#literaryfiction – Rosepoint Publishing

The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff #AudiobookReview #FamilyLifeFiction

Book Blurb:

When April and Leo’s house burns in the middle of the night, they escape with their two young children and the quiet knowledge that the fire is not the only thing threatening their family. They retreat to April’s childhood home in Dallas, where her spirited parents and siblings provide both comfort and complication.

As the family reckons with the aftermath—grief, guilt, logistics, and memories scorched and intact—the fire exposes the cracks already forming in April and Leo’s marriage. The novel unfolds in alternating perspectives: from April, who feels the crushing weight of motherhood, marriage, and self-blame; from Leo, a high school history teacher shaped by a lonely, fractured childhood; from Deb, April’s generous and no-nonsense mother who has to contend with her husband’s recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis; and from flashbacks that trace April and Leo’s relationship from its earliest days of connection to the devastating decisions that led them here.

A family saga suffused with humor, longing, and heartbreak, The Burning Side is about what we inherit and what we choose, about forgiveness and the ache of being known. It is, above all, about the meaning of home and the costs of long love.

My Review:

A new-to-me author delivers a family life portrait and then does a deep dive into family dynamics.

April and Leo have been having marital problems and grown apart, somewhat estranged. He announced to her, during dinner preparation, that he wants a divorce, and as it will sometimes, the food and the fire are forgotten until the flames threaten their entire family.

With no home, the loss of everything, and nowhere to go, they move to her parents house. Leo has a tight tie with his inlaws who always treated him as their own son. Now Deb has been dealt with a diagnosis of her husband’s Alzheimers and is learning to come to terms with it.

They say events comes in threes…that old rule has happened more than once…and comes into play here. The reader is allowed POA’s of all three, April, Leon, and Deb. My perspective changes with all three, and might have changed more than once throughout the narrative.

The tension ebbs and flows while the reader begins to understand the experience of each, the pressure of a mother of little ones, while Leo exhibits increasing arm distance with little or no communication with his wife. It helps that all characters are likable but there are times when you’d like to yell at both to just talk to each other. Feelings of alienation can’t quite swallow the love each obviously still has for the other.

There are themes of abandonment, trust, loyalty, loss, and family bonds. It’s emotional but didn’t always feel authentic to me. No surprises here; the plot and storyline followed a rather predictable pattern. There is definitely a failure to communicate and that ends only one of two ways—the way you expect.

The novel is engaging, providing enough tension and interesting characters to carry the read to conclusion. If you’re a fan, you’ll no doubt find it well written and satisfying.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Family Life Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Narrators: Stacy Gonzalez, Timothy Andrés Pabon, Jackie Sanders
Release Date: May 19, 2026

Title Links:

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Sarah Damoff is the author of the debut novel, THE BRIGHT YEARS, published by Simon & Schuster in 2025. It was a national bestseller; a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist; and Southern Literary Review Book of the Year. Her second novel, THE BURNING SIDE, is out now. Sarah’s books are being translated into over twenty languages. Her writing has also appeared in Oprah Daily, Porter House Review, Ruminate Magazine, Texas Highways, and Open Global Rights, among other publications. A Texas native, Sarah lives with her husband and children in Dallas, where she has worked in child welfare. Her third novel, STATE OF CARE, is forthcoming.

#Audiobooks

Rosepoint Reviews – October Recap – All the News That’s Fit to Print

Rosepoint Reviews October Recap

I mentioned last recap that I moved my water garden critters inside as the weather took a cool turn and these can’t tolerate cold water. Inside, I have no lid, no light, no heater. So far, they’ve done well, but I had read that cool water (between 64-68 degrees) will keep the female snails from laying eggs. Nope. Now I have a clutch of eggs despite the temp. I’m wondering what colors they will produce, however, as I have both orange and ivory and don’t know which female laid the eggs. Always something!

