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The Space Between
When Jack Ryder is forced to relocate across country, his life seems hollow and without hope. A chance meeting with an enigmatic younger woman changes all of that. Madalyn Amore is, in Jack’s eyes, a young and beautiful miracle of creation. A romance soon develops between them, innocent at first, but growing with fierce intensity even as Jack’s dangerous past threatens to cut between them and destroy their love. When it comes to her deep-rooted passion for Jack, though, Madalyn has secrets of her own, and she will stop at nothing to be sure she never loses him.Against the backdrop of a terrible crime, two souls join in an intense and chilling love story written with poetic justice about the beauty that is new, intense romance. It is a love that will leave you holding your breath, a love found only in the Space Between sleep and awake…
255 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
1 person is currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Tristan Cruz
3 books12 followersTristan Cruz is a passionate story teller whose interests include photography and film, as well as 3D modeling, and design. He uses his knowledge of these interests to tell brilliant stories that are deeply layered. He utilizes every aspect of his talents to take full control of his writing. This spans from custom inside art to the book covers. With his background in photography and film, Tristan Cruz uses images as inspiration to tell his stories. The deeply layered story telling and poetic writing style, will allow visualization of the images that were used for inspiration, impressing upon your mind a story not soon forgotten.
An image can speak a thousand words. One image can inspire thousands of words into one story.
An image can speak a thousand words. One image can inspire thousands of words into one story.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 16, 2015
Add romance to crime and, like a rope being in pulled in opposite directions, you have a narrative tension that is both compelling and almost unbearable.
Jack Ryder has a dark past and an empty present in new surroundings that turn like a developing photograph from the opaque to vibrant colour when he meets the gloriously named Madalyn Amore. Maddy is a crazy girl, the classic femme fatale with a past she wants to keep where it is: in the past – even while Jack is haunted by the deju vu memory that they have met before.
Cruz creates believable characters and opens their hearts so that we can see the love and pain beating like a metronome inside them. Their passion is deep, their sex is sensual, it slips elegiacally from the page while, all the time, the past like a dangling sword hovers above them.
Set against a backdrop of police sleaze and Ryder's desire to put the scales of justice back in balance, 'The Space Between' is that invisible line between sleeping and waking, between the past and the future.
Jack Ryder has a dark past and an empty present in new surroundings that turn like a developing photograph from the opaque to vibrant colour when he meets the gloriously named Madalyn Amore. Maddy is a crazy girl, the classic femme fatale with a past she wants to keep where it is: in the past – even while Jack is haunted by the deju vu memory that they have met before.
Cruz creates believable characters and opens their hearts so that we can see the love and pain beating like a metronome inside them. Their passion is deep, their sex is sensual, it slips elegiacally from the page while, all the time, the past like a dangling sword hovers above them.
Set against a backdrop of police sleaze and Ryder's desire to put the scales of justice back in balance, 'The Space Between' is that invisible line between sleeping and waking, between the past and the future.
December 30, 2014
An enjoyable and satisfying first novel
Tristan Cruz's first novel, The Space Between, feels authentic. If you are looking for a good love story about twenty and thirty-somethings this novel is a very good choice. Cruz has created likable characters and he writes well. I read the novel quickly and was never bored. Although it is listed as a Mystery on Amazon to me it felt more like a New Adult Romance.
In Jack Ryder, Cruz has created a very interesting character. Ryder is both sensitive and complex. He is haunted by his past and is trying very hard to let love back into his life. Jack's girlfriend, Madalyn is also a great character. She is only twenty two, but is an old soul and her love for Jack feels real.
I highly recommend this book for readers looking for an original and well written romance about twenty and thirty-somethings. This is an enjoyable and satisfying first novel.
Tristan Cruz's first novel, The Space Between, feels authentic. If you are looking for a good love story about twenty and thirty-somethings this novel is a very good choice. Cruz has created likable characters and he writes well. I read the novel quickly and was never bored. Although it is listed as a Mystery on Amazon to me it felt more like a New Adult Romance.
In Jack Ryder, Cruz has created a very interesting character. Ryder is both sensitive and complex. He is haunted by his past and is trying very hard to let love back into his life. Jack's girlfriend, Madalyn is also a great character. She is only twenty two, but is an old soul and her love for Jack feels real.
