Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read: ✱✱Book Review✱✱ The Deciding Hour by Jerrod Oluwatoyin Fasan

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

✱✱Book Review✱✱ The Deciding Hour by Jerrod Oluwatoyin Fasan

All will check in. But not everyone will check out.

A trip home from summer vacation for six friends quickly spirals out of control as they find themselves in a precarious situation amid an unexpected storm. With no other options, they seek shelter within a strange hotel, where they hope to wait out the downpour. Surprised by the spacious room and amenities, they couldn’t be more elated. That is until they discover that this is a place of unimaginable horror, and their pleasant stay suddenly turns into a dreadful nightmare.

Trapped in a hotel room, the young men must play a "game" if they hope to escape. And not just any game -- but a game that somehow holds all their darkest secrets.

For some, these secrets hold the key to freedom and for others, demise.

As their truths are exposed, their friendships and faith will be tested.

When life and death hang in the balance, who will be able to find it within to obtain salvation?

Momma Says: 3 stars⭐⭐⭐

Jerrod Oluwatoyin Fasan's The Deciding Hour was a little hard to rate, at least in terms of this many stars for this or less than that for something else. So, I finished the book, jotting down notes as I went, and then I gave it some thought and came up with this...

I really liked the premise of this creepy hotel and the game the guests must play in order to escape. Well, like the blurb says, "if they hope to escape." The problem for this group of friends is that they have a fair number of secrets among them, and most of them are really dark. How this "game" knows their secrets isn't so much explained as it's something the reader figures out as the story progresses. There are themes of redemption and repentance, as well as punishment and judgment, and the story does touch on religion, especially in the latter part of the book.

Now, all of that was interesting, and as I mentioned, I like the premise. I feel like this one could have been a really good book with the right execution. Unfortunately, that's where it falls short. The writing is kind of choppy, and the dialogue is stilted. The conversations just don't flow like a normal conversation would, and even in the course of the game, these characters say things that don't really fit with the circumstances. Then there are the characters who desperately needed some development, in my opinion. Most of them are very one-dimensional. I mean, obviously, not every one of this group is gonna make it through the game and out of the motel, but I at least wanted to care what happened to them.

So, as it stands, I liked some things about the book and didn't like some others, leaving me somewhere in the middle. I do think this one has potential and with the right tweaks, that potential could easily be realized.