Where I share my love of books with reviews, features, giveaways and memes. Family and needlepoint are thrown in from time to time.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Review: The Hollow Ground by Natalie S. Harnett

The Hollow Ground
by Natalie S. Harnett

Inspired by the real-life deadly coal mine fires in now-infamous Centralia, Pennsylvania, and the equally devastated town of Carbondale, THE HOLLOW GROUND  is an extraordinary debut novel with an atmospheric, voice-driven narrative and an indelible sense of place.  Already being compared to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and To Kill a Mockingbird, this evocative story about family and the nature of love between a parent and child introduces a stunning and powerful new voice in literary fiction.

It’s 1961, and the ground is burning beneath eleven-year-old Brigid Howley’s feet.  The underground mine fires ravaging Pennsylvania coal country have forced Brigid and her family to seek refuge with her estranged grandparents, the formidable Gram and the Black Lung stricken Gramp.  Tragedy, though, is no stranger to the Howleys, a proud Irish-American clan who takes strange pleasure in the “curse” laid upon them generations earlier by a priest who ran afoul of the Molly Maguires, a secret society of Irish and Irish-American coal miners.  But the weight of this legacy now rests heavily on a new generation, when Brigid, already struggling to keep her family together, makes a grisly discovery in a long-abandoned bootleg mine shaft.  In the aftermath, decades’ old secrets threaten to prove just as dangerous to the Howleys as the burning, hollow ground beneath their feet.

Filled with compelling characters, rich prose, engrossing historical detail, and an extraordinary sense of time and place, THE HOLLOW GROUND is exquisitely crafted and tells an unforgettable story that is certain to move readers. 


My thoughts: Brigid is the narrator of this story, set against the backdrop of the Appalachian coal mine fires of the 1960's.  I had never heard of these fires and found them fascinating, devastating and unbelievable. Brigid tells how her Aunt's house, where they had been living, becomes uninhabitable as the fire nears and literally hollows out the ground beneath their feet. Her family is forced to move to a nearby town and move in with their Grandma and Grandpa.  The fires are raging beneath this town as well.  

I liked Brigid as a narrator.  She didn't sugar coat anything and she also did not feel sorry for herself or her circumstances.  Her family is very dysfunctional and she if basically raising herself.  As secrets continue to be revealed, including the answers to a murder mystery, what she thought she knew about her family also continues to change. 

I really liked this book.  The background was such a stark contrast to the voice of Brigid.  I read this book awhile ago and the story has really stayed with me.  This was a debut book for Natalie Harnett and I look forward to seeing what else she writes in the future.

"Auntie?" I shouted through the sliver of screen visible where the window was open.  There was no answer.  The flecks of snow had thickened to flakes that had a tinge of yellow to them.  The color was odd and pretty all at once and I couldn't decide if it reminded me of something sick or of something lit up just barely by sun.  Dying light, I decided, remembering a poem Auntie had read to me.  And then I got afraid. (The Hollow Ground, p20)


~I received a complimentary copy of The Hollow Ground from Get Red PR and Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review.~

Purchase Links:





About the author:  NATALIE S. HARNETT is an MFA graduate of Columbia. She has been awarded an Edward Albee Fellowship, a Summer Literary Seminars Fellowship, and a Vermont Studio Center Writer’s Grant, and was a finalist for the Mary McCarthy Prize in Fiction. Harnett has been published in The New York Times, The Madison Review and The MacGuffin. She lives on Long Island with her husband and toddler. 

Author Links:


Saturday, June 7, 2014

And Yet Another Loss


Some of you may remember that we just had our dog, Boomer, put down 10 days ago.  This morning I went upstairs to my bedroom and found our cat, Frankie, had passed away.  We got her back in 2000 when she was about a year old.  She was a very gentle cat, especially when my son was a toddler.  He could lay on her and pull her around by her tail and she would just let him.  She had a very distinctive meow and beautiful green eyes.  Frankie - you will also be missed. 

Friday, June 6, 2014

Cover Reveal: A Beauty so Beastly by RaShelle Workman (Giveaway)


A Beauty so Beastly
by RaShelle Workman

Genre: Fractured Fairy Tale
Book 1 in the Beastly Series
Release date: July 3, 2014


“For your vanity, your cruelty, and your cold unfeeling heart, a curse I leave upon you . . .”

What happens if the beauty is also the beast?

The stunning Beatrice Cavanaugh is considered American royalty. She has everything except the ability to love. Cursed on her eighteenth birthday, she becomes more beastly than ever, having a newfound craving for raw meat, and an undeniable yearning for the night. Bitterness is her only companion.

