CAWPILE Rating: 4,14
Characters: 4,5
Ambience: 5
Writing Style: 3,5
Plot: 3,75
Intrigue: 3,5
Logic / Relationships: 4
Enjoyment: 4,75

First of all, thank you so much Novel Novels for sending me an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

Finding Bryan... I had such high expectations... Perhaps that's where my problem comes from. When I first read the sinopsis I was clapping my hands with anticipation. This book had a lot of the characteristics I love the most and currently crave in my reads: road trips, journeys, adventure... Unfortunately, I feel like this could have been so much more.

To start with, Forrest, the main character, is an odious person. His rage attacks that appear all of a sudden without an apparent reason drove me insane! I think he's built like that on purpose, and thoughout the book I found myself trying to psychoanalise Forrest in order to understand why he reacted so awfully in EVERY situation. I couldn't find his motive. The other characters, all secondary, in my opinion, weren't as chaotic as Forrest, but I perceived them as shallow and underdeveloped or, at least, I think I would have liked to know more from them in general.

I did enjoy the road trip vibe, but it could have been so much more adventurous. The different events in the road trip felt rushed and coming out of nowhere, so it was hard for me to enjoy the experience. I thought the trip would be not only a desperate way of finding Bryan, but it would provide the perfect excuse for Forrest to work and fix his relationship with his daughter and with himself. None of it happened. The ending, although I appreciate the effort to make it eventful, stressing and climactic, was a non-sense for me. I was constantly questioning Forrest's choices and feeling like I'd love to yell at him for acting so weird.

Another thing that I found off-putting was the writing style. Although I understand and totally agree with the writing style so focused on the strong accent, sometimes it just made it harder to read for me, but I understand that's my own personal case. I would have enjoyed it way more in an audiobook format, so if you have the opportunity, give it a go.

All in all, this was a quite forgettable book for me, that originated a 15-days reading slump. Nevertheless, I'd recommend people to listen to the audiobook, if available, if they want a quick summer road trip read, but don't set your expectations too high, or you'll suffer from my same issues.

It is a fast-reading book, the rhythm is easy to catch, and you find yourself turning page after page, intrigued with what is going to happen next.
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As soon as I read the synopsis it seemed to me that it was a book of travel and personal discovery. But when I started reading it, hearing Forest's voice I found myself thinking "No, what are you doing ?!" Again and again, I did not understand his environment well and how he worked in it until I advanced in the book and then it was difficult to read how he struggled with his emotions and could not develop them, his lack of understanding with the world and his family made him feel stuck trying to meet the expectations of everyone around him.
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I believe that the book is a door to understand people who are sometimes taken as xenophobic or homophobic just because they grew up with their parents' discourse and cannot understand without anyone explaining how rude to speak lightly about the uniqueness of others. It shows a part of society that is relegated and isolated within their own lives, and they tend to think that they are inferior. Because Forest was angry with not being part of the world that seemed to move forward leaving him behind.
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As a reader I wanted the writer to give it a good ending and I liked that he found his own path, he just couldn't fix his life, he had to start living it
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Thanks to #NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for let me read #FindingBryan in exchange for my honest opinion

.“I was only thirty one. I shoulda been jumpin’ around makin’ money, runnin with a son, but instead I was gettin’ fat and getting stuck on old thoughts.

This contemporary novel was a good read. I don’t think I have read something like this before. My fiction choices always had a lot of mystery and probably dead bodies somewhere in between.

Finding Bryan is about the journey of a thirty something old man named Forrest who’s life was already a chaos. As his mom asked him to go on a trip to find his brother; who cut his family off many years ago. Forrest is focused on this task to get it right but as things unfold you will clearly see how Forrest messes up his life even more.

You get to see how does it feel like to be someone who’s stuck in the past. Who has one image on his mind and keep living it on a loop; instead of facing reality and taking responsibility on his own. I even got angry at Forrest because he was too messed up. Being an adult man, the father, the husband; and not willing to put the right effort to create a healthy, financially stable family and still risks everything in his life to go after the brother who left them behind. There was a lot of misunderstanding between him and his father, him and his wife, him and his daughter….

The novel took me all the way to the west. I was listening to a playlist (Country instrumentals) I really enjoyed the ambiance. The writer had done a pretty good job regarding the first person writing style. It is usually hard for me to adjust with but with this one I was hooked from page one.

Finding Bryan is about, Family, fatherhood, brotherhood, change, moving on, and being stuck in past memories.

The question is: Will Forrest find his brother ‘Bryan’?

Thank You Netgalley and Novel Novels for the ARC. I enjoyed it.

When I started to read this book, I immediately saw that it was a different style of writing than that to what I was used to however it started off pretty interesting so I was looking forward to see who this Bryan was and why he had to be found. However, as we are introduced to the characters and start off on the journey to find Bryan I felt a bit bored and that there was not enough things to keep me hooked.

Even though it was not a long book, it took me quite a while to get through and while at times the story was funny, I felt that it could be been so much better and I was quite disappointed with the way that things ended as there was so much more detail that could have been added to the story.