In order to attend the local library American Mahjong games (they also have Chinese games), I’ve been studying any free apps I can find. Most have introductory games then a monthly fee. The games are several hours long and held weekly—no way I can do that—but was hoping to learn enough not to embarrass myself. Do you play?

Also, last recap I mentioned that Punkin the Pom would have her birthday in October, and she did, but it was her eighth, not the seventh. She continues to stretch her boundaries with us, finally getting comfortable enough with us to do so and continues to be a picky eater.

As usual a very busy month in which I take on far more than capable of accomplishing, but do it anyway, so, yes, my reviews have suffered. In the middle of trying to get a review to post during the month, discovered I could no longer use the Classic Editor without upgrading. The “happiness engineers” were pretty thrilled, I wasn’t. I paid for the basic and still getting used to it. The biggest problem for me is opening but not being kept in the dashboard. Despite the trauma and much gnashing of teeth, the CE and I read and reviewed four ebooks and six audiobooks in October.

I’m woefully behind reviewing audiobooks, with five read and sitting out there waiting for much needed attention. If I can get those caught up, it’ll go a long way towards my Goodreads goal for the year.

#RosepointPublishing - October Recap

EBooks

Secrets of the Artis Zoo by Paulette Mahurin (CE review)
Lady Reid’s Legacy by Jean Grainer
The Seagull by Wes Snowden (CE review)
Conspiracy by Colleen Coble

Audiobooks

Forget You Saw Her by Noelle W Ihli
Too Old for This by Samantha Downing
The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce ( book club selection)
He Started It by Samantha Downing
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Favorite Book of the Month

I liked both Too Old for This and Lady Reid’s Legacy but have to give the nod to Too Old for This because it was unique, shocking, and fast-paced. Never a dull moment there!

Favorite for October – Too Old for This

My Reading Challenges page…Once again, just too much going on with aquatic critters, cleaning up the yard, and trying to learn Mah Jong. Goodreads now at 107 books of a 125 book challenge, putting me at 86%. Also wrestling with my Amazon Vine goal and it’s looking like it’s going to be a squeaker.

To my readers and fellow bloggers: I appreciate every view and like and thank you so much for taking the time to check out my posts and leave your comments. You still remain the reason I keep posting and now own a two-year subscription.

Halloween books

The Girl on the Train: A Novel by Paula Hawkins #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday #psychologicalthriller

Best Books of the Year 2015

Book Blurb:

The #1 New York Times bestseller, USA Today Book of the Year and now a major motion picture starring Emily Blunt.

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple having breakfast on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

My Review:

Sorry, not sorry, that I did not find Rachel sympathetic.

This is a novel I sucked into because it was a book of the year. Not the first time I’ve wondered if I read the same book alluded to in the raves. It wasn’t until I actually started this review that I discovered it also became a successful movie starring Emily Blunt. Well…Emily Blunt. Now I’ll have to go and look for the flick, but it won’t be involved in my review of the novel.

The Girl on the Train - US cover — The Girl on the Train – US cover

There are actually three main characters but Rachel Watson has the predominant POV. Also included in short chapter bursts are Anna and Megan. They all share the storytelling, but it’s Rachel who is the most dominant and unreliable narrator. Excuse me, but did they all have to be so nasty? There’s no one here to invest in.

It’s Megan who goes missing. It’s Anna who is the sweetie who stole Rachel’s hubby (the rat) and became pregnant just to spite Rachel. Anna obviously knew Rachel couldn’t conceive, thank heaven, as with the amount of booze Rachel consumed, the poor thing would come out in the shape of a bottle.

Never mind all that. Rachel manages the money to continue to commute to the city every morning where she was fired for drinking and being totally obnoxious on the job. One morning on the way in though, she believes she witnesses what has to be a crime and she attempts to report it.

HA! No one takes her seriously. Would you? So she decides to find out what happened herself. Does this sound familiar at all?

The Girl on the Train - UK cover — The Girl on the Train – UK cover

The narrative manages a timeline shift as well as POV shifts, some stretching disbelief, some little more than a repeat, but therein lies a heavy philosophical study in the mind of three disparate women. There are twists galore, because…who do you trust to tell this tale?

