Review & Giveaway ~ Room of Tears by Linda Merlino

Out of tragedies come heroes and miracles…

At 9:59 a.m. on September 11, 2001, Diane O’Connor’s life as a firefighter’s wife changes forever, shattering her faith. Four decades later, a note still hangs on her kitchen cabinet in Queens, the paper yellowed with age. Diane knows the scribbled sentences by heart; she'd left them the morning of 9/11 for her husband, Billy.

In the summer of 2041, Diane invites Friar Antonio Ortiz to her home. He is a man destined to become counsel to the first American pope—her son, Peter. Antonio asks no questions and arrives in secret, promising to wait nineteen years before passing Diane's journal to Peter. Only then will Billy’s story be told, along with answers to Peter’s questions about his father’s last days.

Absorbed, Antonio neglected to notice that Diane had disappeared into the kitchen. He thought to ask her about the two men in the photographs, and when he turned in anticipation of seeing her next to him, he took a step toward where she might be standing. His right foot struck a pair of boots propped upright against the wall. He stumbled and put a hand out to that empty place where he thought she might be, but his face did not meet hers, and instead came within an inch of a firefighter’s helmet, the medallion of its FDNY ladder company polished and gleaming.

On the edge of that moment, trying to regain his balance, each breath he took tightened in his throat. Antonio began to gag. His mind raced. What could be happening? One minute he was looking at photographs and the next his throat was constricting. An acrid odor rose to his nostrils. He shook his head—the same faint smell he’d noticed from before, at the door, but stronger, sharp enough now to sear his soft membranes. My God, he thought and recoiled. Sweat sprang from his face and neck. A heart attack? He clutched his chest. No, not that. His heart was fine except for the galloping beat under his ribcage. Heat emanated from the helmet as if it had just come through an inferno. “My God,” he said aloud. Perhaps a fire burned inside the wall, hot enough to choke him.

REVIEW

Please read the description of this book before you start reading it.  I made the mistake of not doing this.  I read the description a while back, before I started reading the book and I was very confused in the beginning.  When I went back & read what the book was supposed to be about, the story made more sense.  

I am not a religious person…at all.  If you have faith in God and the Catholic religion, this book is for you.  ROOM OF TEARS is about a woman, dying of lung cancer, wanting to tell her NYC firefighter husband's story of when he died in the South tower on 9/11.  

The year is now 2041.  Diane O’Connor is speaking to a priest about her life story and her dead husband, Billy, because their son will become the first American pope. The priest is not allowed to share this story with the woman's son until his papacy.  It isn't until they get to the year 2060, when the priest, who is counsel to the woman's son, Peter, is having his pontification and they learn Billy's story from his own lips beyond the grave.  

Billy's story was my favorite part of the book and I wished the whole book was written from his perspective, even it was from beyond the grave.   His description of the events of being called to the South tower and his ultimate death were very well written.  I couldn't put the book down during this part of the book.

The story ends with Peter and the priest being happy to learn Billy's story and Peter no longer having doubts to his title of pope.

It wasn't a good book but it wasn't a bad book either.  I'm indifferent only because of the religious aspect of the story.  I’m giving the book 4 stars, and that's only because of excellence of Billy's story.

Rating: 4

Release Date: July 19, 2013

Book Length: 152 pages

Source: Blog Tour Host

Reviewed by: Julie

Reading Format: Available in eBook and Paperback

ROOM OF TEARS can be purchased from Amazon

Linda Merlino is the author of  Room of Tears (July 23 2013), Hudson Catalina (2008-Belly of the Whale & re-release 9/14/12), Swan Boat Souvenir (self-published 2003) she began writing fiction as a young mother on the sidelines of endless soccer practices.  Linda wrote anytime any place.  A manuscript filled a carton in the back seat of her car.  Many years have passed since those early beginnings, but her work continues to be inspired by her children.

The author has a fascination with heroes and writes her fiction to honor ordinary men and women who react unselfishly in extraordinary circumstances.  She extends her gratitude to all who keep us safe and free.

Her hometown is outside of Boston.  She lived for many years in New York City and more recently calls Connecticut her home.

Places to find Linda Merlino:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

As part of her blog tour with Goddess Fish Promotions, Linda is giving two commenters a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card.  Follow the Rafflecopter below to enter.

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