Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we're taking a trip back to Willow Hill to catch up with our girl Linny in Susan Schild's latest work via Lyrical Press. It's set to release August 2nd, so that makes this a PRE-PUB PAR-TAY for fans and those soon-to-be. So fair readers, I invite you to pull up a chair, grab a cup of sweet tea (or beverage of choice), and relax as we get down to business because there's a wedding to plan and wouldn't you know it...trouble ahead. *sigh* Poor Linny...or is she actually dodging a bullet? Time to find out as we jump into today's book of choice...
Willow Hill, Book 2
by
Susan Schild
9781601838872
Lyrical Press
About the book...
Life down South just got a whole lot sweeter in Susan Schild’s new novel about a woman whose happily-ever-after is about to begin…whether she’s ready for it or not.
Finally, just shy of forty years old, Linny Taylor is living the life of her dreams in her charming hometown of Willow Hill, North Carolina. The past few years have been anything but a fairy tale: Left broke by her con man late-husband, Linny has struggled to rebuild her life from scratch. Then she met Jack Avery, the town’s much-adored veterinarian. And she’s marrying him.
Everything should be coming up roses for Linny. So why does she have such a serious case of pre-wedding jitters? It could be because Jack’s prosperous family doesn’t approve of her rough-and-tumble background. Or that his ex-wife is suddenly back on the scene. Or that Linny has yet to win over his son’s heart. All these obstacles—not to mention what she should wear when she walks down the aisle—are taking the joy out of planning her wedding. Linny better find a way to trust love again, or she might risk losing the one man she wants to be with—forever…
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Oh Linny...what have you gotten yourself into now?
If you've read the first book (Linny's Sweet Dream List), then you're already acquainted with our leading lady and this follow-up starts just after the other left off. As the synopsis says, things should be coming up roses, or magnolias seeing as it's a Southern Lit novel, but poor Linny is developing a case of cold feet...sorta. It's not completely her fault. I mean, she has been married twice over, and widowed as many times (Gheesh!), and communication is a tough nut to crack between her and her fiance for some reason or another, but there's a few other souls in the mix that are really tearing up their sidewalk to happily-ever-after. Will they be able to overcome the jealous ex, the son feeling lost in the mix, the controlling mother-in-law, and her own blood's ups and downs in order to actually walk (or zipline...gotta read it to see what I mean) down the aisle? Or will their HEA end before it's begun? Anything is possible, as Linny has proven a few times already, if the heart has enough desire, enough courage, and enough cooperation to see it through. Fingers crossed...
Okay, here's the thing. The first book had way more going on so it kept my interest a bit more...this one, I felt myself trudging through the tall grasses in search of a cool respite, i.e. the final pages. HOWEVER, I kept reading (as I usually do once begun) and was once again pleasantly surprised by the outcome. The author has a way of building her stories so that even the most jaded of readers will be pulled back in again by book's end...such was the case here. Though not on the edge of my seat the entire time, once things started rolling, I was there with (wedding) bells on...and will probably be back for more if a third title is released! Before we speculate about future future reads, let's explore this one a bit more...
Linny was Linny...sweet, unsure, desiring of approval, and seeking the love she thought she found twice already. Do I think she and Jack are a good fit? Most definitely...it's getting her to BELIEVE it way down in her soul that's the challenge. The biggest obstacle for them is COMMUNICATION. Forget the blending of families, combining of households, or getting use to each other's quirks, this one boils down to good old fashioned one-on-one conversation. If she and Jack can make it through this self-inflicted wilderness, I see a bright future for their new little family (what...you didn't think I'd TELL you the outcome, now did you?). The conversations to be had range from wedding planning details (which Neil really has some unique ones to contribute!) to simply just what's in each other's hearts because with experience and a past comes the need for reassurance that you're not following the same footsteps to ruin. The good news? Linny has a mother taking a stab at love for the second time around and a sister with family problems of her own to focus on, thus bringing her "issues" into a new light and perhaps even being the catalyst to solving them.
