The Survivor’s Guide to Family Happiness by Maddie Dawson

guide
The Survivor’s Guide to Family Happiness by Maddie Dawson
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction
Length: Full Length (400 pgs)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Stephanotis

Three women, three lives, and one chance to become a family…whether they want to or not.

Newly orphaned, recently divorced, and semiadrift, Nina Popkin is on a search for her birth mother. She’s spent her life looking into strangers’ faces, fantasizing they’re related to her, and now, at thirty-five, she’s ready for answers.

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But Nina is determined to reassemble her birth family. Her search turns up Phoebe Mullen, a guarded, hard-talking woman convinced she has nothing to offer. Gradually sharing stories and secrets, the three women make for a messy, unpredictable family that looks nothing like Nina pictured…but may be exactly what she needs. Nina’s moving, ridiculous, tragic, and transcendent journey becomes a love story proving that real family has nothing to do with DNA.

One of the perks of being a book reviewer is stumbling upon new authors you might not have found on your own. And yes, I hit pay dirt with this one.

Some of my favorite books are those that are both bittersweet and funny at the same time. Sounds like an oxymoron but those are the stories that pull on your emotions and make you think what you’re reading is actually real.

While I didn’t like all the characters at the very beginning…and yes, I did cheer for Nina from the first page, I did end up wanting all good things for the three women featured in this story. None of them are perfect but it’s those imperfections that made them come across as people I meet on any given day.

The story, as the name suggests, is very family centric and while not all us search for our birth parents or have children we gave up for adoption, show up one day, we call can relate to what family really means. The dialogue is wonderful and the pacing spot on. Even though this is a 400 plus page book, you find yourself easily gliding through it.

What I took away from this book is that we’re all work in progress and to coin the cliché, that no man is an island. I’ll definitely be reading more books by this author and recommend this family drama as ideal fall reading.

Echoes of Family by Barbara Claypole White

family
Echoes of Family by Barbara Claypole White
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (424 pgs)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Stephanotis

Sometimes the only way through darkness is to return to where it began.

Marianne Stokes fled England at seventeen, spiraling into the manic depression that would become her shadow. She left behind secrets, memories, and tragedy: one teen dead, and her first love, Gabriel, badly injured. Three decades later she’s finally found peace in the North Carolina recording studio she runs with her husband, Darius, and her almost-daughter, Jade…until another fatality propels her back across the ocean to confront the long-buried past.
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In her picturesque childhood village, the first person she meets is the last person she wants to see again: Gabriel. Now the village vicar, he takes her in without question, and ripples of what if reverberate through both their hearts. As Marianne’s mind unravels, Jade and Darius track her down. Tempers clash when everyone tries to help, but only by finding the courage to face her illness can Marianne heal herself and her offbeat family.

I know I shouldn’t call a book about someone trying to deal with their bipolar illness a fun read, but that’s exactly what I thought about Echoes of Family. It’s about real life, real people, some of them are a touch quirky but there’s something of each of us in these fictional and that’s what made it fun.

I felt like I was looking over their shoulders and my heart went out to the main character, Marianne. She’s been an outcast and suffering with mental illness and when she returns home everything seems to come to the boiling point for her and the people she left behind on both sides of the ocean.

Mental illness is a tough issue to tackle in fiction but I think the author did a wonderful job with it. This was in no way a depressing book but one where you cheer on the characters and hope that everything will eventually be okay for them.

I love that it centered around Marianne’s family and her adopted daughter Jade. It was their story, also the story of her and her husband, and of Gabriel, the man from her past. One of my favorite lines from the book was guilt should have an expiration date which for me summed up the theme of the story.

If you like family dramas with well round characters I’d say put this one on your fall reading list.

Saving Abby by Steena Holmes

ABBY
Saving Abby by Steena Holmes
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (298 pgs)
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Thistledown

All children’s book illustrator Claire Turner ever wanted was to be a mother. After six years of trying to conceive, she and her husband, Josh, have finally accepted that she will never be pregnant with a child of their own.

Yet once they give up hope, the couple gets the miracle they’ve been waiting for. For the first few months of her pregnancy, Claire and Josh are living on cloud nine. But when she begins to experience debilitating headaches, blurred vision, and even fainting spells, the soon-to-be mother goes to the doctor and receives a terrifying diagnosis. Since any treatment could put their unborn baby’s life at risk, the Turners must carefully weigh their limited options. And as her symptoms worsen, Claire will have to make an impossible decision: Save her own life, or save her child’s?

