Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we're shining a spotlight on the latest release by author Kristan Higgins via HQN Books. It's a work of Fiction that is at turns both a walk down memory lane and a harrowing adventure through the great, big, and bad of the world as experienced through the eyes of one magnificent leading lady; in other words, it's GOOD. Now, my GoodReads app once again malfunctioned and failed to capture my insta-review of this title upon turning the final page (*grumble grumble*), but I think I can recreate it well enough to share my time in the pages with you because really, this one sticks with you. Ladies and gents, though perhaps more ladies than gents, prepare to add another book to your already lengthy 2018 Reading List as today's title is on deck...
by
Kristan Higgins
9781335903358
HQN Books
About the book...
One step forward. Two steps back. The Tufts scholarship that put Nora Stuart on the path to becoming a Boston medical specialist was a step forward. Being hit by a car and then overhearing her boyfriend hit on another doctor when she thought she was dying? Two major steps back.
Injured in more ways than one, Nora feels her carefully built life cracking at the edges. There's only one place to land: home. But the tiny Maine community she left fifteen years ago doesn't necessarily want her. At every turn, someone holds the prodigal daughter of Scupper Island responsible for small-town drama and big-time disappointments.
With a tough islander mother who's always been distant and a wild-child sister in jail, unable to raise her daughter--a withdrawn teen as eager to ditch the island as Nora once was--Nora has her work cut out for her if she's going to take what might be her last chance to mend the family.
But as some relationships crumble around her, others unexpectedly strengthen. Balancing loss and opportunity, a dark event from her past with hope for the future, Nora will discover that tackling old pain makes room for promise...and the chance to begin again.
Injured in more ways than one, Nora feels her carefully built life cracking at the edges. There's only one place to land: home. But the tiny Maine community she left fifteen years ago doesn't necessarily want her. At every turn, someone holds the prodigal daughter of Scupper Island responsible for small-town drama and big-time disappointments.
With a tough islander mother who's always been distant and a wild-child sister in jail, unable to raise her daughter--a withdrawn teen as eager to ditch the island as Nora once was--Nora has her work cut out for her if she's going to take what might be her last chance to mend the family.
But as some relationships crumble around her, others unexpectedly strengthen. Balancing loss and opportunity, a dark event from her past with hope for the future, Nora will discover that tackling old pain makes room for promise...and the chance to begin again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nora is a likable character and oh so much stronger than she at first realizes...and even more than WE at first imagine. She's had an interesting life...a father taking a turn from doting to absentee, a sister who hardens her heart after the family becomes broken thereby breaking herself even more, an unrequited crush on the coolest kid in school, a lack of tangible friendships to help smooth over the rough spots, and an appearance that, well, it wasn't much more unfortunate than most of us endured, but let's face it, teens can be mean! Good thing she's smart, determined, and willing to bend a rule ever so slightly to get where she needs, no longs, no DESERVES to be. Problem is she's a good girl at heart, so that momentary lapse of 100% purest intention dogs her well into adulthood, no matter how unwarranted the feelings are, coloring her future in subtle ways even she can't discern. Then comes the Big Bad Event and things just seem to spiral downward out of her control...or is it?
I love how even though Nora depended on Bobby's existence to a degree, she wasn't willing to compromise herself in order to keep him. I love how she welcomed Boomer into her self-made family, how well she and the dog connected (who wouldn't!), and even the fact that she tried to share custody with the ex since they picked him out together (yeah..SO wouldn't have happened with me, especially after what went down!). I love that despite the years of cold-shoulder treatment from her mother, Nora gets to know her more fully in the here and now. Speaking of family, her sister...the beloved one...is a piece of work (not completely her fault), but Nora never gives up on her (or her prickly niece, Poe) and that moment towards the end totally brought me to tears (most unexpected!).
All in all, an interesting trip to Scupper Island indeed! It reminds us that while small towns have long memories, opinions can still be changed...at least of those worth the effort...and our journeys in life are never over until we say they are. There's always room for improvement, even in the lives of those that seem perfect...perhaps even more so in those lives. Recommended for Fiction, Women's Fiction, and Chick-Lit fans, from older teens through adults due to some dark content surrounding the "Big Bad Event".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the author...
Kristan Higgins is the New York Times, Publishers Weekly and USA TODAY bestselling author whose books have been translated into more than twenty languages. She has received dozens of awards and accolades, including starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, The New York Journal of Books and Kirkus.
Kristan lives in Connecticut with her heroic firefighter husband, two atypically affectionate children, a neurotic rescue mutt and an occasionally friendly cat.
Kristan lives in Connecticut with her heroic firefighter husband, two atypically affectionate children, a neurotic rescue mutt and an occasionally friendly cat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special thanks to Lisa at HQN Books for the ARC for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title hit bookstore and virtual shelves December 26, 2017, so be on the lookout for it at your favorite retailers!
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
No comments:
Post a Comment