The denouement, when it comes, may not be one of the answers you’d thought of, but is rather a let down anyway and my summation: meh.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Three Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Psychological Thrillers, Women’s Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Narrators: Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey, India Fisher
Release Date: January 13, 2015

Title Links:

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: PAULA HAWKINS worked as a journalist for fifteen years before writing her first novel. Born and brought up in Zimbabwe, Paula moved to London in 1989. Her first thriller, The Girl on the Train, has sold more than 23 million copies worldwide. Published in over fifty languages, it has been a Number 1 bestseller around the world and was a box office hit film starring Emily Blunt.

Paula’s thrillers, Into the Water and A Slow Fire Burning, were also instant Number 1 bestsellers.

Audiobooks with headphones — Graphic books and coffee courtesy Freepik.com

The Music Shop: A Novel by Rachel Joyce #AudiobookReview #bookclub #TBT

Best Literature & Fiction

Another book I’d have never chosen, but a book club selection for September. An older book, albeit one that caught a lot of attention including a star rating of 2 (Kobo) to 4.3 (Amazon-US), that, once again, I struggled with. Being honest, it moved so slowly I might have DNF’d it, had it not been a book club pick we would be discussing at our October meeting.

My Thoughts

The glacial pace, for me at least, was occasionally moved to cruise when discussing the nuances of a particular portion of a popular song, whether contemporary or classic. The ensuing discussion often led to a new understanding of the lyrics and what they might really have meant. Not that the author was just happy at that point that the lines rhymed.

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce — The Music Shop – US cover

Frank has a gift…no, not a gift, as he’s had a lifetime to build that acute sense of music and the acquired expertise, memory for songs instilled in him by a mother consumed by music. More devotion to her music than even for a son, longing for acknowledgment, love, and respect by devouring everything from old to new pieces, artists, and genres.

His loss is palpable. Sad. But his talent is in hearing a customer’s story and recommending the one song that will absolutely resonate with them, bring them back to joy and heal.

There were times when I got annoyed with Frank and his insistence on staying with vinyl. I could imagine, and knew, he’d be left behind with new technology and changes with the delivery of music and that he’d be woefully left behind times. Not that his whole neighborhood wasn’t changing, battling new ideas for development that didn’t include him.

So when Ilse is introduced to the storyline, I couldn’t see where in the world she’d fit in the scenario and what her angle might be. Frank has his secrets, so does she, and both so stubborn they’d lose twenty-one years of what might have been. ARGH!

I perked up near the conclusion and the flash mob idea with Handel’s Messiah Hallelujah Chorus. Still, even that disappointed and I had to search YouTube for a better version.

Book Club Thoughts

Once again, the book provided many a lively discussion, often times getting off topic with music providing such a wide arc for thought and conversation. Lots of sharing favorites—those songs that resonate deeply, personally, the lyrics that spoke to you. A variety of questions, most from author suggestions rather than the publisher.

A few of the questions specifically examined were:

► Why is Frank so insistent on staying with vinyl?

He inherited his mother’s huge collection; that is where his heart is.

► What did the people on Unity Street mean to him?

He was left alone after his mother passed and they were what constituted his family.

► What does Frank’s gift tell us about himself, his childhood?

He had absorbed the absolute meaning and feeling that music represented and could interpret what was most appropriate for the one seeking solace.

► Do you listen to music a little differently now?

Yes.

Reflecting on the music that gives me goosebumps, I can’t listen to Elvis singing, You Gave Me a Mountain without getting them. Of course, there are others. Having lost my brother during the ‘Nam war, it’s hard not to cry when I hear Bring Him Home (Josh Groban).

The book stirred some emotions, but, mercy—slow and sad just doesn’t do it for me. What did you think of the book? Your favorite song?

