Holy War by Mike Bond is an interesting novel. It was not quite what I expected as the author was new to me. This book is a deep dive into war and its consequences. Those who enjoy military type novels will definitely enjoy this book. It wasn’t for me but it was clear that the author knew his topic and was well researched. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

If you like war books you will like this book. It very good book to read at night.Author wrote this book it's good book.

"The Battle of Beirut is worse than Hell, a maelstrom of implacable hatreds and frantic love affairs, of explosions, sniper battles and deadly ambushes", so the description reads of this novel. Thanks to NetGalley and Mandevilla Press for the ARC of this novel. 
  Four main characters on their journey for peace and/or redemption 
in Beirut, Lebanon. I really enjoyed this book with the war raging and the soldiers/civilians trying to survive the day. Mike Bond, author, wrote a very descriptive novel of the religious war and all the factions fighting in it.
  Definitely worth a read and from “Eye-opening, terrifying and realistic, Mike Bond writes from the heart ... I promise you, if you read Holy War, you will come away changed.” –Tometender Reviews

An intense look at war and it’s atrocities. There are wide swath of characters who are fighting for different reasons. The story is filled with the violence of fighting and death. The story is told from more than one points of view and ends on a cliffhanger. Nothing is resolved by fighting and this brought out by the author.

This novel about the war in Beirut was, for me, slow and careful reading .  It was explicitly written and made for very real reading.  Basically it was the story of four people, Neil, a journalist and maybe more, who is searching for himself; Muhammad, a Hezbollah leader who now thinks peace is the answer; Andrè, a Frenchman who wants to avenge his brother’s murder; and Rosa, a Palestinian.  They explosively come together in Beirut.  As a reader I found myself involved with all of them and the War with which they were living.  Thanks to Net Galley and Mandevilla Press for an ARC for an honest review.

Talk about a hold your breath, heart pounding read. What a thriller! Every single page was a ride where you had no idea whether the characters would live or die. Each character was complex, each with their own agenda, passions, goals. Each flawed. On such a harrowing journey. I have not read something this on the edge of my seat in quite some time. I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to trying out others by this author.

Reading this you could almost smell the war zones being described.  The interactions of the people in and around Beirut were deep.

With all that said, I did not find the story as compelling of other of Bond's books that I've read.  It is certainly not bad but did not have the "can't stop turning the pages" quality of say "House of the Jaguar." The characters are strongly developed but the story has an annoying jumpiness to it.  I know that it is telling what is happening from different viewpoints, but not what I like to read. Clarity of the viewpoints maybe in totally different chapters/sections might help.

Holy War by Mike Bond

9781627040143

388 Pages
Publisher: Mandevilla Press
Release Date: March 5, 2014

Fiction, General Fiction (Adult), Mystery, Thriller, War, Beirut, Lebanon, Terrorism

Neil is a journalist looking for Mohammed. He has been married to Bev for a long time with two children. They are struggling with their relationship. Andre is a French commando also looking for Mohammed. He has feelings for Anne-Marie. Rosa is a Palestinian fighter, who posed as a nurse to save Mohammed at the cost of the doctor’s life.

This book is based on Mike Bond’s experience in the middle east. Some parts of the story are hard to read because of the cruelty and devasting damage because of terrorism and war. The book has a fast past, the characters are well developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. If you enjoy war type stories, you should consider reading this book.

This story is set in Lebanon and it grasps readers right from the get go. I would absolutely recommend this be added to your library.

A mystery filled with action  that will keep you turning pages.  
Many thanks to Mandevilla Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Really had a hard time getting into this book and staying engaged. If you like military back drop stories on foreign soil this may be for you. Had a hard time swimming through the details and set ups but again could just be me and the fact this is really not a genre I can get into. I keep trying but always seems to be an epic fail.  With that said, it was a well written book and the characters were fleshed out nicely.

I really had a hard time reading this book. It seemed to be scattered across the Middle East and no real goal for the hero. I'm sorry, I will not recommend this book.

For some reason I had difficulty getting into this book.   The topic is current and should be provocatively interesting but it never grabbed me.