I highly recommend this book for readers looking for an original and well written romance about twenty and thirty-somethings. This is an enjoyable and satisfying first novel.
July 8, 2014
(I received an ARC of this book from the author.)
Jack Ryder wants to stop running from his past. Now that he’s met Madalyn, a younger woman whose beauty and eccentric behavior leave him waxing poetic, he can finally entertain hope for a life approaching normalcy. If things were only that simple…
Madalyn has her own well-shielded secrets, ones she desperately wants to share with Jack but can’t – not yet. He is her all-consuming passion. The moment she saw him arrive to begin repairing the house she shares with her over-protective mother, Madalyn knew in her heart the man she fell in love with nearly a decade ago had returned. The problem is, Jack doesn’t know he’s that man.
While Jack is enthralled with this vision of loveliness called “Madalyn,” he is unable to explain the irresistible attraction he feels toward her. He doesn’t remember her, doesn’t recognize her.
When Jack’s past catches up to him in quiet Beaufort, North Carolina, he has no choice but to confront it, knowing full well it may destroy him. Once Madalyn is in danger of becoming collateral damage, Jack is even more determined to resolve his predicament -- permanently.
Cruz offers up a portrait of a man in deep pain from soul-crushing loss that we only catch glimpses of until far into the story. Jack Ryder’s conscience – so guilty – balks at the promise of a fresh, new relationship with Madalyn. She is a child in a woman’s body, barely in control of her emotions, struggling to make adult choices. Her obsession with Jack is no less than his obsession with her, yet both of them hesitate to be honest with each other, for fear of rejection.
The overall storyline is a compelling tale of two people haunted by their pasts, thrown together by fate, and desperate to overcome the obstacles life has set in their way. The style of writing veers into stream-of-consciousness at times as Jack suffers through periods of depression, guilt and self-doubt. Chapters fluctuate between the two main characters and their respective points of view.
Cruz is a diamond in the rough. He spins an exciting tale, but his style could use a bit more polishing. Dialogue seemed to be his weakest area. Language was occasionally a bit stilted for informal conversation, and passages of speech tended to be excessively tagged (tags are not necessary for every interchange in a one-on-one conversation) or not clearly defined – fundamental writing issues which did a slight disservice to the otherwise intriguing plot. Hopefully his next book will benefit from his experience with this one. I look forward to seeing it.
Jack Ryder wants to stop running from his past. Now that he’s met Madalyn, a younger woman whose beauty and eccentric behavior leave him waxing poetic, he can finally entertain hope for a life approaching normalcy. If things were only that simple…
Madalyn has her own well-shielded secrets, ones she desperately wants to share with Jack but can’t – not yet. He is her all-consuming passion. The moment she saw him arrive to begin repairing the house she shares with her over-protective mother, Madalyn knew in her heart the man she fell in love with nearly a decade ago had returned. The problem is, Jack doesn’t know he’s that man.
While Jack is enthralled with this vision of loveliness called “Madalyn,” he is unable to explain the irresistible attraction he feels toward her. He doesn’t remember her, doesn’t recognize her.
When Jack’s past catches up to him in quiet Beaufort, North Carolina, he has no choice but to confront it, knowing full well it may destroy him. Once Madalyn is in danger of becoming collateral damage, Jack is even more determined to resolve his predicament -- permanently.
Cruz offers up a portrait of a man in deep pain from soul-crushing loss that we only catch glimpses of until far into the story. Jack Ryder’s conscience – so guilty – balks at the promise of a fresh, new relationship with Madalyn. She is a child in a woman’s body, barely in control of her emotions, struggling to make adult choices. Her obsession with Jack is no less than his obsession with her, yet both of them hesitate to be honest with each other, for fear of rejection.
The overall storyline is a compelling tale of two people haunted by their pasts, thrown together by fate, and desperate to overcome the obstacles life has set in their way. The style of writing veers into stream-of-consciousness at times as Jack suffers through periods of depression, guilt and self-doubt. Chapters fluctuate between the two main characters and their respective points of view.
Cruz is a diamond in the rough. He spins an exciting tale, but his style could use a bit more polishing. Dialogue seemed to be his weakest area. Language was occasionally a bit stilted for informal conversation, and passages of speech tended to be excessively tagged (tags are not necessary for every interchange in a one-on-one conversation) or not clearly defined – fundamental writing issues which did a slight disservice to the otherwise intriguing plot. Hopefully his next book will benefit from his experience with this one. I look forward to seeing it.