I am three quarters of the way through the book and it is honestly really good! At first, at the beginning of the book, I didn't think I would really like it, however, about a quarter of the way through I was hooked. There are so many twists and turns. I am to the point where they have uncovered what has happened to Bryan and they are in Santa Ana. Without giving it away, I was heartbroken when they read the news of Bryan, aka "Billy" on the internet. I can't wait to finish the book, but I really hope they make it home before Forrest's mother passes away. This book is very different from other books I have read. In fact, I am usually a love story person, but I have learned through reading this book, that suspense and mystery are very much in my wheel house. I am a fan of the author and looked him and will read his first book as well. I like how he incorporated diversified lifestyles and how Forrest was surprised by the fact. I though it was good that the author showed how Forrest was surprised by the same sex couple, but Bryan "Billy" had no judgement. This has lead me to believe that Bryan "Billy" was a very good guy who was accepting of everyone, and had Forrest gotten to be around him more, this quality might have rubbed off on Forrest more. Overall, excellent book, and I would definately recommend.

I absolutely enjoyed this book. The author puts humor into and I greatly appreciate it. Also I would like to add thank you for making a main character that is like all a**holes in rural communities. I enjoyed that. We deal with people like this in rural communities all the time. Always angry at the world, and don't understand as times goes on time changes. For example the comments he would make about people who were not like him. For example, different race, or LGBTQ.
The book also throws your for cliffhangers or loops. You think something is going to happen one way, and takes a left turn and goes completely another way!

Forrest Willcox is not a likeable character. He is an ignorant, bigoted, hot-headed buffoon who rarely, actually never, thinks before he reacts. His head is caught up in what he thinks his life should be like, he’s stuck in the past always reminiscing about the things he has failed at and the things he has lost, well I shouldn’t say ‘thing’ as it's his brother Bryan who he has lost. Bryan is a year older than Forrest, he’s the big brother who Forrest wishes he still had around, however, Bryan ran away when he was 17 in search of a better life, something which Forrest never thought of doing.

Now in his 30’s, married to his high school sweetheart who he has a daughter, Casey with and working as a mechanic for his father's business, he is plodding along in his mundane life until his father comes over requesting him to speak to his mother. His mother is dying and she has asked Forrest to go and find his brother. After very little consideration, and following the only lead he has which is a letter, Forrest takes off with Casey to drive across the country in search of his long-lost brother and to fulfil his mother's wish.

This is a tricky review to write as I really disliked Forrest from the first sentence. However, the way the story opens is unusual which I liked. It is also written in the first-person past tense and in a Southern vernacular which I am not used to at all. I did have to look up some of the slang to make sure I had the right definition. By no means is this a negative in the way the story is written as it perfectly set the tone and character of Forrest as he isn’t meant to be likeable, but what kept me reading was the need to find out how the story ends.

The story does have a good pace, although I did skim over some parts as he was irritating me with his judgemental thoughtless tendencies and without his daughter, he would not have gotten very far. I would have liked to have learnt more about his daughter, a bit more character development so I could have at least one character to connect with, but as this is written from Forrest’s point of view, he didn’t have much to say about who she really is as he didn’t really know her well either. This goes for all other characters in this story which is a shame as I didn’t particularly care for any of them, but then, this is just the tone of the book from Forrest’s perspective.

Despite how much I disliked Forrest he does have some form of compassion deep down, if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have embarked on this journey for his mum. If you enjoy angsty family saga’s and want to find out whether Forrest’s trip across America was successful then do give this a read. You never know, you may end up warming up to him.

This book was a real surprise for me. From reading the description I was immediately intrigued and new I had to find out what this book was about.

The story follows Forrest, who goes on a road trip with his daughter to find his brother, Bryan. Forrest's brother has been missing for 16 years and the need to find him has come at the request of his mother who is battling cancer.

The book is written in first person which I always really enjoy. We get a true sense of the character and of who Forrest is and how he thinks. He is an imperfect character and through the task of finding his brother we see his flaws and also his attempts to make a relationship with his daughter.

All in all, this was a really good read and one I would recommend

“Finding Bryan” is as much a family love story as it is a coming-of-age story for a section of America still unwilling to accept the tides of social progress. Forrest, the novel’s narrator, is a representation of a lost generation of hyper conservatives more focused on continuing traditions of bigotry than accepting a changing political and socioeconomic American landscape. In the mind of Forrest racism and homophobia are acceptable, and anyone who doesn’t agree is part of the problem.

Taking place in the birthplace of the nation, Virginia, a thirty something year old mechanic, Forrest, embarks on a journey to find his older brother, Bryan, at behest of his mother, who is dying of cancer. In defiance of his wife, Forrest, leaves for California with his twelve-year-old daughter, Casey, with little more to go on except a sixteen-year-old letter written to him by his brother from Arizona. The search for Bryan becomes one big wild goose chase across the American South-west. Forrest, driven by tradition and family values, stops at virtually nothing to find Bryan and bring him home for one last, wholesome, family reunion. This journey becomes one of maturation and a realization that the author, Matthew Kesselman, demands the reader to acknowledge; either change or hate everything.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this digital arc. All the opinions are mine.