Book Details:

Publisher: Random House Audio
Narrator: Steven Hartley
Publication Date: January 2, 2018

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, The Music Shop, the instant New York Times best seller Miss Benson’s Beetle, Maureen Fry & the Angel of the North and a collection of interlinked short stories, A Snow Garden & Other Stories. Her latest novel The Homemade God will be published in April ’25 in UK, and June ’25 in US and Canada.

Rachel’s books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and sold millions of copies world-wide. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The critically acclaimed film of the novel, for which Rachel wrote the screenplay, was released in 2023 starring Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton, and in 2025 the musical will open in Chichester Festival Theatre, for which Rachel also wrote the script. Miss Benson’s Beetle won the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize 2021, Rachel was awarded the Specsavers National Book Awards ‘New Writer of the Year’ in December 2012 and she was shortlisted for the ‘UK Author of the Year’ 2014. In 2024 she was given an honorary doctorate by Kingston University.

Rachel has written many original afternoon plays and adaptations of the classics for BBC Radio 4 and she is currently adapting Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen which will be aired later this year. You can follow her on Instagram at rachelcjoyce.

The YMCA Bookclub

Rosepoint Reviews – August Recap – Hello September! Wait. Already?

Rosepoint Reviews - August Recap

The CE was seen at the VA Medical Hospital in August by a device technician to check out how well his pacemaker is functioning. He was seen in the ER at a non-profit hospital locally (although the bills don’t reflect that), so now is trying to get his care transferred back to the VA. His local ER doc was excellent and his VA doc commented on his good stats. He can go back to the YMCA with me now and resume (to the extent that he can) our exercise classes. I tried the chair yoga class and thought that might be good for him and believe he’ll want to continue with our Tai Chi class. However, they will be starting a new medication for him shortly and that will necessitate close monitoring for awhile and multiple trips to Chicago.

Also, during August, our area and proximity to Illinois was hit with a major storm that caused flooding and widespread power outages, some for as long as two weeks. We weren’t without power for more than a few days but taught us we’d need to be better prepared if this is going to be the new norm as weather patterns will continue to evolve. Without investing in an expensive generator, we found a compact, almost budget friendly power bank. At least it will charge the cell phones and power the TV and coffee maker. (Been a while since I’ve made “cowboy coffee” but it wasn’t too bad.)

We did manage to read and listen to our library and NetGalleybooks—fifteen of them (many from July). Ive gotten so far behind with reviews and blogging buddies it’s shameful, but still trying to play catch up while accompanying the CE on medical visits and taking care of everything else. There is never enough time. As always, the purchase info is included with my reviews.

#RosepoinReviews #AugustRecap

EBooks

The Gatekeeper by James Byrne (CE review)
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline (bookclub selection)
Deserters by Jerry Gabriel (CE review)
Fighting Edge by Margaret Mizushima

Audiobooks

The Final Target, The Keeper, Yesteryear, Buckeye (mini-reviews)
Broken Country, Whistler, Nothing Ventured, Surviving Savannah (mini-reviews)
It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica
Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr
The Wedding People by Alison Espach

The favorite book for August:

I always enjoy the books by Margaret Mizushima and the CE had a favorite as well, but that unique plot and engaging writing style of Alison Espach in The Wedding People won me over. A hard and emotional, serious topic handled well in an entertaining and heart-warming novel.

Favorite for August –The Wedding People by Alison Espach

My Reading Challenges page…I’ve been lucky to turn on the computer. My Goodreads opening page now shows 94 books (five behind schedule). I edited the goal to 150. Also, I still have several audiobooks finished but not posted.

To my readers and fellow bloggers, I appreciate every view and like and appreciate so much your taking the time to check out my posts and leave your comments.

Rosepoint Recap

Deserters: A Novel by Jerry Gabriel – #BookReview #TravelAdventureFiction #NetGalley #AcreBooks

Book Blurb:

An immersive adventure story set during the American Civil War follows four travelers as they escape toward the Western territories.