July 16, 2015
The Space Between by Tristan Cruz is an original yet thrilling twist on the star-crossed lovers theme. The story follows lovers Jack and Maddy as they both come to terms with painful pasts and try to recreate a new life with each other. Told in first person with alternating points of view by Jack and Maddy, Tristan is an expert at drawing the readers into the characters’ pains and joys. And the playful, lighthearted, and often sarcastic banter between the characters dilutes the syrupy sweetness that you often find in romance novels.
When Maddy first spots Jack when he is working as a contractor at her home, she is certain that he is the same man who had saved her life nine years earlier. As the two fall deeper in love, Jack’s past catches up with him. The reader can feel Jack’s pain as he struggles with the dilemma of hiding forever with the woman he loves or seeking vengeance on those who have caused him so much harm. The sex scenes are sensual and erotic but not pornographic.
Cruz’ writing style is wordy (like John Steinbeck wordy), but his words are like poetry and music, which negates the excessive wordiness. The major themes that Cruz explores are loss and grief (each one of the major characters in the novel has lost someone they loved), letting go, and moving on. Other themes include police corruption, independence, justice, and cowardice vs. bravery.
Cruz’ work is pure, raw emotion that will take the reader (in the author’s word word) “to places [you] have never been before.” He was right; very rarely have I felt so emotionally satisfied after reading a novel. Well done, Mr. Cruz. You definitely have a future in writing.
When Maddy first spots Jack when he is working as a contractor at her home, she is certain that he is the same man who had saved her life nine years earlier. As the two fall deeper in love, Jack’s past catches up with him. The reader can feel Jack’s pain as he struggles with the dilemma of hiding forever with the woman he loves or seeking vengeance on those who have caused him so much harm. The sex scenes are sensual and erotic but not pornographic.
Cruz’ writing style is wordy (like John Steinbeck wordy), but his words are like poetry and music, which negates the excessive wordiness. The major themes that Cruz explores are loss and grief (each one of the major characters in the novel has lost someone they loved), letting go, and moving on. Other themes include police corruption, independence, justice, and cowardice vs. bravery.
Cruz’ work is pure, raw emotion that will take the reader (in the author’s word word) “to places [you] have never been before.” He was right; very rarely have I felt so emotionally satisfied after reading a novel. Well done, Mr. Cruz. You definitely have a future in writing.
August 14, 2014
I did a beta read on this book for the author and was impressed by the depth of the characters and beautiful romance that unfolds between them. I became almost immediately attached to Jack who is a responsible, hard-working, kind man. He meets Madalyn and begins to fall in love. He is careful and sweet with her, making me swoon all the more. The secrets that each of them have threaten their relationship and over the course of rest of the book, the intensity of their emotions and their past grows. Their love transcends time, space, and challenges. Isn't that what a perfect romance is all about? The story line was unique and interesting. I think it's worth the read!
February 1, 2015
I really loved this book. I took a little while to get going, but once the action picked up I could not put it down. It was full of unexpected twists and turns, and there are some really great, quotable lines. The characters are likable, and the story is intriguing. Best of all, the different settings in the book introduced me to a lot of people I would not encounter in my own everyday life, and I love that in a book. It's always fun to feel like you're experiencing life in a different world than your own through characters in a book. I'm looking forward to more from this author!
July 1, 2014
The words rippled onto the page like water trickling down a little at first as information was given and than more as the story unfolds. Tristan Cruz has a brilliant way of expressing emotion and the tolerant soul of ones in love. So much can be said about fairy tales and romantic notions of new lives worth living, but what about a good mystery to make you consider falling in love again and again all in the midst and creation of a fictitious world!
January 29, 2015
Working on the verbiage. One word maybe ... Awesome!
May 21, 2019
The words rippled onto the page like water trickling down a little at first as information was given and than more as the story unfolds. Tristan Cruz has a brilliant way of expressing emotion and the tolerant soul of ones in love. So much can be said about fairy tales and romantic notions of new lives worth living, but what about a good mystery to make you consider falling in love again and again all in the midst and creation of a fictitious world!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews