Thursday, December 26, 2013

Grounded by Angela Correll

Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers...the place to be when you need a break from your busy day.  It's pretty safe to assume, we've got you covered.  ^_^

So, when I started this one, I had several deja vu moments all at once.  No, seriously!  First off, page one was read the day before my birthday, which coincided with the lead character's day before HER birthday.  *blink*  Then, the milestone birthday she was celebrating...was MY birthday too!  *blink blink*  Her crisis of job, life, and love...okay, well admittedly my propects are FAR smaller in that area...but all hit very close to home making the story even more personal and affecting.  Don't worry readers, I didn't let it color my final opinion on the read.  I gave it a fair chance and in the end...found it...well, you'll soon see.  Today's book of choice, also known as the-review-that-hid-from-me-until-this-late-date, is...


by
Angela Correll
9781938467561


About the book....
New York City flight attendant Annie Taylor is grounded, putting a halt to weekends in Rome and her jet-setting lifestyle. Soon her noncommittal boyfriend’s true nature is revealed, and to top it all off, she loses her apartment. With nowhere else to go, Annie leaves the city for the family farm in Kentucky, a place she’s avoided for years. She finds a shotgun wielding grandmother, a farm in disrepair, and a suspicious stranger renting the old stone house.
The country quiet haunts Annie with reminders of a past that can’t be changed. She tries persuading her grandmother to sell the farm, but is met with stubborn refusal? Yet in the midst of her crashing life, Annie sees a glimmer of hope for a second chance. Jake Wilder is contemplating jumping off the corporate ladder to follow his passion for sustainable farming. He’s almost ready to propose to Camille, a girl who wants more, not less. Annie believes Jake is about to make a terrible mistake, but does she have the right to tell him?
As the summer heats up, so do Annie’s unexpected feelings for Jake and her interest in the land. When a sudden phone call comes from New York, Annie is forced to choose between coming to terms with her past or leaving it all behind.




Though a myriad of characters to which you can relate, my closest relationships developed with three in particular.  First up and in most detail....Annie.

Annie, I saw so much of myself in you it wasn't even funny.  Okay, well at times it was, but more often were the moments that kept me smiling, that invited me in for a cup of hot tea (sorry, I don't do iced) and a friendly conversation.  Even if you didn't know just what to say or do, it didn't make you imperfect, it made you human...and considering you're technically a 2-D character, you came off very 3-D.  I love how oyu came to find yourself in your own time, allowing others to share their wisdom indirectly and learning from the mistakes you've made.  I feel like we've become good friends over the course of your story and I would love to pay a visit to your family's farm one day because despite the impressions you give, I knkow you'll keep it.  It's a part of you and became more so as you spent time as your adult self with Grandma Beulah.  Speaking of the grand dame...

Beulah is my second gem of a character to note, though my illumination of her will remain brief.  How come?  Good question, but I can only say this...you grow to love her in the details.  She's not perfect, tries oh-so-hard, is stubborn sometimes to a fault but gives of her whole self to everyone and anyone in need.  I'm pleased to have made your acquaintance and Annie was lucky to have someone like you in her corner, even though you grated on each other like opposite pulls in a magnetic stream.  Another giving soul, for the most part, would have to be childhood friend and new hang about, Jake.  Let's just say there are definitely some unresolved issues (*ahem*  feelings  *ahem*) there.

Author Angela Correll
In conclusion, I'd like to give a hearty bookmarks up to the author on a job well done, or a book well written.  This may be her first novel but it reads like a good friend's welcomed company.  I certainly hope to read more from this author in the future and will keep an open spot on my wish list just for her.

Review copy received courtesy of Amy with McAllister PR and Koehler Books.  (THANKS!)  For more information on what Amy's up to next, be sure to follow her feed on Twitter.  To find out more about the author behind this work, be sure to stop by her official site.

Until next time...happy reading!




2 comments:

  1. Wonderful review Gina. This sounds good from the premise to the characters

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ooh I love a book with good characters and when you find one you relate to in such a way it makes for really interesting reading.

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