With No Regrets by Julie N. Ford

                                               

Description

Living With No Regrets Is Harder Than It Seems
Finley isn’t exactly sure when her life began to feel unfamiliar. She suspects the transformation started long before she caught her husband and fellow garden club member doing the white-trash-two-step on her new Bernhardt sofa. Now free from the shackles of a loveless marriage, and with her children off to college, she’s finally able to go searching for the missing pieces of her heart.

Finley’s best friend, Cathyanne, is already working hard to ensure that Finley finds true love this time around. But when Finley is unwittingly tossed into the arms of two men—their sexy trainer and her neighbor, a popular country star—Cathyanne fears finding the right guy will be more complicated than she ever could have imagined.

For Finley, building a new life feels as impossible as flying a paper airplane to the moon. But maybe, just maybe, with the right help, she will find her whole heart—even if it’s in the very last place she thinks to look.

This was a bitter sweet story that I read over Valentine's day. It reminded me a bit of the movie How Stella Got her Groove Back and I guess it's because Finley needed to get her groove back too. Finley had been stuck in a stagnant marriage for quite some time. Finally catching her husband cheating on her was the push she needed to end things. She probably would have just stayed in the marriage and spent her life unhappy if not for that.
Her best friend seems to be in a rush to get her into another relationship, but she has another motive for wanting to make sure that Finley has someone in her life to lean on.
I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.

I received an advance copy for review

I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb

Description
With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal—this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world


This is mainly the story of twin brothers, one who is in and out of institutions due to mental illness, and one who feels he must always look after him and protect him as best he can.
I very much enjoyed the first part of the book which kind of bounced back and forth between the here and now, and flash backs to when the boys were growing up with an abusive step father and a mom who was basically afraid of her own shadow, Towards the middle and into the last half when much of the book was taken over by memoirs written by the long dead grandfather my enjoyment began to wane a bit. I also would have liked less psycho babble from the drawn out visits with the psychiatrist who was constantly asking for things (Americanisms ) to be explained. Although some of the secrets revealed in the grandfather's memoirs were pertinent to the story, I really feel this story could have been better told in 700 or so pages instead of needlessly dragged out into 900.
I would rate it 4 of 5 stars.

Dastardly Bastard by Edward Lorn

Description

When war photographer Mark Simmons is sent to do a promo on Waverly Chasm, he assumes it’s a puff piece, a waste of his talents.

Widow Marsha Lake brings her son, Lyle, to help him heal after his father’s death.

Donald Adams, aka H.R. Chatmon, joins the tour to get away from a sticky situation.

Justine McCarthy consents to the hike to placate her boyfriend, Trevor.

For Jaleel Warner, the tour guide, walking the chasm is just part of his job.

Each of these people must face their darkest memories in order to discover and defeat the secret buried in Waverly Chasm.

Dastardly Bastard by Edward Lorn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure what to expect from the description but having read and enjoyed another book by the author (Life After Dane) I decided to give it a chance.
With an eclectic cast of quirky characters it really held my attention right from the start. I love horror with a dose of humor thrown in and that is exactly what this book delivers.
There are some strange and spooky happenings before Justine and Trevor even arrive to tour Waverly Chasm, and Mark had a humorous time getting there. The adventures of this plus sized reporter had just while renting a car had me laughing one minute and gave me goose bumps the next.

I received a complimentary copy for review

When I'm Gone by Emily Bleeker

Description

Dear Luke,
First let me say—I love you…I didn’t want to leave you…
Luke Richardson has returned home after burying Natalie, his beloved wife of sixteen years, ready to face the hard job of raising their three children alone. But there’s something he’s not prepared for—a blue envelope with his name scrawled across the front in Natalie’s handwriting, waiting for him on the floor of their suburban Michigan home.
The letter inside, written on the first day of Natalie’s cancer treatment a year ago, turns out to be the first of many. Luke is convinced they’re genuine, but who is delivering them? As his obsession with the letters grows, Luke uncovers long-buried secrets that make him question everything he knew about his wife and their family. But the revelations also point the way toward a future where love goes on—in written words, in memories, and in the promises it’s never too late to keep.


I was in the mood for a good cry when I picked up this book, but what sounded like another Tear-Jerker was surprisingly much more.  When Luke is left to raise his children alone after the untimely death of his wife he is totally lost without her. Suddenly letters begin to mysteriously appear written by his wife before her death, but who is sending them? Her best friend claims no knowledge of them but she is keeping secrets too. Luke begins to suspect his wife had secrets from him and what he uncovers is not at all what I was expecting. There are lots of twists and turns in this well told tale.

I received an advance copy for review

A Note From the Publisher

Emily Bleeker is a former educator who learned to love writing while teaching her students’ writer’s workshop. After surviving a battle with a rare form of cancer, she finally found the courage to share her stories, starting with her debut novel, Wreckage. A fully recovered “secret writer,” Emily now spends her days wrangling four kids while planning out plotlines and writing about the people in her head. She currently lives with her family in suburban Chicago.