Review: The Redemption of Holly Dobson by C. Lynn Barton

I actually got this book in the mail the other day to review. I have to be honest here, I didn't actually finish the book. I just couldn't.

**spoilers**

Holly Dobson is a woman who grew up in a dark childhood. Her biological mother (whom she calls her "real" mother, but as an adoptive parent I find that a little offensive. I cut the author and character slack because her adopted mother is verbally abusive.) dropped Holly off for day care when she was six months old and never came back for her. The day care owners decided to adopt her to replace the baby they'd lost the day after she was born.

The book goes into pretty good detail about the kinds of things Holly endured as a child. Verbal abuse, unclean living conditions, a father who sexually abuses her by making her watch things. This goes on for the first six chapters or so. Then everything changes abruptly and Holly is a grown woman. A new couple moves into the house across the street, and when Holly goes over to meet them, she is instantly lusting after the husband, Normal. Yes, that's his name. The wife, Kate, becomes Holly's best friend, even after she fantasizes about Normal every night.

Suddenly Kate gets sick and is hospitalized. Normal invites Holly to stay the night. And she does. Yes, this happens while Kate is in the hospital. She sleeps in a separate bedroom, but in the middle of the night, she wakes up and goes to see Normal. She finds him with horns on his head and fire coming out his hands.

Yes, Normal is the Devil. Holly even talks to her Catholic priest to confirm it. And he does. He and two other priests have been hunting Normal for 25 years.

Kate dies a few days later, and Normal seduces Holly. He impregnates her because, apparently, the only way he can continue to live on the earth is if he can get a woman pregnant and then lives in that body.

At this point, I put the book down. I'm sorry to the author and to the book, but I just couldn't read any more.

I don't enjoy reading about sex or the devil or evil spawn. The title of the book is the Redemption of Holly Dobson, but I can't make it to the Redemption part.

Besides the subject content, I found the author's writing interesting. She uses a lot of dialogue and I like that.

Unfortunately there were a lot of errors. Misspelled words, missing punctuation, etc.

I gave it one star because I couldn't even finish the book. In the author's defense, it wasn't the writing style. Like I said, I didn't mind it. It was the subject.

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