After accusing a maid of stealing, a disgustingly kind and exquisitely handsome guy named Adam shows up asking Beatrice to drop the charges against his mother.

Infuriated by his goodness, Beatrice vows to break him. Destroy him. Make him hurt the way she hurts. So she agrees. On one condition: Adam must take his mother’s place as a servant in the mansion. 

Because Beatrice won’t stop until he’s more beastly than she is.







Special Note: A BEAUTY SO BEASLTY will be available for 99 cents until its release date on July 3rd! Then it'll go up to $2.99. So pre-order now!





About the author: RaShelle Workman is an international bestselling author. She writes fractured fairytales with bite and young adult science fiction that's out of this world. RaShelle likes cherry pie, movies, family adventures, and chocolate. If you want to get on her good side, send chocolate. RaShelle's sold more than 500,000 copies of her books worldwide. Sleeping Roses, Exiled, Beguiled, and Dovetailed have foreign rights contracts with a Turkish publisher. 

Her books include:


Sleeping Roses

Exiled
Beguiled
Dovetailed
Blood and Snow (1-12)

The Cindy Chronicles

Vampire Lies (Blood and Snow Season 2)

Short stories:

Rose, Undercover

Cindy Witch

The Hunter's Tale

Gabriel
After the Kiss
Zaren's Travels

Author Links: Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Blog


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Monday, May 26, 2014

Blog Tour: Synchrony by Cindy Ray Hale


This is my stop during the blog tour for Synchrony (Destiny #2) by Cindy Ray Hale. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours . The blog tour runs from May 5 till May 25, you can view the complete tour schedule hereI am running a few days behind for this blog tour and for that I apologize.  I read both the first book in this trilogy, Destiny, as well as Synchrony which is book two.  I have shared my thoughts below.


Destiny
(Book 1 of Destiny Trilogy)
Cindy Ray Hale


Genre: Contemporary Romance, YA


Destiny Clark, a young Mormon girl living in Tennessee, is wildly infatuated with Isaac Robinson, the headmaster's son at her Baptist high school. When they're cast together in the school's production of Les Misérables, Destiny is horrified to find that she has to be publicly humiliated by acting out her true feelings of rejection onstage. 

As their rehearsals begin, Destiny realizes the unimaginable: Isaac has developed deep feelings for her despite their religious differences and the fact that he has a girlfriend. 

But will they be able to find their place amongst the backbiters of their ultra-conservative world?

Weaving around Destiny and Isaac's alternating viewpoints, Destiny is the first book in a series inspired by the characters of Les Misérables and explores heartbreak, self-discovery, intolerance, and love.




Synchrony
(Book 2 of Destiny Trilogy)
Genre: Contemporary Romance, YA
Release Date: April 8, 2014

When her parents discover she’s been sneaking out with Isaac Robinson, the forbidden Baptist boy, Mormon girl Destiny Clark decides it’s time to keep their relationship quiet. As their relationship moves to shakier ground, Destiny discovers that Isaac has a terrible secret, and she is left completely shattered.

The moment Destiny feels all hope is lost, Preston Nelson, her longtime church friend and Isaac's bitter rival, arrives like a beacon of light. It isn't long before two separate disasters strike for Preston and Destiny's best friend, Hannah. As Destiny helps them through their issues, she discovers that sometimes the best way to forget about your own problems is to help a friend in need.

Just as her heart begins to mend and her friendship with Preston begins to heat up, Isaac walks back into her life, threatening to rekindle the feelings she’d hoped to bury forever. Will Destiny and Preston find the synchrony they so desperately need, or will she find a way to forgive Isaac and return to his outstretched arms?





My thoughts: I am going to review these books as one.  Because I read them back to back I am not sure where the story ended and the second one picked up.  I liked these books and the whole lover's triangle between Destiny, Isaac, and Preston.  Barring the religious undertones, I bet you can find at least one triangle like this in every high school in America.  

Destiny is only 15 when the book starts and is a Mormon attending Bethel Baptist  High School.  Her family are the only Mormon's that attend and they were former members of Bethel Baptist Church.  When they converted, a lot of their friends didn't understand and broke off the friendship.  While her brother Michael seems to be very well-liked, Destiny doesn't feel like she belongs anywhere. At the start of the school year she only has two girls that she calls friends, and one of them turns out to be Isaac's cousin.  

