Reviews

Review of Coquina Key

Tami Brady - Rating: 8/10

Ivey Hayes had spent years distancing himself from Ben Ivan Hayes and the Summer Tree Corporation. Ivey, the oldest son of Ben Ivan had disappointed his father when he refused to follow in his father’s footsteps. Instead, Ivey earned advanced degrees at the University of Virginia, taught there for over twenty years, sat as the Dean of the School of Business Administration, and currently ran the Hampton-Chase School of Advanced Studies in Communications. Since his departure from his childhood home, the fifty-something Ivey had also married Adelaide Sellers (Addie), of the Richmond Sellerses, and had two children Virginia and Mark. To the outside world, Ivey seemed to have everything. Yet, something was missing.

Upon Ben Ivan’s death, Ivey returned to his childhood home to take care of his father’s estate, as was only fitting for the eldest son. Stubborn even in death, Ben Ivan still held onto hope that Ivey would return and take over the family affairs. The final decision, however, would be up to Ivey.

Coquina Key is a wonderfully entertaining, heartfelt story about finding your true home and your life’s purpose. This story reads so realistically and detailed with such genuine characters that this book could be an autobiography. This is a wonderfully inspirational feel good book.

Local Author Tells Quite a Tale

Maureen Landress - Cedar Key News, June 4, 2002

This is a tale rich with the kind of characters that can only have come from years of observing human nature. It delves into those deeply rooted fears of growing older, and looking back to see what kind of mark you might have left on the world.

With a subtle, slow Southern style, O'Brien quickly draws you into the story of a quiet man who divides his time between the land and the sea. He lets you see beneath the surface, and into the mind, of a man caught in the limbo of a life half lived. A life about to be changed by fate, storms and dreams.

Weaving together words, like the silken threads of a fine tapestry, O'Brien draws you ever deeper into Fountain Lindsey’s world. Along with Fountain, you hear the siren call of the ever restless sea. You feel his desperate loneliness. You gnaw with hunger at his insatiable craving for adventure. You become ensnared in his search to find a place for himself in an ever-changing world that is spiraling out of his control.

Once you have turned the final page, and closed the cover, this story will continue to linger in the back of your mind. It might even have you talking a second look at your own life and dreams.