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Sounds like a romance right? Not exactly. Claire Turner and her husband Josh have spent years trying to successfully have a baby. As children’s book writers and illustrators, they are constantly in the face of what she wants most: a child. When she gets back from her trip and feels laggy, Claire finds out she is pregnant, but back to back with that news is something far worse. She has brain cancer and to treat it would very likely kill the life growing inside of her.

As a young woman Claire was forced to give up her child and now wants this baby with a consuming passion despite the health risks involved. At one point she even delays a doctor visit that might have helped her and I’m not really sure why.

This book should have grabbed me but from the onset, it lacked the emotional depth I would have expected from a storyline such as this. Gut wrenching choices? Absolutely. But I didn’t feel like I could connect with the character at all and that made me want to get through the book as quickly as possible so I didn’t have to prolong the read.

In the beginning, the relationship between the couple is set up well and you get the solid basis that is their life. It is very slow however. But when she gets the diagnosis, the book wavers and it becomes plodding in a way. I also kept looking for this Abby person the title suggested. Who is she? It was toward the end that I realized it was the baby that we hadn’t even really had much to do with. I think I would have called this book something else.

All in all it is a solid woman’s fiction novel but it left me sort of cold. Choices were made-hard ones- about a woman’s life and the life of her child but in the end I didn’t particularly care and wanted the book to be done. Not what I was expecting at all and that saddened me. I may read more from this author and I understand her other books are more engrossing but this one needed something to spark more reader identity.

Where We Fall by Rochelle B. Weinstein

FALL
Where We Fall by Rochelle B. Weinstein
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (322 pgs)
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Ginger

By all accounts, Abby Holden has it all. She’s the mother of a beautiful teenager and the wife of a beloved high school football coach. And all it took to achieve her charmed life was her greatest act of betrayal.

Coach Ryan can coax his team to victory, but he can’t seem to make his wife, Abby, happy. Her struggles with depression have marred their marriage and taken a toll on their daughter, Juliana. Although this isn’t the life he’s dreamed of, he’s determined to heal the rifts in his family.

Chasing waterfalls and documenting their beauty has led photographer Lauren Sheppard all around the world. Now it has brought her back home to the mountains of North Carolina—back to the scene of her devastating heartbreak.
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For the first time in seventeen years, a trio of once-inseparable friends find themselves confronting past loves, hurts, and the rapid rush of a current that still pulls them together.…

Why is it that what we don’t have can overshadow what we do? Where We Fall is a poetic in-depth voice of a family that began because of a secret. The descriptive writing style will pull a reader into the personal mental battle of Abby Holden. The story pretty much focuses on where 38-year-old Abby falls and how she must address and confront her past to get back to living.

Abby’s depression held her and her family hostage from achieving true family happiness. The depression put a wedge between Abby and her teenage daughter Juliana and made her dedicated husband pretty much a single father. The plot is one that will hopefully catch the reader from the very beginning and with the writer’s talent for story telling as well as building the suspense it should also keep the reader entertained.

I enjoyed the story and how it was delivered. This was a story that made me think and wonder… could things have been handled differently? When all the secrets were revealed it brought about a question of what could the characters do now? The past laid heavily on Abby’s heart but was she entirely the one to blame? Her best friend and Ryan’s college girlfriend, Lauren, is the one that place the pieces in position but when events turn out not to be in Lauren’s favor she decided to keep on her personal path to travel the world chasing waterfalls.

I enjoyed the book and would recommend it but I did have one problem with the plot. I liked the story idea of the battle with mental illness but the rooted reason for Abby’s descent really didn’t seem to be a reason to make her marriage and relationship with her daughter suffer. No, she couldn’t have won the best friend award but if the love between Ryan and Lauren was so deep and connected why did Lauren chance leaving in the first place? Then she returns many years later with the same love for Ryan in her heart and disappointment and hurt for Abby. Lauren left; did she think Ryan would put his life on hold until she finished living?

Ryan was my favorite character because he is a man that is dedicated to family and the young boys on his football team. He is the one that seemed to have it together. I didn’t like Lauren because she seemed to be lost and not know what she wanted when she was younger and now that she is older she is under the assumption that she still loves Ryan, but people change. Lauren is more naive now than she was when she left after graduating college. Juliana, Abby’s daughter seemed immature or either spoiled. In her forbidden relationship with football player E.J., she was pushy to have relations with him and in regards to her mother she didn’t seem to understand that her mother needed help.

This may not be a happy read.  In fact it has a desolate flow but the ending made the book worth reading.

