This a braided novel, following two very different characters whose paths don’t cross until well past the halfway point of the story. What did you think of this aspect of the novel? Did you like it?
Thanks for the new term, Kim! No I wasn’t bothered by it. I’ve read a few other novels like this. Once you get used to the pacing, it works.
I had to get use to going back and forth but it worked beautifully.
I’d like to take credit, @Janine_S, but the questions were written by the author. 
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I liked it. I read a lot of novels like this, which are more a person in the past and then a person in the present . I enjoyed reading about James but then when things got rough it was nice to take a break and read about Allison.
I did like it. It gave the author more time to fully develop each character. When James and Allison did meet, we knew a lot about each one, including how they thought and reacted and why.
I was excited to see when the paths of Allison and James would cross. It really pleased me how they met and how the relationship developed
I absolutely loved the way the author connected James and Allison were connected. That was one of the specific things I liked about the book. I think the author set the story up perfectly. The book is unforgettable to me.
I loved this style of writing. It was enjoyable learning their backgrounds. It made it all the more exciting when they finally connected.
From the prologue, we knew their paths would cross. I think it was necessary to learn who each character was from their early lives in order to understand why the story unfolds as it does.
That’s a good point, too, Paula! It was intense at times.
I think it worked with this novel. It bothered me a little as I read so I don’t know if I would look for that approach again. But it did work here.
Braided novel? New term to me, but I’ve read many stories using this technique. Sometimes chapters about one character are long and so detailed that my mind almost forgets the other character. Smoot crafted a balanced narrative that held my attention.
I liked this aspect of the novel very much. At times I had to remind myself which character I was following, which made the storyline that much more interesting to me.
Braided? a new term for this reader. I liked it use in this novel, it prepare me for the actual escape event. Prior to his escape, the reader is well informed of the why’s this will work, and how the two main characters each in their own way will make it happen. In this book the braided method worked!
This is the first time I have heard the term ‘braided’ but I enjoyed the concept in this novel. The two characters were able to be fully developed. Switching the story to Allison gave me a bit of breathing room from James’ more intense story line.
It really worked to take the time to get to know each of the characters before we had them interact with one another. This is a very common way authors write currently, but it definitely was the way to develop these characters and write this story! I love the term “braided” novel.