I've always been interested in "What-If" scenarios, and so The Returned really appealed to me as a reader. The Returned is all about getting a second chance at life and making your own choices. The Choice is one of three e-novellas that serve as a companion to The Returned and it definitely delivers. This novella really gives readers a feel for the poignancy and raw emotion that Jason Mott writes with in The Returned.
I definitely enjoyed reading this story, but my problem was that it was way too short for me to form emotional attachments to the characters. How can I care about a character if I spend less than 30 pages with them? It's an extremely daunting task to enable readers to empathize with your characters in such a short span of time and Mott never really takes his characters to the next level. The characters in The Returned aren't one dimensional perse, but they still could have used some more development. I really wanted to care about Peter and Tracey, but I felt like the reader never spent enough time with them to give a hoot about their relationship. I really feel that if there were an additional 10-15 pages in The Choice, I would have enjoyed it so much more.
The Choice is a great way to help you decide: "Is The Returned a book that I would enjoy?" Instead of immediately jumping into The Returned, I would highly suggest reading The Choice because it's a short, sweet and captivating story. Also there's a short excerpt of The Returned at the end of The Choice which is definitely a nice treat. The Choice is a great tease to build buzz for The Returned, but it didn't really impress me. I really hope that The Sparrow and The First, the next two Returned novellas catch my interest more!
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