Colburn: A Novel

by Quinn Handley

Is it the light at the end of the tunnel?

Colburn is a beautiful young woman living a quiet, ordinary life in West Virginia. One day, she receives an official letter from an attorney’s office in California. It informs her that a check for $200,000 is waiting to be picked up at their office. Apparently, her wealthy aunt has passed away.

“Nope, I’m fine. Thank you,” she says.

Colburn would rather not return to her hometown, where she ran away from seven years ago with dark secrets that have deeply scarred her and still haunt her. However, when a sudden turn of events shakes up her world, she must go home to claim her inheritance, rebuild her life, and inevitably confront the secrets she’s been keeping . . .

383 pages, Paperback

Published September 29, 2023

About the author

After graduating from university with a marketing degree, Quinn Handley started writing while navigating the tedious world of TPS reports and enduring the wrath of eight different bosses for forgetting cover sheets. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit that he finally decided to quit his day job and finish his debut novel, Colburn.

In his spare time, Quinn can often be found reading novels, watch- ing films, TV series, and documentaries, gaming, or eating junk while cheering for his favourite football team on TV whenever they score. He also loves cycling. He rides his cool bike to his part-time job. Though he once spent a few months taking the bus because he was too lazy to replace the flat inner tube of the rear tyre.
​
He currently lives in Southampton.

Reviews

[Emma Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colburn by Quinn Handley was an enjoyable, easy to read romance novel.
The story was interesting which is kept me reading until the end with a good mix of characters. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more by the author.
🌟 Thank you to netgalley and the author/publisher for my ebook copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

[Chanelle chanelleschapter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colburn - Quinn Hadley
2.5/5STARS 3/5 SPICE

Pub. Date: 09/30/2023

I received a review copy for free through NetGalley, I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Before I begin! I did rate this fairly low( 2.5/5 STARS) I want to say, don’t let this stop you from reading this. Simply put, this is not my type of book and if I had known more about it I wouldn’t have picked it up.

I don’t regret reading this. It’s a quick read, right under 300 pages, the main character is COMPLEX! She is an extremely untrustworthy MC which makes this book so fun to read! The start with the birthday party! I was gasping! I mean there is NOOOO way anyone would do something like that. But you better believe Colburn would. Colburn made this book what it was! She is such an interesting person, so naive yet strong. And the whole time she is having a huge mental struggle but we don’t really know why. We got a fun “twist” at the end which was a little bit predictable I have to say.

The writing style was very unique. I don’t often read books from the third-person perceptive. But on top of that it time jumps lots. There are points where we follow Colburn and you don’t know where you are yet and if it is present time, a daydream or a flashback. This book felt like I should have been studying it to figure out Colburn's inner workings.

I wouldn’t rate this higher because I found the book to be lacking a plot. I don’t know how to put this, it has a plot but more for me I didn’t enjoy the loose structure and constant bouncing around. I expected this to be a mystery or thriller with a hint of romance and it felt like a coming-of-age movie. I strongly dislike full-circle moments at the end of books, especially with marriage and kids. As I said it’s simply not my style but if it's yours this book would be sooo good.

*SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT*

Some things that got under my skin, she was constantly luring men in one way or another and making THE WORST possible choices. It was infuriating. I hated Stan. His character is nothing but in love with Colburn and that annoyed me. Also, why does she keep running into everyone like 20 times? Somehow bar guy shows up again, then the ex-lover, then her whole family, then Ned, then the CHERRY ON TOP! JOSH AT THE SUPERMARKET…no. There were many elements I found to be unrealistic but this is fiction and I’m cool with that for the most part. Don’t even get me started on that fake letter from her Dad. The description of this book is literally about her getting this letter for 200k and then we find out it’s fake so there is no mystery or anything at all. Just her Dad she hates is dying.

[Donadee's Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello, Book Lovers. Are you ready for a psychological thriller that will keep you hooked?

Today, I want to share with you a new book 'Colburn' by Quinn Handley, a first-time author who wrote this novel during the pandemic. It's a gripping story that will take you on a roller coaster of emotions. The main character is a woman who lives a quiet life in West Virginia until everything falls apart. She has no choice but to go back to her hometown for the inheritance that her rich aunt left her, a place she escaped from seven years ago due to what happened to her. There, she has to confront the trauma that made her leave. What secrets will she uncover as she faces her parents and friends again?