It is fall 1864, and Robert Riley has deserted his Army of the Potomac unit outside Petersburg, Virginia. Exhausted from years of war and worried about his motherless sons in Ohio, he returns to collect thirteen-year-old Michael and Sean, three years older, and flees to the Western territories. Along the way, he encounters Janey, an orphan at sixteen, who is also eager to go West. When Riley sees in her a quickness of mind, a brand of cunning that mirrors his own, he is persuaded to take her along.

Crossing the lower Midwest on horseback with little money and few possessions, the four are pursued by a wily private detective after the reward for turning in Riley. He manages to thwart the ragtag group, who abandon their plan of crossing the plains. They slip away by train to Chicago, and there, in that cold, stinking, dangerous metropolis, just before the 1864 election, they meet with problems beyond Riley’s ability to resolve. All four find themselves alone, at the mercy of fortune . . . and the fortune hunter, who finally gets the chance to face down his nemesis.

Deserters alternates between the perspectives of the four major characters as their relationships grow and shift, and as each of them strives to forge their way forward in the late war’s murky upheaval. A book whose antecedents include Charles Portis’s True Grit and Paulette Jiles’s News of the World, Gabriel’s immersive novel is an adventure story with psychological intricacy, emotional intensity, and historical heft.

His Review:

The tragedy that was the American Civil War took more American lives than any other conflict in history. The issue was the northern states fighting a group of southern states. Sometimes even brothers within a family were split between their loyalties to the area they were born and the flag they chose.

This book concentrates on the misery that was felt on both sides and the young people who decided that they did not want to fight in that war. One of the facts of this conflict was that it was illegal to avoid conscription into this war. Either on the side of the north or the south, avoiding being conscripted was punishable by death or immediately being sent back to the front, sometimes without a weapon.

Jerry Gabriel explores the paranoia and fear that any deserter had. Escaping this turmoil was fraught with danger. Even young children were employed to help find the deserters. Bounty hunters made a living capturing these individuals and getting them back to their respective armies.

The time was brutal and vicious and avoiding capture meant never going into a town if it could be avoided. Bounties being paid during times of economic tragedy resulted in hundreds of thousands of people being put back into inhumane prisons with no future. Read this story and witness the many facets of the Civil War not taught in schools. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this ebook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Travel Adventure Fiction, Action & Adventure Literary Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publisher: Acre Books
Publication Date: May 15, 2026
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Jerry Gabriel is the author of two books of fiction, Drowned Boy and The Let Go. His first book, Drowned Boy, won the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction and the Towson Prize for Literature. He lives in Maryland with his wife and children, where he teaches writing at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Reading couple — Graphic courtesy ChatGPT

Rosepoint Reviews – May Recap – It’s June – Let the Celebrations Begin!

Rosepoint Reviews-May Recap

May proved to be very busy and confirmed that once again, I’ve overwhelmed my schedule. June will be busy with both the CE’s and our son’s birthdays celebrations near the end of the month. We’ve tossed some ideas around and, like everyone, antsy to hit the road. This year with the country celebrating 250 years, there are a lot of stories about historic sights within the state. Do you do Airbnb?

The water garden in a 26" bowl.

My little water garden still looks anemic, waiting for the plants to fill in. Decided in order to kill any population of mosquito larvae, I needed mosquito fish and a couple snails, so that’s been added along with a solar fountain, and discovered something called Rosy Red Minnows (they aren’t goldfish). They are handling the less-than-desirable container conditions as well as temperature fluctuations.

It’s taken us awhile to get the front and back yards cleaned up—still burning twigs and small branches yesterday (low wind)—trying to keep up with the grass growing inches within a week. The critters discovered the seedlings and started trying to get to them. Lots of bunnies this time of year and they are all hungry. The construction in the neighborhood behind us has pushed the deer looking for greener pastures and better hiding places.

The CE and I read or listened to a total of twelve books in May. Our major source of books is the library (audiobooks and ebooks), although we obtain ARCs from NetGalley and author and publisher requests.) The links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase information.

