Five Days on Ballyboy Beach by David J. O'Brien

Five Days on Ballyboy Beach.  David J. O’Brien. Tirgearr Publishing. September 2014. 205 pp. pbk; 1246 KB. E-Book. ASIN #: B00NIVD8K2.

What’s the essence of a satisfying life? Some people journey through life without ever thinking about that pivotal question.  The young men and women vacationing on Ballyboy Beach in the summer of 1996 don’t fit in that niche and that is what makes this story so unique and satisfying!

Derek and his college friends, male and female, are vacationing.  Sure, their conversation frequently returns to intense focus on how much they can drink, what they can drink, who will go to town to get that drink, and of course the proverbial teasing and leaking of true and false bravado about sexual performance.  Yes, they compare and want to know who was a better partner; but interestingly, some associate sex more with a committed (even if temporary) relationship. How old-fashioned and sexy is that?

However, in another part of the novel, they begin to discuss the topic of “destiny.”  They think about the 9 to 5 jobs each has, except Derek, and where those jobs are going.  They talk about what the future holds but gradually wind up realizing what they have for sure is only now and anything else could happen.  Little does the reader realize how pivotal these unusual conversations are.  Oh, and one must recognize that perhaps today’s youth have deeper thoughts than other older people credit them with having.  It adds something special and immediately takes it out of the stereotypical zone of romance and partying commonly generally attributed to college students and young adults.

Derek moves past dreaming of just sex with anyone to beginning to deeply care about one particular young woman. It’s quite a move for him to initiate something beyond a one-night stand but he evolves nicely into this new aspect of his life, opportunity to be real and that draws others to him as a leader.

When the most important scene in the book slams the reader in the gut, he or she is certainly not expecting the ultimate destiny that in a few moments unfolds as well as its aftermath.

Five Days on Ballyboy Beach is very good contemporary fiction and nicely crafted.  This reviewer would recommend it for adults and young adults as well.  It’s sexy without being gross and it’s sincere and blunt without being trite.  Read it and discover a great story for yourself!

Leaving the Pack: Silver Nights Trilogy - Book One by David J. O'Brien

Leaving the Pack (Silver Nights Trilogy – Book One).  David O’Brien. Tirgearr Publishing.  May 2014. 257 pp., 1391 KB. ASIN No.: B00KCYJA78.

The story opens with Paul waking up by the knowledge that today is the day he will meet the woman with whom he’ll spend the rest of his life. It’s a day he awaits with great joy and mind-numbing fear!

For Paul McHew, lawyer by day and werewolf by night, is the leader of a werewolf pack that runs the local city streets during the three nights of every full moon cycle each month.   During that time the pack seeks to drink their fill and enjoy as many women as they can have; they’re full of an extraordinary energy and lust for life during this lunar time.  However, they will die out unless they marry outside of their pack and what human would marry a werewolf?

Susan is a feisty gal who actually makes the first move when she spots Paul in a local bar. For the first few minutes it even seems as if they clash so much, there isn’t a chance they will wind up on a date let alone fall in love.  However, that spark has been lit for sure and they do begin to have some wildly hot romantic nights, spend many an evening sharing drinks, and even get to the point when Paul tells Sara he has to be with his buddies at the time of the full moon.  Susan is amused for the first few months but then begins to wonder at this obsession Paul must fulfill each month!

Meeting Paul’s family and planning for the holidays delights Susan, yet Paul is unhappier within himself as time passes for he must tell her about the secret his family has held for centuries.  Humans have been told some truths, some lies, some fantastical stories and more about the true identity of werewolves, with the result being that all humans associate with the word werewolf is absolute, unmitigated horror!

Some scenes in the book carry just enough violence to confirm the association, but the reader must decide how much of reason and animal behavior accounts for what happens in each scene.

This is the story of a huge romance that must unfold with the reality of horror diluted by the truth.  David O’Brien paces the conflict perfectly and it all reads like a light-hearted, passionate romance tinged with some darkness.  It seems like a wonderful beginning to this horror-romance trilogy and it has just the right amount of passion and intrigue to keep the reader avidly flipping the pages!  Nicely done, David O’Brien – looking forward to the next novel!