There are actually two more books coming out, Complexity - book 2.5 and Harmony - book 3.  I am going to have to read these because I want to know what happens with these three!  There is also some smaller stories going on - one with Destiny's best friend Hannah and her boyfriend and another with Destiny's little sister Olivia, and a would be suitor.  Both could be explosive all on their own.

Now that I have shared what I liked about the books, I do have to let you know about something that bothered me.  I am a born-again Christian and felt a little bit like the Christians in this book weren't represented very well.  They seemed to be the ones who were unaccepting, rumor mongerers, druggies, and having pre-marital sex.  The Mormons on the other hand, all had close knit families, watched out for their siblings, dressed conservatively etc.  And it wasn't until Isaac, (Christian) decides to learn more about the Mormon religion that he is portrayed in a much better light.  I understand that this is central to the story line, the different religions and the conflicts between the two, but you don't run into very many good Christians in this story. Meanwhile, even though the Mormons are breaking some house rules, there is no comparison to what their Christian counterparts are doing.  I am wondering if some of this is going to change in the next books though and look forward to finding out. 


You can watch the book trailer here:




Are you Team Isaac?




Or Team Preston?



About the Author:  Cindy Ray Hale lives in a little slice of wooded heaven near Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and children. She spends way too much time following up-and-coming musicians on YouTube and dreams of joining their ranks one day. She’s a bit of a health food nut and can’t live without her daily green smoothies. She tries to stay sane as she juggles writing with four kids, staying active on social media, and keeping up her book blog at http://cinnamoncindy.blogspot.com/. In addition to writing and self-publishing two Young Adult Contemporary novels, she has also written articles for "New Era" magazine and The American Preppers Network.

For more information on The Destiny Trilogy and Cindy’s upcoming books visit http://destinybycindyhale.blogspot.com/ or follow @CindyRayHale on Twitter.

Author Links: 
Website /  Website for destiny /  Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Google+ / Pinterest



There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Synchrony. These are the prizes you can win:

- A $25 Amazon Gift Card (INTL), and a Destiny Swag Pack which includes: a signed copy of Destiny, a signed copy of Synchrony, a Destiny bookmark, a Destiny magnet, a Destiny keychain, and a Synchrony keychain.

- An ecopy of My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris and a swag pack

- A Camp Boyfriend swag pack by JK Rock

- An ecopy of Definitely, Maybe in Love by Ophelia London.



For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:

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Saturday, May 24, 2014

Book Blitz: The Middle Eye and Devil Eye - both by Rebecca Jean Downey - with a giveaway!

RebeccaJeanDowney
TheMiddleEyeCover

The Middle Eye
by Rebecca Jean Downey

 When eleven-year-old Rosa Garcia disappears from an El Paso, Texas playground, Penny Larkin, a newly-certified remote viewer, is hired by Sheriff Leo Tellez to find her. The FBI believes she's a runaway, but this is the second time Rosa has been kidnapped, and Leo fears she's been taken by a sexual predator. Penny's lingering memory of fighting off a rape attempt by her foster father clouds her thoughts and prevents her from locating the kidnapper quickly. The sheriff, who rescued Rosa from a homeless man five years earlier, is up for reelection and seeks to curry public favor by finding her again. His deputies claim Penny is a charlatan and a waste of the department's money. When Penny can't locate Rosa promptly, Leo boils with frustration and fires her. Penny refuses to give up, and soon discovers the bloodcurdling kidnapper's hideout. With time running out, Penny sets out alone to rescue Rosa.

Will Penny find young Rosa and exorcise her own demons in the process, or will she fall into the clutches of a Russian child-trafficking ring?


Buy the book




DevilEyeCover

The Devil Eye
by Rebecca Jean Downey

When the U.S. Marshal wants to stop a sale of firearms to Mexico, he asks Penny Larkin to use her remote viewing skills to track down New Mexico gunrunner, Juan Rico. Penny is sworn to secrecy because the marshal believes a law enforcement officer is involved. She can't even tell her boyfriend, El Paso County Sheriff Leo Tellez.

Penny heads off to Columbus, New Mexico alone, and winds up stranded on the Interstate during a dust storm. She is forced to use her own gun to hold off a gang of men trying to hi-jack her car. A man winds up dead and New Mexico State Trooper Johnny Trejo, arrests Penny on suspicion of murder. When Leo comes to rescue Penny from the clutches of the law, he brings Adriana, the beautiful twin sister of Alejandra, Leo's dead wife. Penny is desperate to get out of jail to defend her relationship with Leo, but when she is finally free, she must keep her word to the marshal and find Juan Rico, first.