This book was a surprising and captivating read that made me feel all kinds of things. The writing is excellent, and the characters are realistic and complex. Some of them will make you love them, and some of them will make you hate them. But all of them will make you want to know more. 'Colburn' is a book you won't regret reading; pick up your copy today.

• ASIN: B0C9FJS8GY
• Publisher: Inspirations
• Publication Date: 9/30/2023
• File Size: 2520 KB
• Print Length: 359 pages
• Genre: Psychological Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Psychological Thrillers

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colburn is a young, twenty-something woman who left her family home at age 17 after a series traumatic events and never looked back until she received a letter stating that her wealthy aunt had passed away leaving her $200,000 - she just has to go back to California to claim her inheritance. Her response: "Nope, I'm fine. Thank you."

The story is woven through Colburn's real-time events, memories, nightmares, and wishes. Faced with relationship issues in her current town in West Virginia Colburn struggles with what she should do next: Move to a new town/state? Ignore the letter regarding her inheritance? Does she have the strength to face "that man" if she returns to California? Can she just sneak into the lawyer's office, get her inheritance check, and run?

As a debut author, Quinn Handley writes an easy to read romance with well defined characters and just enough twists to keep you turning the pages.

[Lisa T · Rating 1 out of 5]

Spoilers - DNF - Received this book as a giveaway and really tried to keep reading so my review covered the entire book. Finally gave up a third of the way in. The main character storyline is all over the place. There were too many inconsistencies and unrealistic scenarios for me to get past.
•College level vocabulary used by a high school runaway
•A live-in boyfriend, who is sterile, trying to prevent a pregnancy
•A trucker single dad neighbor deciding to borrow a truck for a four day road trip with his son and Colburn spur of the moment
•A dying father who steals an attorney’s letterhead to coax his daughter back home with news of an inheritance. Pays the receptionist at the office to be a part of the scam.
•The trucker dad letting Colburn take his young son with her to see the supposed attorney, but instead finds her dying father and family.
I finally gave up when Colburn bribes the trucker dad’s son to call dying dad “Grandpa.” This book needs some serious editing.

[Billye Herndon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colburn lives in head too much!

Can't say this was a great read. There was too much of Colburn getting lost in her daydreams/memories. The characters mostly weren't likable. It did get better toward the end since she stopped living in her head. Stan was a wonderful character.

I have to say, the author's sentence structure was at times strange. She used unusual words in them. Point in case, when Colburn was ordering a meal she called it a steak set! Never heard anyone calling a meal a set! That was just the most glaring example.

Won this book and this is my honest review.

[Claudia O’Hara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I so wanted to enjoy this book since it was a giveaway, but I found the dialog wordy and at times contrived. After reading several chapters, trying to find some connection with the characters, I had difficulty engaging with any of them. I set it aside hoping for different results the next attempt, however after several tries I gave up. In reflection I believe the author tried to fit too much into one story with too may characters which gave me the feeling the author was attempting to reach a word count.

[Christina Griner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was a slow read for me, though I did enjoy it for what it was. It was strange and kept me reading. The MC was a mess. You're confused a lot by her thinking, but you start figuring things out as you read. From the beginning to midpoint, I described this book as a train wreck in slow motion. You can't look away/stop reading. If this sounds good, please read.

[Hanna Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This read was a dark and suspenseful read and I enjoyed it! So many twists and turns that I never saw coming.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Judi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the story a little difficult to get into. There is no real hook. It also was not the type of book I usually read. Nevertheless it’s got a lot to recommend it so I suggest you stick with it to the end.

[Brandy Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was unique and a bit hard to follow at times. The different times lines and dreams mixed in with reality were sometimes difficult to keep straight and figure out what was real, what was the past and what was made up. I liked the main story line.

[Donna Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

colburn: a novel

Fascinating story about a young girl colburn living in West Virginia trying to escape memories of her past. It wasn’t until she finally went back home to California and faced her past that the truth was told.

[Kelly Hudson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to keep reading until I at least got to the conflict/hook, but after five chapters I shut it down. The writing is weak and mediocre. The pace is also too slow.

[Angela Knox · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to force myself to finish this book.

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book as the winner in a Goodreads raffle. I didn’t really enjoy the book. The main character was unlikeable and flighty. There were a lot of unseeded questions left at the end.

[melissa oswald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book difficult to follow.

[ernie jury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really 2.5 stars, not my kind of book, but. I think the writing was mediocre at best, I did not feal anything for the characters. Just not that good.