Tag Archives: Loss

Book Review

Review & Giveaway: A Good Measure (Savannah Skies #3)

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A Good Measure

A Good Measure
By Nan Rossiter
Harper Paperbacks, 9780063076242, April 12, 2022, 36pp.

The Short of It:

A heartfelt story about a family’s loss, their eagerness for happiness, and how their love for one another hold each other up.

The Rest of It:

I have reviewed many of Nan’s books. So many of them hold a special place in my heart. A Good Measure is book #3 in the Savannah Skies series and yet I don’t think you need to read the first two to really enjoy this one. But, you will still want to read them just to spend more time with this family.

Libby Tennyson’s husband Jack passed away less than a year ago and although her life has always been full, raising six sons into grown adults, her time alone in the farmhouse leaves her a little sad, and worried about what the future holds. Her son Chase has found the love of his life, but his relationship with Liam presents some challenges when Liam’s folks fail to show support for what they consider to be a non-traditional relationship.

Libby is surrounded by ladies her own age, ones who try repeatedly to get her to come out of her shell and join them for drinks and fellowship but Libby is reluctant. Her young grand-daughter, a vision of vitality and yes, energy, bridges the loneliness gap by providing much needed company and silliness. But can there really be more for Libby out there? At this age? Yes!

Pick up any Rossiter book and you will be regaled with food talk, a love for all animals, especially Labs and Goldens, and honestly just the love and friendship that result in close relationships. Reading her stories just FEEL good. Like a hug. These are the types of reads that you cozy up with and who doesn’t need that right now? I highly recommend her books. All of them.

The author has offered me a copy to giveaway! If you’d like a chance to win a copy, check out the details below.

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

This giveaway is for one copy of A Good Measure and is open to the US and Canada. A winner will be chosen randomly by me. The book will come directly from the publisher/author. Only one entry per person. Giveaway closes on June 1, 2022 (pacific). I will contact the winner for his/her mailing address.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER! GIVEAWAY HAS CLOSED!

Source: Review and giveaway copy provided by the publisher/author.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Book Review

Review: The Push

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The Push

The Push
By Ashley Audrain
Pamela Dorman Books, 9781984881663, January 2021, 320pp.

The Short of It:

I had heard from many that this story was wild and it is. It’s like watching an accident happen in slow motion and you cannot look away.

The Rest of It:

Blythe and Fox can’t wait for their beautiful baby girl to arrive. After a difficult labor, baby Violet is placed on Blythe’s chest and it’s not quite the feeling she’s envisioned all her life. As a young girl whose own mother left her at a young age, Blythe silently vows to be the type of mother that she herself never had. But the constant feedings, the lack of sleep and honestly, the lack of a mother-daughter bond concerns Blythe. It concerns Fox too but he pins it on exhaustion. How could a mother not love her own child?

The thing is, Violet never seems to NEED Blythe. She is always reaching for daddy and doesn’t seem to notice the things he can’t provide like the around-the-clock nursing that only Blythe can manage. Years pass and this feeling that Blythe has can’t be shaken. There is something wrong with this child.

Enter Sam. If you have any doubts over your ability to be a mother, why not test the theory out by having another child? That’s exactly what Blythe does. She never shares her full intentions with Fox but secretly she wants to prove that she is a good mother and that a different child will see that. Sam is the baby she’s always wanted. He nuzzles into her, and doesn’t turn away like Violet did. He smiles when he sees her and looks to her for comfort. When she sees her son’s goofy grin, she smiles from ear to ear. While all of this is going on, Violet and her father also notice and Blythe is left wondering if there is something wrong with her to feel such dread whenever her daughter enters the room. How can Blythe not let this affect them? Then, the unthinkable happens.

What a book! This is a brutally honest look at motherhood. These characters are not depicted in a good light and some might think that Blythe’s aversion to her own daughter is way over-the-top but anyone who’s had a few rough years with a baby knows that it is right on the money. My daughter did not sleep through the night until age four and required two feedings an hour for years. So long that the doctor had her checked for a heart condition thinking she was expending too much energy and therefore requiring more food. This book triggered me in so many ways and yet I kept flipping those pages.

Many have described The Push as being compulsively readable. I agree 100%. It’s gritty and truthful and not at all pretty but it was impossible to put down. If you enjoyed Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage then you will want to read this one.

Also, Ashley Audrain has another book coming out in 2022, The Whispers.

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