North of Here by Laurel Saville

nORTH
North of Here by Laurel Saville
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (258 pgs)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Stephanotis

The sounds of unexpected tragedies—a roll of thunder, the crash of metal on metal—leave Miranda in shock amid the ruins of her broken family.

As she searches for new meaning in her life, Miranda finds quiet refuge with her family’s handyman, Dix, in his cabin in the dark forests of the Adirondack Mountains. Dix is kind, dependable, and good with an ax—the right man to help the sheltered Miranda heal—but ultimately, her sadness creates a void even Dix can’t fill.

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Miranda was an interesting character in this book, and the main reason I kept on to the end.  While I liked the author’s voice and the flow of her prose, I have to say this book wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. I’ll admit I’m more of a genre fiction fan than a literary one and this book fit into the latter category and may be the reason I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped.

The reason I’m not typically a fan of literary novels is I feel authors spend too much time telling us what happened rather than showing us. It’s not so much the fault of the writer, but the style they choose to write in. I did feel this story could have been much stronger and more enjoyable, at least for me, told with more dialogue and more in the here and now than being told the story in narration form.

It’s a bittersweet story, very moving in parts, very sad in others. I did feel a connection with Miranda because of the situation she found herself in. It’s a dire one and none of which is her fault, so I began cheering her on. I hoped that things turn around for her, especially when Dix comes on the scene.

What dialogue there was in this book was excellent, very lifelike and one of the reasons I wished there would have been more. All the characters seemed believable even if some weren’t that likeable.

It does, as any book should, make you think about things, in this case, lose and healing and trying to move on with one’s life after a tragedy.

If you are a fan of literary fiction, I’d say give this one a read.

Light of Hidden Flowers by Jennifer Handford

LIGHT
Light of Hidden Flowers by Jennifer Handford
Publisher: by Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mainstream Fiction
Length: Full Length (375 pgs)
Rated: 4 stars
Reviewed by Snapdragon

Book-smart Melissa Fletcher lives a predictable life in her hometown, working behind the scenes for her charismatic father in a financial career that makes perfect sense. But when her dad is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Missy is forced to step up and take over as his primary caregiver and the principal of the firm.

After her father’s death, Missy finds a letter from him in which he praises her for being a dutiful daughter but admonishes her for not taking any risks in life.

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The Light of Hidden Flowers is a deeply felt story of accepting who we are while pushing our boundaries to see how much more we can become. It’s a reminder that it’s never too late to pursue our dreams.

Jennifer Handford’s The Light of Hidden Flowers is a contemporary novel about living life, or more being willing to risk living life.

“Count your blessings” are words to live by for Melissa Fletcher. She likes her well-arranged life well enough. She works for her father, but not under his thumb, as a valued team member. However, she hits a bump in her well-ordered path when her father develops Alzheimer’s. This ‘bump’ jars her from her well-ordered course. This ‘bump’ is in fact, the start of her living…

Characters are the heart and soul of this novel: even the Dad is unexpectedly vibrant, and some financial clients are also wonderful. However, backstory is boring and repeated lapses into backstory drag down what would otherwise be a thoroughly engaging story. Handford explores motivation, both in small ways and in major. Choices, large and small, are thought-provoking.

Overall, The Light of Hidden Flowers is interesting and unpredictable.

Although it is a serious novel taking itself a bit too seriously, it is in fact beautifully written and engaging; I will certainly be looking for Handford’s next.

Whistling Women by Kelly Romo

women
Whistling Women by Kelly Romo
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Historical, Women’s Fiction
Length: Full Length (447 pgs)
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Life went terribly wrong for Addie Bates in San Diego, and she’s been running from dark memories ever since. For fifteen years, the Sleepy Valley Nudist Colony has provided a safe haven for Addie to hide from the crime she committed. But when the residents pack up to go on exhibit at the 1935 world’s fair in San Diego, Addie returns and must face the thrilling yet terrifying prospect of reuniting with her estranged sister, Wavey.

Addie isn’t the only one interested in a reunion. When her niece, Rumor, discovers she has an aunt, Rumor is determined to bring her family together. But it’s not so easy when the women are forced to confront family secrets, past and present.
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Set against the backdrop of the 1935 world’s fair, Whistling Women explores the complex relationships between sisters, the sacrifices required to protect family, and the devastating consequences of a single impulsive act.

This book wasn’t anything I expected and it’s a good and bad thing.

