Review: The Winters in Bloom

The Winters in Bloom
By Lisa Tucker
(Atria Books, Hardcover, 9781416575405, September 2011, 288pp.)

The Short of It:

I opened the book and fell right in.

The Rest of It:

Kyra and David are happily married, have a nice home and have stable careers. They live with their son Michael and things could not be more perfect. But in the back of their minds, because of decisions they made in the past, they expect tragedy at every turn and it hits when Michael suddenly vanishes from their backyard.

This is really an amazing book. I know it’s gotten some mixed reviews but if you enjoy dysfunction, let me tell you…this family is about as dysfunctional as you can get. The characters are beautifully flawed and vulnerable. These people have secrets. Secrets that have eaten away at them for years and years. They are burdened with guilt, filled with resentment and yearning for normalcy. Tucker does an amazing job of creating an angst ridden novel without making it depressing. In fact, it’s quite hopeful and I found myself cheering for this family and wanting things to end well for them.

This was my first Lisa Tucker novel. In the past, I avoided her books because they seemed a tad light for me, but this one had plenty of meat on its bones and left me thinking about it long after I finished reading it. All I had to do was open the book, read the first page and immediately I was sucked in. I read this with another blogger and she felt the same way!

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains IndieBound affiliate links.

14 thoughts on “Review: The Winters in Bloom”

It was a good one…not sure if I will read her other stuff…but this was a good one…

I just won this book from another blogger, and it hasn’t arrived yet. I love dysfunctional family stories, and I think this one sounds excellent. I am glad to hear that the book doesn’t overstep and that it maintains its equilibrium all the way through. Great review on this one, Ti. I enjoyed reading your analysis!

This sounds interesting. I like dysfunctional to a point. LOL

I love dysfunction and secrets so I bet this one would be a good fit for me! Great review.

Wow! I do like to read about dysfunction – I think it makes me realize my life’s not so bad.

I have to be in the mood for dysfuction. Sometimes it just ends up being a buzz kill for me. I love the cover though. I’m drawn to it.

Dysfunction is my favorite theme, as I’ve mentioned before. This sounds pretty great already to me.

I love dysfunctional families!! Sounds right up my alley. I’ve read 2 of her books, one I enjoyed and the other not so much. This one sounds interesting enough to make me want to read it.

I love your “short and sweet’ for this one. That is almost enough just by itself. And I know that you know dysfunction (based on our past conversations) so I sit up and take notice when you like one that features it.

I love it when a book sucks you right in from the first page! I’ll have to check this one out.

I thought you would like this book. The characters are amazing! This is also the first book I’ve read by Lisa Tucker. I thought her books were light but this wasn’t light at all. I wanted to stop reading this book at times but I also couldn’t put it down! I thought the opening pages were a great way to start the book

I LOVED Once Upon a Day so much that I pretty much ordered all the rest of Lisa Tucker’s books… then I read another one (don’t even remember the name or the plot or why I disliked it) and strongly disliked it enough that I never picked up another one of her books. I’m thinking maybe I should change that!