On the trail of Rico, gun traffickers kidnap Penny and drag her across the Mexican border, along with their guns. This means certain death for Penny in a country where women often go missing. A rescue by the U.S. Marshal or even Sheriff Tellez is unlikely since no one knows where she is. Will Penny escape the grasp of ruthless gunrunners? The answers can be found in Devil Eye!



Buy the book



AuthorPhoto
About the author: Rebecca Jean Downey has a way of pulling you into her stories. You don't want to put the book down until you make sure her characters survive! She graduated from the Indiana University School of Journalism, covered police and court beats as a newspaper reporter, and has since had a life long fascination with law enforcement and criminal behavior. Rebecca read Sherlock Holmes in elementary school, and has devoured hundreds of mystery novels over her lifetime. She finally realized that her home in El Paso, Texas—lying on the cusp of two countries—was a perfect backdrop for sharing the haunting headlines generated south of the border in Mexico.

Today, Rebecca is a speechwriter for the President of The University of Texas at El Paso and Director of Development for the College of Health Sciences.

Author Links:
Facebook | Twitter | Website | Blog


More about Rebecca's Books

Rebecca's novels introduce the reader to a psychic technique called controlled remote viewing, developed in the 1970s by the CIA when the agency suspected that the Soviet Union was conducting psychic spying on the United States. The US Army and the CIA utilized Stargate until the end of the Cold War when the US Government declassified it.

Today, remote viewers help law enforcement agencies and individuals locate missing persons and solve cold cases.

As a remote viewer herself, Rebecca found writing about Penny Larkin’s adventures to be therapeutic.


Click on the giveaway banner below to enter to win a copy of "The Middle Eye" or "Devil Eye" !
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Thursday, May 22, 2014

Sad Day



BOOMER
8/16/2003 - 5/22/2014

You were the best dog and will be dearly missed. 

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge: Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan



Here is the second review book for the BookSparks 2014 Summer Reading Challenge.  I don't know about you - but it hasn't felt like spring around here yet, let alone summer!  We saw snow earlier this week - Winter, I am so over you!

Love and Other Foreign Words
by Erin McCahan

Josie lives her life in translation.  She speaks High School, College, Friends, Boyfriends, Break-ups, and even the language of Beautiful Girls.  But none of these is her native tongue.  And Love?  The most foreign language of all.  So when being fluent in True Love becomes the only way to avert a sure catastrophe, Josie is forced to examine her feelings for the boy who says he loves her, the sister she loves but doesn't always like, and the best friend who hasn't said a word -- at least not in a language Josie understands.  

Insightful, poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny, this is an irrepressible love story about sisters, friends, boys, and how it feels to find someone, at last, who speaks your language. 



My thoughts: I loved Josie!  She was funny, smart, loyal - but it was probably her quick-wit and dry humor that endeared me to her the most.  I wish that I could be as quick with the comebacks.  As her family says, she is 15 going on 30 - and she juggles as much as some 30 year olds.  She is a sophomore in high school in the afternoon, but as part of an accelerated program she is also a freshman in college in the mornings.  She plays volleyball, runs track, and is very close with her family - which include two older sisters.  

She is okay with her oldest sister's husband, but when her middle sister comes home engaged, she has a hard time finding anything to like about him.  She spends the majority of the book trying to find reasons to make her sister break up with him, or at least to make her family see that they are not right together.  She is enthralled with languages and believes that everyone has their own language, and you won't really fit in if you don't speak their language. 

This made me think about the situations that I find personally to be the most uncomfortable - and when it comes down to it, it is because I don't feel that I will be able to speak the right language to fit in.  Knowing this, I think it will make me approach some situations differently - and without such trepidation.  

Something else that she wrote that stuck with me is "It's easier to hate than to hurt."  Just think about that for awhile and I am sure you will come up with an instance that you could apply this to your own life.  I am passing this book along to my daughters.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookSparks PR in exchange for my unbiased review.~


Purchase Links:
Kindle:
Paperback: 




About the author: Erin McCahan is the author of the YA book I Now Pronounce You Someone Else (Scholastic, June 2010). 
Erin’s debut novel was a 2010 Cybils Award finalist. She grew up in Michigan and worked extensively 
with teenagers before beginning her writing career. She lives in Columbus, Ohio. 

