I received a free copy (rom the publisher. No review, positive or otherwise, was required. However that being said, I always enjoy Beverly Lewis' books. Her book, The Shunning was the first Amish book I read and it kicked off a journey for me into a world of Amish fiction. This book is about Leona and Gloria, very close childhood friends who live next door to one another until Gloria's father packs his family up and leaves the Amish community. Leona is devastated and misses Gloria terribly. Leona dreamed of having Gloria as a lifelong sister-friend. Three years pass and Gloria reaches out to Leona. What occurred that made Gloria's father leave? What is Gloria up to now? Leona goes to find out what happened to her friend and why she and her family left. The rest of the book is about forgiveness and redemption and making our own choices in life.
I received an advance galley from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Jodi Picoult is one of my automatic read authors. She always makes me think more about whatever topic she has written about. In this one, Ruth Jefferson is a very experienced nurse who has been told by a newborn's father that he, nor his wife, want Ruth taking care of the baby because she's African-American. Well, without giving too much away, things happen and Ruth is forced to make a decision. Things snowball from there leaving Ruth in the middle of a court battle. I don't like to go too much into a synopsis because I don't want to give too much away. In any event, this book heavily touches on racism in America today. However, I had trouble with some of the examples the author used to showcase racism. I totally understand where she was coming from because in all honesty, all you have to do is look around and you will see it. But, I guess the author was really focusing on the one side of the story, because what about ANYBODY that experiences racism? Not just one class or race? I guess that was covered in the white supremacists' part of the story, but I had bad feelings at some of the points being made. All in all, the book, as always by Ms. Picoult was riveting and I couldn't wait to see what happened. She amazes me in how she can write from so many different viewpoints and sound like completely different people.Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher!
This book is about Emma who has given up her fast paced life in New York City. She moves to a quiet beach town where she meets Dominic, her new landlord, along with his young son, Jesse. Well, you know right away what's going to happen here. BUT, there is an unexpected thing that does happen in the book and I won't give it away here. However, I have to say this, is by far the weakest female character I have ever seen. About halfway in the book, a SLIGHT misunderstanding takes place between Emma and Dominic, plunging Emma into a depression to the point of where she keeps thinking "it's over." I didn't understand the author's intent here. Why did she make Emma so dramatic. I didn't find much of this believable. I know I will not be in the majority here with my review. As always though, I am grateful for the opportunity to read this book. My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publishers and to NetGalley! I was really interested in this book and to be truthful, I was hooked right away. The book revolves around a terrible car accident which kills five year old Jacob where the driver leaves the scene. What happens after that is a whirlwind of a story! Revolving around the mother of the child, the suspect driver as well as the police who are on the case made this a book I couldn't put down! In fact, this is the first book in a long time that I couldn't wait to get back to when I was busy doing other things. I don't want to give too much away because a lot does happen and I would love for you to read it and enjoy it the way I did. I saw someone comment that they didn't like how the author went behind the scenes in the police officers' personal lives, but I have to say, I enjoyed that. The author was not overly wordy with descriptions and so it kept me hooked. I like how she described all the characters, actually. Word has it that the author has a new book out this year. I will definitely be checking that out. Go ahead and read this. It truly was a great read.
Well, as you or may not know, depending on if you read my blog or not, Beverly Lewis is one of my "automatic" authors. I read every book that she writes. But, this one may just be my favorite. This one focuses on Lucy Flaud, a young Amish woman who is almost past courting age. She fills her days with volunteering and helping those less fortunate. Lucy has a wonderful heart but there is an underlying reason that Lucy fills her days, almost frantically. There is a time in her past where she made a grave mistake...one she can't seem to shake and forgive herself for. Plus, is she destined to make the same mistake again? Or, will she find redemption in her future? Who CAN'T relate to this? Who has a perfect past? Who DOESN'T have something in their past they would rather forget? Lucy's journey trying to find peace is something I could really relate to. I think we all struggle for peace at some point. The good news is we CAN find peace through faith. Anyway, I digress. The more I read this story, the more I got into it. I really cared about what happened to Lucy and her family. Like I said, I will read anything Beverly Lewis writes, but this one really resonated with me. Thank you very much to Bethany House for an advance reader copy. I enjoyed it very much.
Hello, all! I was so excited to receive an advance reader's copy of First Comes Love from NetGalley! Ms. Giffin is actually one of my "automatic" authors. I loved her earlier work so much, that whatever she comes out with, I read. I was super hooked into the story when I first started. It revolves around Josie, her sister Meredith, Meredith's husband, Nolan and how their lives interact. On top of that, Josie regrets losing her last long term relationship with Will and fears that she will never marry or have a family of her own. The story also focuses on how Josie and Meredith have been coping since the loss of their brother, Daniel, fifteen years ago. Nolan's struggles with the loss as well, since he was Daniel's best friend. Josie has a new set of problems when Will's(her ex) daughter is assigned to the first grade class that Josie teaches. I thought that this was really going to be the bulk of the story, but it wasn't, which to me, was disappointing. I just felt that the story just sort of veered off from there into different subplots. There's a "secret" involving Daniel's death that, at first, made me really want to find out what was going on, but in the end, the "secret" was really kind of underwhelming and, to make matters worse, it was set up to be kind of earth shattering for the characters. Maybe I just didn't get it. Also, the story just started focusing on Josie and what she planned to do with her life (I won't post it here) and, no, it had nothing to do with her ex, Will. I don't want to complain too much, because it really did keep me interested and invested in the characters. So, pick it up or check it out at your local library! Comes out June 28! I would like to thank Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
I received an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Net Galley and to the publisher! I was very happy to receive this book. Well, Rowan Coleman is one of my new automatic read authors. The first book I read by her was The Day We Met. That one brought me to tears. This new one, We Are All Made of Stars was very good, too. I found myself really engaged with the book and characters and enjoyed it overall. One part of the story is about Stella and Vincent, a couple who are dealing with the after effects of war. Stella works as a nurse in a hospice center and finds satisfaction in her job, but also by helping the patients write their last letters to friends and loved ones before they pass. Another part of the story is about Hope, a patient at the hospice, and her best friend, Ben. Hope is not in the critical care part at the hospice, she's in the rehabilitation part after having a set back with her cystic fibrosis.
Finally, there is another story involving Hugh, who is living life as best as he can and thinks he's satisfied with his life, but is he? Has he ever really moved past the fact that his mother committed suicide? Get this book and get the tissues. It's not all heart wrenching, and some parts are actually eye opening and moving. I really enjoyed this book and I thank the publisher and NetGalley again for letting me have the advance copy!
