with the fact that he feels so low and unworthy shifting immediately to this profound peace several times in the book, but those were fairly small things and I still think it was a great book. This is certainly one that I will purchase the second book of the series, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a nice fantasy adventure book. 

That bit about trusting Zam's fate to someone else is a large part of what I hoped people would enjoy about this book. The grammatical errors make me want to roundhouse-kick spell check in the face (but I'm not Chuck Norris. So, I'll settle for shaking my fist in spell-check's general direction). And, the statement that, "...sometimes the character gets a little repeative with the fact that he feels so low and unworthy shifting immediately to this profound peace several times in the book." is very appropriate as I've noticed the same when reading back over it myself. I think that's largely because that is how I often feel. I tend to feel unworthy of the great things in my life and the successes, and feel incapable of accomplishing... but I often do accomplish despite those feelings, and there is a profound peace I walk with many days. We always try to avoid writing about ourselves when doing a fiction piece, but inevitably part of our souls are endowed to our characters. I just wish that pattern wasn't so obviously a pattern in the book. But I also appreciate that that pattern was not off-putting.

It's this kind of review that makes me sit back and think about my writing and my life. That's something I'm grateful for.

Just thought I'd share,

Geno