Author Links:
Facebook / Website / Twitter / Goodreads








All the books for the challenge:
May:
Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan
Cure for the Common Breakup by Beth Kendrick

June:
The Witch of Belladonna Bay by Suzanne Palmieri
The Revealed by Jessica Hickam
The Walk In Closet by Abdi Nazemian

July:
Elly in Love by Colleen Oakes
After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Serenade by Emily Kiebel
Queen of Hearts Vol. 2 by Colleen Oakes


August:
Gravel on the Side of the Road by Kris Raddish
The Curse of Van Gogh by Paul Hoppe
Wild Within by Melissa Hart

Add-ons
My Last Kiss by Bethany Neal
In Bloom by Katie Delahanty






Cover Reveal: Harp's Voice by Cassie Shine

I’m so excited to take part in the cover reveal for HARP'S VOICE (Harp's Song #2) by Cassie Shine! Check out the cover below, and let us know what you think in the comments. Then be sure to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a signed copy of HARP'S SONG or HARP'S VOICE (winner's choice), and a $25 Amazon or B&N gift card!

HarpsVoice_cover

Harp's Voice
(Harp's Song #2)
by Cassie Shine
Publication Date: June 24, 2014

Single-minded to the point of near seclusion, Harp Evans' only goal was to move away from her abusive mother, and start a new life at college.  Now a freshman at a prestigious university, Harp continues to struggle letting people in, including her ex-boyfriend -- Connor Williams -- who has always stood by her, especially after her mother exposed a devastating secret about Harp's origin.

While Harp figures out how to navigate her relationships, especially with her mom, Anne, she will have to exorcise her own demons and face challenges with uncompromising courage, including reuniting her broken family -- the family that was shattered by the acts of one man.

After almost twenty years, is it possible for people to change their minds and open their hearts?  More importantly, is Harp strong enough to pull them all back together?


Add Java Man to your Goodreads TBR!

What do you think of the cover?

About the author:  Cassie Shine released her debut young adult novel, Harp's Song in November 2013, finally finishing the short story she started in her college creative writing class. . . many, many moons ago.  She has always Been an avid reader and lover of music (yes, she was in the high school marching band).  While she has a weak spot for all things teeny bopper, especially boy bands, she also loves classical, country, rock and well, pretty much everything.

After living in St. Louis for more than ten years, she and her husband packed up a U-Haul and headed west.  They currently live in Orange county, CA with their furry kids Finnegan and Molly.

Author Links: 
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Instagram | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY

Enter to win a signed copy of HARP'S SONG or HARP'S VOICE (winner's choice) with $25 Amazon or B&N gift card! (US/CA only)
***Any contestant that uses dummy or contest only accounts to enter will be disqualified.***
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Jen Halligan PR host

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Review: The Faerie Guardian by Rachel Morgan

The Faerie Guardian
(Creepy Hollow #1)
by Rachel Morgan

A faerie girl.
A human boy.
A magical world.
A dangerous plot.

Protecting humans from dangerous magical creatures is all in a day’s work for a faerie training to be a guardian. Seventeen-year-old Violet Fairdale knows this better than anyone—she’s about to become the best guardian the Guild has seen in years. That is, until a cute human boy who can somehow see through her faerie glamour follows her into the fae realm. Now she’s broken Guild Law, a crime that could lead to her expulsion.
The last thing Vi wants to do is spend any more time with the boy who got her into this mess, but the Guild requires that she return Nate to his home and make him forget everything he’s discovered of the fae realm. Easy, right? Not when you factor in evil faeries, long-lost family members, and inconvenient feelings of the romantic kind. Vi is about to find herself tangled up in a dangerous plot—and it’ll take all her training to get out of it alive.


My thoughts: This was a fun, pretty quick read and I definitely want to continue on in the series.  Even though in the book, Vi doesn't have a lot of friends, she is a very sympathetic character.  Especially as you get into the book and learn more about her.  There is a lot of action and it was fun to visit this fantastical world of faeries, trolls, pixies, half-lings, etc.   The author does a good job of describing the magic that they have.  It is always interesting to see what an author will come up with to make her characters special in the magical sense.  

Vi's life ends up pretty messy by the end of the book, friends become enemies, enemies become friends and you can't really trust what you know.  This book continues on with The Faerie Prince and book 3 is The Faerie War.  


