Two Months Later, the Story Goes On—And the Reviews Arrive

© 2025 Alex Diaz-Granados

Afternoon, Thursday, June 12, 2025—Miami, Florida

Every author hopes their work will resonate with readers. We spend months—sometimes years—crafting stories, refining themes, layering emotional depth, and ensuring the characters feel like real people. Then, when the book finally makes its way into the world, we wait.

We hope readers connect with it. We wonder if the themes we wove into the narrative will come across as intended. And above all, we hope someone out there will get it—not just enjoy the book, but truly understand what it was trying to say.

That’s why reviews matter.

This week, I received one of those deeply gratifying moments when Pooja’s review of Reunion: Coda went live on Amazon. Though she lives in Nairobi, she posted the review on Amazon.ca due to regional account restrictions. Still, no matter where it appears, it’s a review that means something.

Among her observations:

"I appreciate that his writing is incredibly intelligent and well done without crossing the line into being pretentious."

That alone feels like validation. Finding the right balance between thoughtfulness and accessibility is a challenge in any creative work, and knowing that Coda struck that chord is immensely rewarding.

She also highlighted themes of lost love, loss in general, and being stuck in the past—elements I explored carefully throughout the book. And most importantly, she connected to the characters in a way I always hoped readers would:

"I really enjoy the way Alex creates characters because they very much feel like real people. They have flaws and they have redeeming qualities just as most of us do."

That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Stories are meant to reflect life—not perfect, not overly polished, but full of complexities, contradictions, and quiet moments of truth.

Reviews like these remind me why I write. Not for acclaim, not for algorithms or sales tactics, but for the chance to tell a story that feels real to someone else.

If you haven’t read Reunion: Coda yet, Pooja’s review sums up exactly why you might want to. And if you have, I’d love to hear your thoughts—what resonated with you? What surprised you? Did the story leave you reflecting long after you turned the last page?

A book, after all, isn’t truly complete until it finds its readers.