This book was a wild ride through the USA about a daughter and a father to find a long-lost brother.

The main character is an angry and raw one; he is the imperfect character that you can struggle to read about, but at the same time, the truest to reality. I like the fact that you have his thought which makes you understand his feelings.

I am not used to first-person POV, and sometimes it was putting me out of the story, especially at the beginning. This book is at a fast pace which is amplified by the writing and this first-person POV. However, sometimes it was too fast, and I was a little lost by all the events this duo encountered during their trip.

The end makes me cry a little; I was happy about this ending. This was the best way to end this book. However, I would have like a prologue that shows the future to complete this book.

A good fast pace book to read, especially if you have a reading slump.

(English copy from my Instagram @agamundisr_escritor)

Konnichiwa to all readers 🌸


Today I have the great honor of bringing you a review from a collaboration with the American publishing house Novel Novels from Virginia, who proposed to me to work on Matthew Kesselman @matthewkesselman's play "Finding Bryan" that will be released this coming March 30th. With that said, we begin:

🕵️‍♂️ Finding Bryan is a drama novel that introduces us to Forrest Wilcox, a mechanic disenchanted with life, who along with his daughter Cassey, hit the road to try to find his brother Bryan, thus starting an odyssey through the states American people.

🕵️‍♂️ This novel presents a very elaborate syntax with many expressions typical of American English and many references that achieve an immersive experience in the story. In my experience as a non-native reader, I have seen how my reading rate has eventually slowed down because of this.

🕵️‍♂️ Regarding the characters, Mr. Kesselman I consider that he has treated them individually, with care and putting great care in their psychological construction. I believe that he has managed to bring me a little closer to American society and the ethnic groups that live in the United States. Together with the description of the settings, the work gains a lot of strength in this regard.


🌸Conclusion: Finding Bryan has fondly reminded me of The Odyssey due to the situations presented throughout the plot. On a technical level, it seems to me to be a very well written, thought-out and structured work with an interesting plot of drama and adventure. I consider it to be a good read for entertainment and thinking. With that said, I am awarding you a well deserved four cherry blossoms 🌸🌸🌸🌸 and I encourage you to give it a try.

Verdict: 4/5 🌸


Arigato gozaimasu for your time 🌸

Thanks NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and Matthew Kesselman for an ARC to review.
So hard to review this book, I loved the writing style and the road trip self discovering, bonding relationship father-daughter concept but I so disliked Forrest. I can somehow understand his bottled up anger's origin but he didn't have to process it in the way he did. He kept stuck up in the past and in the what ifs and didn't try to change his scenario.
An interesting good read.

Thank you for sending me this ARC, so here's my review.
3.5/5 ⭐
I want to start by saying that I wasn't expecting to read this book at all, but I got an email from the publisher providing me with this advanced copy and I said come on!

It is a powerful story. The book tells the story of Forrest, who sets out on a road trip with his daughter to find her brother Bryan, who has been missing for sixteen years, at the behest of her mother, who has cancer.

The way it is written is very different, it is written in first person but in past tense, and it has a different accent to the other books I have read in English, but that was not a problem to read it; the characters are very good, each one with their flaws and internal problems made me get into each one of them, there were certain moments when I could not stand the main character with several of his attitudes and personality, but by the time we read him as Cassey's father, he is very good with her.


the full review can be found on my goodreads profile Nadia (Coleccionista de Historias)

Thank you to the publishers for reaching out to me with an ARC. I was very impressed by the book. I can’t wait to read more by this author in the future.

Finding Bryan was an interesting read. I'm a pretty fast reader and finished it in one sitting, spread over four hours. The book tells the story of Forrest, who goes on a road trip with his daughter to find his brother Bryan, who disappeared sixteen years ago, at the behest of his mother who has cancer. The writing style, especially with Forrest's southern drawl was rather interesting and made me go through the book faster than I had expected. My main (and only) problem with the book was Forrest's personality and some of his dialogue, which felt a little stilted to me. He is completely different from the type of characters I am used to reading; he's more on the 'mean' side which made it harder for me to get into his headspace.
But I love how caring he is as a father, especially towards his daughter Casey. The father-daughter relationship is what made this book enjoyable for me; it was done really well.

Matthew Kesselman has done a fantastic job with his debut novel and I'm excited to read more of his works.

I received a complimentary ARC copy and I'm leaving a review voluntarily.

Personally, I find it hard to be submerged into a book when it is written in First Person Past Tense, but the way Matthew as written it, took me by surprise. Starting from the first chapter, I was engulfed. All the characters seemed flawed with their own shortcomings, I liked that a lot. I am tired of reading books where most of them are perfect. This book was raw, starting with the MC. His ambition could've taken him to places, but instead, his anger (due to his personal limitations) helped burn those bridges down. It was a good story, very well written. Even with the First Person Past Tense, I shed a few tears towards the end.

I’m so grateful to the publisher for reaching out to me with a free copy of this book because I really enjoyed it. It was a great change of pace between thrillers!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. A good old fashioned read, great characters and a good storyline. I really enjoyed it.