Rosepoint Publishing - May Recap

eBooks

The Colonel’s Revenge by Jeffrey K Schmoll (CE review-5 stars)
If Walls Could Talk by Jean Grainger
The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer (CE review)
Christophber Hawkins and His Daring Escapes by Jeanne Brownlee Becijos (CE review -5 stars)

Audiobooks

Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris
This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum
Trust No One by James Rollins
The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (book club book)
Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth
Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden
The Moonshine Women by Michelle Collins
Long Road to Mercy by David Baldacci

Favorite Book of the Month

The CE is always generous with his stars and I had one five-star read in May. It was unique and fun. The favorite book for May:

Favorite for May – Mad Mable

My Reading Challenges page…I’ve not caught up. My Goodreads count will never be right now. The landing page shows 67 of a challenge of 175 with three books owing a review from May and five books behind schedule. Oops. Obviously, someone is having too much fun.

To all my dear readers and fellow bloggers, thank you so much for taking the time to check out my posts and leave your comments. Blog hopping is on my priority list.

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

Editors’ Pick Best Books of the Year 2011

Book Blurb:

The beloved New York Times bestseller from acclaimed author Eleanor Brown about three sisters who love each other, but just don’t happen to like each other very much.

Three sisters have returned to their childhood home, reuniting the eccentric Andreas family. Here, books are a passion (there is no problem a library card can’t solve) and TV is something other people watch. Their father—a professor of Shakespeare who speaks almost exclusively in verse—named them after the Bard’s heroines. It’s a lot to live up to.

The sisters each have a hard time communicating with their parents and their lovers, but especially with one another. What can the shy homebody eldest sister, the fast-living middle child, and the bohemian youngest sibling have in common? Only that none has found life to be what was expected; and now, faced with their parents’ frailty and their own personal disappointments, not even a book can solve what ails them…

My Review:

OMG! A book club book and I missed the meeting! I’ll never know if I’m the only one who found the book dull as gray paint! Surely, there must have been some kind of consensus on the characters (or lack thereof) and the plot (so trope).

A storyline quickly recognized by anyone who ever had a sibling or read about them, particularly of the feminine variety. Three sisters who couldn’t be more different in looks (were they described?), size, temperament, or intelligence. With a slight spread in ages, a deeper division of experience not only with home life, but all aspects of education as well. Basically, a plot of the difference in the experience of how each saw their position in the family. Their relationships all varied with each other as well as their parents.

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown — The Weird Sisters – UK cover

The father is a well-educated Shakespearean scholar. The younger sisters can’t wait to escape their small Ohio town, the school experience, or the books. Cordelia, the youngest and a wild child pregnant with an unknown donor, is ostensibly back to help with an ailing mother. (Not) Rose, the oldest and the one who thinks it’s up to her to run the household—it’ll positively shrivel up without her control. And Bianca—a middle child as messed up as she can get. Does it even make sense to try?

Nope. I didn’t care for any of them. I did have serious sympathy for the mother, trying to survive cancer, but really for what? She was curious about the grandchild? As it was, the plot plods along, through months, through years. Was it years? Seemed like it. And thank heaven it does end. Everyone finds her happy ever after (maybe I shouldn’t always hope for that), and even the mother survives and the father goes on to continue quoting Shakespeare. I wonder if anyone cared.

The star rating at Amazon is currently 4 of five and at Goodreads 3.37. Once again, I have a difficult time understanding how it was picked as the best book of the year. I think it’s a solid 2 stars, but then again, I admit to getting bored easily and perhaps others saw it as classic family drama. I’ll have to go the extra half star for the fact that it’s been chosen as fodder for book clubs. Including mine. I’m sure sorry I missed that one!

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Two point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Family Life Fiction, Coming of Age Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Narrator: Kirsten Potter
Release Date: January 20, 2011

Title Links:

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Eleanor Brown is the New York Times, national, and international bestselling author of The Weird Sisters, Any Other Family, and The Light of Paris.