Today I am reviewing Echoes of Family by Barbara Claypole White for TLC Book Tours. As always, I am provided with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

About the book (from the publisher): Marianne Stokes fled England at seventeen, spiraling into the manic depression that would become her shadow. She left behind secrets, memories, and tragedy: one teen dead, and her first love, Gabriel, badly injured. Three decades later, she’s finally found peace in the North Carolina recording studio she runs with her husband, Darius, and her almost-daughter, Jade…until another fatality propels her back across the ocean to confront the long-buried past.

In her picturesque childhood village, the first person she meets is the last person she wants to see again: Gabriel. Now the village vicar, he takes her in without question, and ripples of what if  reverberate through their hearts. As Marianne’s mind unravels, Jade and Darius track her down. Tempers clash when everyone tries to help, but only by finding the courage to face her illness can Marianne heal herself and her offbeat family.

My review: I asked to review this book because I reviewed a previous book written by the author, The Unfinished Garden, and enjoyed it very much. Claypole White writes about family relationships, as well as the effects of mental illness on those relationships.

In this novel, Claypole White once again creates a quirky cast of characters, who move back and forth between America and England. In Marianne, we meet someone who has been troubled by manic depression for many years. The accident which touches off her most recent episode sends her back to her birthplace in hopes of finding some sort of healing.

Claypole White writes about mental illness beautifully. She captures, in this case, the manic episodes, the despair, the depression, the fear that Marianne is feeling during the course of the story. She writes about it unsparingly, but with compassion. She also explores the effects of Marianne’s illness on her family and friends; their coping mechanisms, their protective instincts, as well as their anger. Because, of course, we’re all human, and we love and support and also lose patience.

It’s a compelling story. I had a couple of problems with it, however. I never felt totally connected to the characters. They seemed a bit contrived; therefore, they often didn’t ring true for me. Marianne rang the truest, perhaps because she was written in such powerful detail.

I also think the novel could have used some judicious editing. I often lost patience with long stretches of dialogue that could have been captured more succinctly and effectively.

Nevertheless, Claypole White tells a good story and the scenes that deal with Marianne’s manic depression and its exhausting effects on her and those surrounding her are very powerful. Above all, it’s a story about family and relationships and love and the ways in which those relationships are tested and, hopefully, survive.

About the author: A Brit living in North Carolina, Barbara Claypole White writes hopeful family drama with a healthy dose of mental illness. Her debut novel, The Unfinished Garden, won the 2013 Golden Quill Contest for Best First Book, and The In-Between Hour  was chose by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance as a Winter 2014 Okra Pick. Her third novel, The Perfect Son, was a semifinalist in the 2015 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fiction.

Good news! One of you will win a copy of Echoes of Family. Just leave a comment on this post and I will choose a winner on Wednesday evening. Good luck!

Happy Monday.

Today I am reviewing Beulah’s House of Prayer by Cynthia A. Graham for TLC Book Tours. As always, I am provided with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

About the book (from the publisher): In 1934, the tiny town of Barmy, Oklahoma is in need of a miracle. The cows are hungry, the rain won’t fall, most of Main Street is boarded up. Young aspiring trapeze artist Sugar Watson is dumped unceremoniously into this bleak setting with little money and only one thing on her mind – escape. Beulah Clinton, a Holy Ghost preacher, has dedicated herself to helping the distressed in this ragged little wasteland, and Sugar soon finds herself thrown in with Marigold Lawford, the simple-minded widow of the richest man in town, and Homer Guppy, a boy trouble follows like dust after a wind.

Despite Sugar’s immediate distaste for Barmy, Beulah’s patience, Marigold’s kindness, and Homer’s unconditional love make her reconsider the meaning of home.

On Black Sunday, the worst dust storm in history brings with it a choice: Sugar must decide whether or not to return home, leaving the hospitality – and love – of Barmy’s inhabitants. A stunning Depression-era literary novel with of touch of magical realism, Beulah’s House of Prayer  captivates to the very end.

My review: I first became acquainted with the writing of Cynthia A. Graham when I read and reviewed Beneath Still Waters earlier this year. I was enchanted by her ability to create a rich world within a small town and its environs, every detail realized – so much so that I felt I was there. When the opportunity to review her newest novel arrived in my inbox, I jumped at the chance.

This novel does not disappoint; in fact, it confirms what I felt after reading Beneath Still Waters, Cynthia A. Graham is an excellent writer. Not only that, she understands human nature and writes with compassion and humor and great warmth.