~I received a complimentary ecopy of this book from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for my unbiased review.~



Cover Reveal: Sticks and Stones by Shawn McGuire



Sticks and Stones
(The Wishmakers Book One)
by Shawn McGuire
Cover designed by  Art by Karri
Publication date: June 15th 2014 
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Everyone has a dark side. Mandy’s just moved in with her.
The last time sixteen-year-old Mandy Matteo broke a rule, her sister died. Since that day she has done only what is expected of her, but life as a goody-goody has made Mandy so boring her friends have all but abandoned her. And she’s given up on ever getting Ethan, the boy she’s liked forever, to notice her. Desperate, Mandy makes a wish to simply be happy.

Her wish is granted and happiness arrives in the form of Lexi, her childhood imaginary friend come to life. Magical wishes have conditions though: Once started, the wish cannot be altered or stopped. And once Mandy is truly content with her life again, Lexi must go back to where she came from. But Lexi loves being alive and she’ll do whatever it takes to stay that way.




About the Author: Shawn McGuire started writing after seeing the first Star Wars movie (that’s episode IV) as a kid; she couldn’t wait for the next one so wrote her own episodes. Sadly, those notebooks are long lost. STICKS AND STONES is her debut and is the first in the planned five-book YA fantasy series, THE WISH MAKERS. She grew up in the beautiful Mississippi River town of Winona, Minnesota and after graduating college moved to the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin where she lived for many years. She and her family now call Colorado home and when not writing or reading, Shawn enjoys cooking and baking, crafts, interior decorating, and spending time hiking and camping in the spectacular Rocky Mountains.

Author Links: 
Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Goodreads







Monday, May 12, 2014

BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge: The One and Only by Emily Giffin


I am very excited to be a part of BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge and am kicking it off with my reivew of The One and Only by Emily Giffin!  To see a full list of the review books, continue reading to the bottom of the post.



The One and Only
by Emily Giffin

Thirty-three-year-old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas—a small college town that lives and dies by football, a passion she unabashedly shares. Raised alongside her best friend, Lucy, the daughter of Walker’s legendary head coach, Clive Carr, Shea was too devoted to her hometown team to leave. Instead she stayed in Walker for college, even taking a job in the university athletic department after graduation, where she has remained for more than a decade.

But when an unexpected tragedy strikes the tight-knit Walker community, Shea’s comfortable world is upended, and she begins to wonder if the life she’s chosen is really enough for her. As she finally gives up her safety net to set out on an unexpected path, Shea discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she has always trusted most—and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets.

Thoughtful, funny, and brilliantly observed, The One & Only is a luminous novel about finding your passion, following your heart, and, most of all, believing in something bigger than yourself . . . the one and only thing that truly makes life worth living.


My thoughts:  This book started out slow for me, but I was interested enough in Shea that I kept reading.  I soon became invested in Shea's life, wanting to know who she would end up with as well as what career path she would take.  

Shea was raised by her mother, but considers her best friend Lucy's family as her own as well.  When Lucy's mother Connie dies, it leaves a hole in all of their lives, including Coach Carr, her husband, who is also the winning coach of Walker football and has been for years.  Shea's relationship with Coach Carr has changed over the years, from him being her best friend's dad, to mentor, to friend.  She understands and is involved in football in a way that Lucy is not, so is closer to coach than his own daughter.  He has most recently given her a lead on a job that would finally get her out of the Walker atmosphere and start a life of her own.  

The relationships in this book were complex and messy.  And that is what I liked best.  The author does not back away from the uncomfortable, but meets it head on.  She explores unlikely attractions as well as unhealthy ones.  She shows us that what might appear perfect on the outside sometimes hides ugly secrets and the things that make us uncomfortable might really be what's worth fighting for.

I will definitely pick up another book by Emily Giffin!

~I received a complimentary ecopy of The One and Only from BookSparks and Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review as part of the BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge.~


Purchase Links: 




THE ONE AND ONLY
by Emily Giffin

Random House; May 20, 2014
432 pages; $28.00 U.S.
ISBN- 978-0-345-54688-3

Check out all the great books that will be reviewed this summer!
May:
The One and Only by Emily Giffin
Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan
Cure for the Common Breakup by Beth Kendrick

June:
The Witch of Belladonna Bay by Suzanne Palmieri
The Revealed by Jessica Hickam
The Walk In Closet by Abdi Nazemian

July:
Elly in Love by Colleen Oakes
After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Serenade by Emily Kiebel
Queen of Hearts Vol. 2 by Colleen Oakes


August:
Gravel on the Side of the Road by Kris Raddish
The Curse of Van Gogh by Paul Hoppe
Wild Within by Melissa Hart

Add-ons
My Last Kiss by Bethany Neal
In Bloom by Katie Delahanty

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