Holy war by Mike Bond.
The Battle of Beirut is worse than Hell, a maelstrom of implacable hatreds and frantic love affairs, of explosions, sniper battles and deadly ambushes. Neill, a journalist on a secret mission for Britain's MI6 intelligence agency, is trying to find Mohammed, a Hezbollah terrorist who could stop the slaughter. André, a French commando, is also hunting Mohammed, to kill him for the death of his brother, blown up with over 400 US Marines and French paratroopers by Hezbollah. For Rosa, a remorseless and passionate Palestinian guerrilla, Mohammed is one of few hopes for her people, and she will die to protect him. And for lovely Anne-Marie, André is the only one who can save her from Hell. Based on the author's own experiences in Lebanon, Syria and the Middle East, Holy War has been praised for its portrayal of civil war, and for its evocation of men and women caught in a deadly crossfire.
This was a good read with likeable characters.  Slow in places.  I liked Neill.  4*.

Mike Bond writes exciting books with non stop action. The setting for this story is the war in Lebanon. The story is about three people was lives intertwine during the conflict. Each one with  a different reason to confront Mohammed, a Hezbollah terrorist. This story was emotionally gripping and gives a real view of what the conflict means to this poor country.

While I found the topic of this book interesting, I didn’t like the way it was written.  It was very hard for me to follow the plot of the book. I felt the flashbacks were unnecessary to moving forward in the story. Overall, I didn’t care for this book.

Judging by the subject, I know that this would have been a 5-star review and it is, therefore, a great pity that the book was not downloaded for review before it was archived. 

We would be happy to receive another copy from either the author or publisher to rectify this oversight.

Sorry I was not able to read you book but it went to archive before I could get to it. Sorry once again.

Perfect Titles for the Picture-perfect Sunnies

Whether its for Instagram, Pinterest or FB, here the perfect titles and picture-perfect sunglasses to be caught in!

Titles and Sunglasses – clockwise from left:

Hit the Ground Running (Hit the Ground Running Series Book 1) by Mark Burley and eyebobs’ “Phone It In” 
A Time of Torment: A Charlie Parker Thriller by John Connolly and eyebobs “Case Closed” 
HOLY WAR by Mike Bond and eyebobs “Board Stiff”

Holy War has an interesting premise, and Mike Bond seems to have a much stronger understanding of the region, both through the lens of understanding terrorism and the understanding the culture in general, than most of the thrillers set in the Middle East that I have read previously.

The story structure is one that I’ve seen before in more general fiction, but not nearly as often in Thrillers. The jumping between protagonists or in some cases antagonist and not just giving you their POV but presenting it in a way that is sympathetic to that character is something I enjoyed. I should give a word warning that some of the characters and viewpoints might turn off some readers. I, however, read a lot of thrillers and was happy to get characters outside the usual cookie cutter mold.

I should also say that the structure, while interesting, has its issues. The decision to jump POVs often happens just as the story heads to a notable point, usually involving action. It happens enough that there are times when I would throw up my hands and say ‘oh come on’ out loud.
The pacing is fine once you get into the book, but is a bit slow to start. It takes the plot a little while to reveal itself. While the book opens with action, that action isn’t directly connected to the plot so does little more than whet the appetite for the reader before delaying serving anything up. I am all for building characters, but I’d like to have seen it done while advancing the plot, and not putting the plot on hold for it.

The biggest sin of this book, however, is the writing style. Bond isn’t a bad writer, but I’m amazed an editor let his stylistic decision go by. For some reason, Bond decided to have nearly every paragraph or so the book would stop and present a staccato list of mood setting actions or descriptions. While this works when used sparingly, its near continuous use made the book nearly impossible to enjoy and increasingly difficult to not get pulled out of the narrative. The ‘description’ comma ‘description’ comma ‘description’ presentation quickly becomes annoying in the extreme.

There is a good idea here, but in story and structure, but sadly neither are pulled off well and then further hurt by writing choices that make the book even harder to read. I could not, in good conscience, recommend anyone read this book.