In the end, Linny and friends made their way into my heart once again. You can't help but root for her and the HEA she's chasing because really, we all want some version of it for ourselves one day. What fun would it be if our literary leads didn't get the same chance so we can live vicariously? I won't say I'm in love, but I am definitely in like with the series, and I'll be keeping a spot for book three, Sweet Southern Hearts (January 2017), open on my bookshelf. How about you?
If you've read the first book (Linny's Sweet Dream List), then you're already acquainted with our leading lady and this follow-up starts just after the other left off. As the synopsis says, things should be coming up roses, or magnolias seeing as it's a Southern Lit novel, but poor Linny is developing a case of cold feet...sorta. It's not completely her fault. I mean, she has been married twice over, and widowed as many times (Gheesh!), and communication is a tough nut to crack between her and her fiance for some reason or another, but there's a few other souls in the mix that are really tearing up their sidewalk to happily-ever-after. Will they be able to overcome the jealous ex, the son feeling lost in the mix, the controlling mother-in-law, and her own blood's ups and downs in order to actually walk (or zipline...gotta read it to see what I mean) down the aisle? Or will their HEA end before it's begun? Anything is possible, as Linny has proven a few times already, if the heart has enough desire, enough courage, and enough cooperation to see it through. Fingers crossed...
Okay, here's the thing. The first book had way more going on so it kept my interest a bit more...this one, I felt myself trudging through the tall grasses in search of a cool respite, i.e. the final pages. HOWEVER, I kept reading (as I usually do once begun) and was once again pleasantly surprised by the outcome. The author has a way of building her stories so that even the most jaded of readers will be pulled back in again by book's end...such was the case here. Though not on the edge of my seat the entire time, once things started rolling, I was there with (wedding) bells on...and will probably be back for more if a third title is released! Before we speculate about future future reads, let's explore this one a bit more...
Linny was Linny...sweet, unsure, desiring of approval, and seeking the love she thought she found twice already. Do I think she and Jack are a good fit? Most definitely...it's getting her to BELIEVE it way down in her soul that's the challenge. The biggest obstacle for them is COMMUNICATION. Forget the blending of families, combining of households, or getting use to each other's quirks, this one boils down to good old fashioned one-on-one conversation. If she and Jack can make it through this self-inflicted wilderness, I see a bright future for their new little family (what...you didn't think I'd TELL you the outcome, now did you?). The conversations to be had range from wedding planning details (which Neil really has some unique ones to contribute!) to simply just what's in each other's hearts because with experience and a past comes the need for reassurance that you're not following the same footsteps to ruin. The good news? Linny has a mother taking a stab at love for the second time around and a sister with family problems of her own to focus on, thus bringing her "issues" into a new light and perhaps even being the catalyst to solving them.
In the end, Linny and friends made their way into my heart once again. You can't help but root for her and the HEA she's chasing because really, we all want some version of it for ourselves one day. What fun would it be if our literary leads didn't get the same chance so we can live vicariously? I won't say I'm in love, but I am definitely in like with the series, and I'll be keeping a spot for book three, Sweet Southern Hearts (January 2017), open on my bookshelf. How about you?
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About the author...
Susan has an undergraduate degree from James Madison University and a master's degree (MSW) from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has used her professional background as a psychotherapist and corporate trainer to add authenticity to her characters. Susan
Susan is a wife, a stepmother, and a dog lover. She and her family live near Raleigh, North Carolina where she is busy finishing up the third novel in the Willow Hill Series.
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Special thanks to author Susan Schild and the team at Kensington for the ARC for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, or those works forthcoming, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is set to release AUGUST 2nd, 2016 via Lyrical Press, and imprint of Kensington Books, so add it to your wish list or pre-order your copy today! If you've not sampled the series yet, be sure to check out book 1, Linny's Sweet Dream List, in stores now!
Until next time...happy reading!
