Tag Archives: Contemporary Fiction

Stillwater Rising

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Author:  Steena Holmes
Publisher:  Lake Union Publishing
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction                     still
Source:  Booksparks

 

 

Goodreads:  After losing her son in an elementary school shooting that devastates the tight-knit community of Stillwater Bay, Jennifer Crowne finds herself unable to settle back into her role of perfect stay-at-home mom and committee organizer. Meanwhile, her best friend, Mayor Charlotte Stone, struggles to keep the town together, and Charlotte s husband, the school principal, may not be the hero everyone thinks him to be.

As they try to heal from this irrevocable trauma, Jenn and Charlotte find themselves at a crossroads within the town and within their friendship. For Jenn, broken and grieving, there is no going back, and she demands that the school be closed so that she can bury the past. Yet Charlotte is equally desperate to hold the town together, fighting the school closure and helping the shooter s mother regain her place in the community. Jenn and Charlotte s relationship is put to the ultimate test as each weighs her own interests against the bonds of their friendship.”

Ope’s Opinion:  Oh, my this book is amazing, wonderful, awesome … not enough positive adjectives to describe it.  It is a stop time, all I want to do is read book.

Yes, there are several books about school shootings, the devastation and the aftermath.  But this book is very different.  Steena Holmes writes in such a way that her characters are your neighbors, your friends or even maybe you.  You feel for each person who is struggling to deal with what happened and their part in it.

This book made me think about how I might react if I had been put into this situation?  How would I treat the mother of the shooter?  Would I be able to reach out to other parents grieving or would I be swallowed whole and not be able to manage my own grief, let alone help someone else?  I really enjoy books that make me think…

I am anxiously looking forward to her next book Stillwater Deep.

Rating:  Five Chairs – This book is so good it will be passed on and on and on…..
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Before the Storm

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Author: Steena Holmes           before the storm
Publisher: Steena Holmes
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source: Purchase

 

 

Goodreads:  Fans of Jodi Picoult and Elin Hilderbrand will fall in love with this new series that sets the stage for her upcoming novel, Stillwater Rising, from NY Times bestselling author Steena Holmes.

Before the first shots are fired within the walls of Stillwater Elementary School, life went on as normal for five women who were close friends. Their monthly girls’ night was coming up and they couldn’t wait to get together. They all needed this night to run away and be carefree – from their husbands, their children, their church – with no expectations, no responsibilities, where they weren’t mothers or wives.

No one expected their lives to be torn apart, their friendships tested in one short minute when their town is rocked by a danger lurking in their tight-knit community.

This novella gives you a glimpse into the town of Stillwater Bay and its residents. You will see what their lives were like BEFORE the storm that rocked their little community descended upon them.

This is a novella and comes before Stillwater Rising and a portion of proceeds from this novella will be donated to KidsPeace.org to help stop school violence.

Ope’s Opinion:  Do not read this book unless you have Stillwater Rising in your hands – which does not comes out until  November 11, 2014.   Where this novella leaves you will haunt you until you get your hands on Stillwater Rising.

I loved getting an inside look at each woman before the incident.  It is interesting to see their relationships to each other, their husbands and their children.  It will  make reading Stillwater Rising even more meaningful, as soon as I get it.

Steena Holmes has been an author I do not even have to read the synopsis of her books – I just see her name and pick up the book.  She is an amazing writer.

Rating:  Five Chairs – This book is so good it will be passed on and on and on….

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Your Perfect Life

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Author: Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke             book          
Publisher:  Washington Square Press
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source:  Simon & Schuster

 

 

Goodreads:  With “a delicious, page-turning premise, and sweet and surprising insights” (New York Times bestselling author Jen Lancaster), Your Perfect Life perfectly illustrates that old adage: Sometimes, you to have to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes to see what’s in her heart.

 

Best friends since childhood, Casey and Rachel couldn’t lead more different lives. While workaholic Casey rubs elbows with celebrities daily as the host of Gossip TV and comes home nightly to an empty apartment, stay-at-home mom Rachel juggles an “oops” baby, two fiery teenagers, and a husband who barely seems the man she fell in love with two decades before. After an argument at their twentieth high school reunion, Casey and Rachel throw back shots to get the night back on track. Instead, they get a life-changing hangover.

 

Waking up in each other’s bodies the next morning, they must figure out how to navigate their altered realities. Rachel is forced to confront the reason she gave up her broadcasting dreams when she got pregnant in college, and Casey finally steps out of the spotlight to face the truth about why she’s alone. And they soon discover that they don’t know themselves—or their best friend—nearly as well as they thought they did.

 

Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke bring humor and heart to every page of this novel that is sure to please fans of In Her Shoes and The Opposite of Me. Your Perfect Life is a story about two very different women, what they didn’t know about each other, and how, by switching lives, they each learn to appreciate their own.

Ope’s Opinion: This is a perfect vacation read!  It was an easy read – the story and writing just flowed.  I did have to look back once in a while to remember whether Casey or Rachel were talking, even with that it was a really enjoyable read.

It is one of those books that you could just read as a surface, fun read or you could take away a lot of underlying life lessons.  This would be a good book club read.  I think it would bring about a lot of discussion.  I could see this as a movie too!!

Is the grass greener on the other side?  Would it be greener for you or are you exactly where you should be?  This book will make you think about positive parts of where your life is now.

I hope Liz and Lisa write together again.  I was impressed with the fact that you could not tell that two people wrote this book.  It was seamless.

This book left me with a good feeling.

 

Rating:  Four Chairs – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.
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Little Mercies

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Author:  Heather Gudenkauf                 little mercies
Publisher:  Harlequin MIRA
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
Source:  BEA

 

Buy this book NOW!

 

Goodreads:  In her latest ripped-from-the-headlines tour de force, New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf shows how one small mistake can have life-altering consequences…

 

Veteran social worker Ellen Moore has seen the worst side of humanity;the vilest acts one person can commit against another. She is a fiercely dedicated children’s advocate and a devoted mother and wife. But one blistering summer day, a simple moment of distraction will have repercussions that Ellen could never have imagined, threatening to shatter everything she holds dear, and trapping her between the gears of the system she works for.

 

Meanwhile, ten-year-old Jenny Briard has been living with her well-meaning but irresponsible father since her mother left them, sleeping on friends’ couches and moving in and out of cheap motels. When Jenny suddenly finds herself on her own, she is forced to survive with nothing but a few dollars and her street smarts. The last thing she wants is a social worker, but when Ellen’s and Jenny’s lives collide, little do they know just how much they can help one another.

 

A powerful and emotionally charged tale about motherhood and justice, Little Mercies is a searing portrait of the tenuous grasp we have on the things we love the most, and of the ties that unexpectedly bring us together.

Ope’s Opinion:  This is a book I would like to put in everyones hands – even those who don’t read very often.  I will pass my copy on to others, but they will have to return it.  I will buy copies for those who will not be able to share my copy.  This is absolutely a must read.

Emotional, intense, exciting, fast moving – these are just some of the words that come to mind to describe this book.

Heather Gudenkauf weaves a story that intertwines all the characters lives.  While reading I found myself literally holding my breath! The twists and turns are not predictable at all.  I am amazed at how Heather writes in such a way that I am drawn into the book so deeply I loose track of time.

Even though there are so many books to read, I want to make the time to read this one again.  I can not wait for her next book.

Rating:  Five Chairs – This book is so good it will be passed on and on and on…..
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