Welcome to my stop on the fun tour!
DESCRIPTION:
Pic and description
taken from showdowmountain.com
Nina’s
once-sweet life has unexpectedly turned sour. Her marriage is over, her job is
in jeopardy, and her teenage daughter is slipping away from her. Then her
father dies and issues with Nina’s mother come to a head; her estranged
brother, Ray, comes home; and her sister, Lola, is tempted to blow a big family
secret out of the water. They say the truth will set you free, but first it
will make a huge mess of things.
MY REVIEW / THOUGHTS:
I really do love being able to review books. Reviewing for Shadow Mountain Publishing is
always great. I have loved everything
they have sent me and this book is no exception.
This story takes you on a roller coaster ride in
emotions. There is so much heartache and
loss in this book that it kind of tears at your heart strings. BUT, there is also so much, love,
forgiveness, and second chances, that your emotions are all over the
place. I LOVE it when a book can do that
for me.
I don’t want to give too much away so I am just going
to tell you a little about the characters that I love in this book.
Nina – Is looking at life as a single mother now. She thought her whole live was going to be
perfect. Perfect house, perfect husband,
perfect child. Then life happens. Nina, is a photographer, and most of her work
is made up of taking pictures of food.
She can hear the talk around the office that it might get sold….so she
has uneasy feeling easy feeling at work also.
Nina also has a 15-year-old daughter named Cassie, who doesn’t seem to
like Nina at all. Nina, and her sister
Lola, are close and Lola seems to keep Nina grounded. Then walks in Oliver. Just in case her life wasn’t messy enough, in
walks a yummy young man who is interested in her. Nina has also recently lost her father. Her life is a train wreck that you cannot
turn the pages fast enough to see how it turns out.
Lola, Nina’s sister, is my favorite character out of
all of them. Nina, may be the MC, but
Lola is still my favorite. I love her
outlook on life, and her beautiful ability to forgive and love. She has a little problem with memory that I
don’t want to talk too much about, but sometimes she forgets things at the most
inconvenient times. Lola is dating Chris,
and well, let’s just say…. mmmmmm mmmmm.
Everyone around Lola is careful about what they say and do, because they
are fearful that it will send her into some kind of memory loss or remembrance. Neither of which any one wants. Lola is so beautiful. Really, I just grew to love her so much in
this book. I need to use her outlook on
life every day!
Ray, is Nina’s brother. The troubled soul. The tortured soul, and the convicted
soul. Ray, has spent his whole life
pulling away from everyone he loves, and one of those times it lands in in
prison. Ray, is the bad boy all the
girls go for. Well, that is what he wants
everyone to think about him. He is no
good. He doesn’t deserve to be
loved. He is a screw up. Ray, really isn’t as bad as he makes himself
out to be. I couldn’t help be drawn to
this tortured young man. He lived his
life doing everything he could to make those who love him most hate him. He came and went as he pleased, and usually
caused havoc when he was around. Ray’s
story is probably my favorite part of this book. Lola, favorite character, and Ray’s story just
made me see what so many other people I know might be going through. It is sad and beautiful at the same time.
Cassie, is Nina’s daughter, and I don’t like her at all. Yes, she is angsty teenager, but I still don’t
like her. She is a good character to not
like 😉. I
feel bad that I don’t like her, but I don’t like any angsty teenager, so I guess
it’s no a surprise I didn’t like her. Most
of the time I just wanted to smack her in her face. But hey, the author did a great job of
writing a character I loved to hate, so I guess that is great.
Jack, is Nina’s ex-husband. I still haven’t figured out how I feel about
him in this story. I am still processing
if I like where things went with him. He’s
a great dad, and seems to be a good guy, but I am still on the fence about
him. I would love to hear what you guys
think about him though!
There are some other great characters in this book but
these are the ones I chose to talk about.
I decided I didn’t want to talk about Nina’s mother, because the jury is
still out on her as well.
You should pick this one up. It has so much to it. It’s full of twists, and surprises, and
second chances at life. Who doesn’t need
a second chance once in a while. The
author did a wonderful job bringing these characters to life for me. I could feel their emotions while I was
reading, and there is nothing better than that.
I felt like I was a fly on the wall during this whole book. Right there in it, but no one could see
me. It was wonderful. I hope you take the time to read it.
Source: I was given this book as part of a blog tour in return for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way for this review. These are my own PERSONAL thoughts on the book.
MY RATING:
WHERE TO BUY:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
pic and bio taken from showdowmountain.com
Amy Willoughby-Burle is a writer and teacher living in Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband and four children. She writes about the mystery and wonder of everyday life. Her contemporary fiction focuses on the themes of second chances, redemption, and finding the beauty in the world around us. She is the author of a collection of short stories entitled Out Across the Nowhere and a contributor to the anthology Of Mist and Magic.
A SPECIAL THANKS TO:
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