You might be wondering. Why would I start a review with the above sentence? When I opened Whistling Women by Kelly Romo, I had sort of an idea what I was getting into–there are sisters, there’s strife and an interesting story of how they might get back together as a family. As far as that goes, I wasn’t steered wrong. The story has its interesting parts and characters that kept my attention. I liked Rumor. She’s spunky and forthright. I rooted for her.

That said, there were parts that, well, dragged for me. I’m not knocking Kelly Romo’s writing style. She’s written a vivid story and paints an interesting picture of 1930’s California. I even liked the quirkiness of Addie. But the story definitely dragged for the first half of the book. I struggled, even though I wanted to keep going in order to reach the pay off. That’s not to say this was a bad book. It wasn’t. There’s a lot of potential to the book and with a little more editing, it can be great.

What was the thing I totally didn’t expect in the book? The nudist colony. I won’t elaborate so I don’t ruin the story for you, but it wasn’t where I thought the story would go. It’s definitely quirky.

If you want a book that’s heavy on heart and a little different, then this might be the book for you.

Smoke by Catherine McKenzie

SMOKE
Smoke by Catherine McKenzie
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense
Length: Full Length (337 pages)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

After a decade-long career combating wildfires, Elizabeth has traded in for a quieter life with her husband. Now she works as the local arson investigator in a beautiful, quaint town in the Rockies. But that tranquil life vanishes when she and her husband agree to divorce, and when a fire started in nearby Cooper Basin begins to spread rapidly. For Elizabeth, containing a raging wildfire is easier than accepting that her marriage has failed.

For Elizabeth’s ex-friend Mindy, who feels disconnected from her husband and teenage children, the fire represents a chance to find a new purpose: helping a man who lost his home to the blaze. But her faith is shattered by a shocking accusation.

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Engrossing… simply engrossing.

I’m generally not a fan of chick lit. Why? I like a little more romance to the books I read. That said, I did enjoy Smoke. There’s just enough going on in this book. It kept my attention and flowed well. The writing was good and I liked the characters for the most part.

The backdrop of the wildfires helped to illustrate the way the lives of the characters seem to be falling into shambles, but there’s a chance for rebirth. I liked that. I like knowing things aren’t always going to be horrible and this author did that for me.

The slow buildup of the characters could be a bit of a story killer for some. It’s not a fast moving book to begin with. I had to fight a little early on, but once I got into the story… I was hooked. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t engrossing, it just means you may have to put in some effort to get to the payoff. It’s worth it.

Elizabeth and Mindy are good characters and easy to relate to because we’ve all been in their shoes–kids, marriages, crises and the like. How the characters handled their problems was very down to earth and worth the read.

Grab a copy. Good reading.

Life and Other Near-Death Experiences by Camille Pagán

NEAR
Life and Other Near-Death Experiences by Camille Pagán
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: Full Length (262 pgs)
Rated: 4.5 stars
Review by Poppy

Libby Miller has always been an unwavering optimist—but when her husband drops a bomb on their marriage the same day a doctor delivers devastating news, she realizes her rose-colored glasses have actually been blinding her.
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With nothing left to lose, she abandons her life in Chicago for the clear waters and bright beaches of the Caribbean for what might be her last hurrah. Despite her new sunny locale, her plans go awry when she finds that she can’t quite outrun the past or bring herself to face an unknowable future. Every day of tropical bliss may be an invitation to disaster, but with her twin brother on her trail and a new relationship on the horizon, Libby is determined to forget about fate. Will she risk it all to live—and love—a little longer?

From critically acclaimed author Camille Pagán comes a hilarious and hopeful story about a woman choosing between a “perfect” life and actually living.

Alternately exceptionally deep and heart-rending and absolutely hysterical, Life and Other Near-Death Experiences was nothing like I expected and completely enjoyable.

From the first page, I was both chuckling at Libby’s attitude and heart-broken at the way her life was crumbling around her. She has the kind of snarky, internal (and sometimes external) humor that I absolutely enjoy. Despite her world falling apart, she moves forward and makes choices and does what needs doing. Sometimes I questioned her choices, but not having walked in her shoes, how would I know what the “right” way to behave would be.

The author has a descriptive but breezy style that’s so easy to read. While this isn’t my typical genre, I’m glad I grabbed it. It was both edifying and uplifting and so very interesting. Parts were a little draggy, but mostly I zipped right through the book. From Chicago to the tropics, I was right there with our heroine as she went from giving up and deciding to die, to learning how to live and love again. It was an incredible journey that sometimes left me breathless and ultimately left me moved. I’m glad I decided to pick it up and recommend it to any reader who enjoys a book both meaningful and completely entertaining.