In this Depression-era story, Barmy, a tiny town in the Oklahoma panhandle, becomes a character in itself; richly drawn, poorer than poor, dusty, destitute, yet full of interesting and wonderfully complex characters. Sugar, who ends up in Barmy after the sudden death of her father while traveling across the country, and Marigold, suddenly widowed, with no money to her name, are welcomed into the spare lodgings provided by Beulah, a preacher, who has also just found Barmy. Beulah, wise to the ways of the heart and an expert on human nature, reaches out to those in need, feeding them, counseling them, providing them shelter. Homer, who lives next door, is continually beaten by his alcoholic father. None of them – not Sugar, not Homer, not Marigold – know what it means to feel truly loved.

Each of the characters in this wonderful novel is beautifully written and Graham takes us along to watch their individual struggles as they make their way toward a sort of salvation.

Can these people who have been thrust together in a time of desperation and suffering somehow find hope? Will there be something better on the horizon?

I loved this novel. And yes, as the description says, there is a wonderful touch of magical realism within the pages. I finished it yesterday and I still can’t get it out of mind. The town of Barmy, the dust bowl, and all the characters are still alive for me. That says something, doesn’t it?

I recommend it very highly.

About the author: Cynthia A. Graham is the winner of several writing awards, including a Gold IPPY and a Midwest Book Award for Beneath Still Waters, and her short stories have appeared in both university and national literary publications. She attained a B.A. in English from the Pierre Laclede Honors College at the University of Missouri in St. Louis. Cynthia is a member of the Historical Novel Society, the St. Louis Writers’ Guild, the Missouri Writers’ Guild, and Sisters in Crime. She is the author of two works of historical mystery: Beneath Still Waters  and Behind Every Door. Beulah’s House of Prayer  is her first foray into the land of magical realism.

Good news! One of you will be the lucky winner of a copy of Beulah’s House of Prayer. Just leave a comment on this post and I will draw the winner’s name on Wednesday evening. Good luck!

Happy Monday.

Today I am reviewing The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell for TLC Book Tours. As always, I am provided with a copy of the book in return for my honest review.

About the book (from the publisher): Imagine that you live on a picturesque communal garden square, an oasis in urban London where your children run free, in and out of other people’s houses. You’ve known your neighbors for years and you trust them implicitly. You think your children are safe. But are they really?

One midsummer night, as a festive neighborhood party is taking place, preteen Pip discovers her thirteen-year-old sister, Grace, lying unconscious and bloody in a hidden corner of a lush rose garden. What really happened to her? And who is responsible?

Dark secrets, a devastating mystery, and the games both children and adults play all swirl together in this gripping love, packed with utterly believable characters and page-turning suspense.

My review: I’ve not read any of Lisa Jewell’s books before, though she is a bestselling author of thirteen novels. One of the many reasons I love reviewing books is that I am introduced to authors I might not know of otherwise. Such is Lisa Jewell.

The novel centers on the lives of the occupants of the houses and apartments that border the communal garden: Adele and Leo and their three daughters who are living in a huge flat along with Leo’s father – a temporary resident; Clare and her two daughters, who have sought refuge in a flat after losing their house (I won’t tell you how, you will discover that soon enough); and the children that roam the garden in packs, making the garden their refuge, their place to hang out.

Yes, it’s a mystery; after all, when Pip discovers her sister’s unconscious body there is a natural need to know who was responsible for injuring her. Since Grace is unconscious, it falls to Clare, to Adele, and to Pip to find out the truth. But more importantly, this novel is a rich character study. Jewell creates complex and very real characters. She understands kids who are on the precipice of their teenage years and the way they think. She also understands adults and the way they think; the complexities of raising children, the complexity of simply being an adult. Much of the story is told from three points-of-view: Adele’s, Clare’s and Pip’s.

The novel starts with the discovery of Grace’s body, then backs up to an earlier time when Clare has just moved into the neighborhood. We learn the back story of all the characters, how their lives intertwine, how they interact, and how the appearance of Pip and Grace on the scene changes everything.

Think Rear Window, where there is a slice of life that can be seen only by those inhabitants who look out on the interior courtyard.

Beautifully written, the novel explores relationships and the assumptions we hold about those we think we know and love. When Grace is injured, everything changes. What secrets might be uncovered – secrets about those we love, about what we hold dear?

This is a lovely novel, written with a compassionate heart. You’ll find it compelling and, ultimately, life-affirming.

About the author: Lisa Jewell was born and raised in North London, where she lives with her husband and two daughters. She is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of thirteen novels, including The House We Grew Up In and The Third Wife.

Though not the usual way we do a book giveaway on this blog, there is indeed a giveaway, this time through Rafflecopter. Information below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

But hey, leave a comment anyway! I love to hear from you.

Happy Monday.