Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers, where we always try to add a little more reading to your plate. ^-^
Today, we're playing host to a stop along the TLC Book Tours promotion for a Fiction selection currently making its way through the blogosphere. It's a book that takes us to the colorful streets of New York with three title characters just waiting to make your acquaintance. So, if you'd be so kind as to not keep them waiting any longer, today's book of choice is...
by
Aidan Donnelley Rowley
9780062413321
William Morrow Paperbacks
About the book...
For fans of J. Courtney Sullivan, Meg Wolitzer, Claire Messud, and Emma Straub, a gorgeous and absorbing novel of a trio of confused souls struggling to find themselves and the way forward in their lives, set against the spectacular backdrop of contemporary New York City.
Set in the most magical parts of Manhattan—the Upper West Side, Central Park, Greenwich Village—The Ramblers explores the lives of three lost souls, bound together by friendship and family. During the course of one fateful Thanksgiving week, a time when emotions run high and being with family can be a mixed blessing, Rowley’s sharply defined characters explore the moments when decisions are deliberately made, choices accepted, and pasts reconciled.
Clio Marsh, whose bird-watching walks through Central Park are mentioned in New York Magazine, is taking her first tentative steps towards a relationship while also looking back to the secrets of her broken childhood. Her best friend, Smith Anderson, the seemingly-perfect daughter of one of New York’s wealthiest families, organizes the lives of others as her own has fallen apart. And Tate Pennington has returned to the city, heartbroken but determined to move ahead with his artistic dreams.
Rambling through the emotional chaos of their lives, this trio learns to let go of the past, to make room for the future and the uncertainty and promise that it holds. The Ramblers is a love letter to New York City—an accomplished, sumptuous novel about fate, loss, hope, birds, friendship, love, the wonders of the natural world and the mysteries of the human spirit.
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The synopsis almost speaks for itself...it's a story about three souls rambling through the streets of New York, and life in general, trying to find their footing, their life's calling, and their happily-ever-afters, one misstep at a time. It isn't easy, and it's not always pretty, but that's life and the author does a bang up job of giving the story that necessary grit to make you really feel everything as it transpires.
Take Clio...
...she's an student of ornithology, guiding others in the pursuit of their birding hobbies, while discovering just how like some of her feathered friends she might be. Her FLIGHT instinct is set to high. She FLUTTERS from situation to situation without really solving the problem (sorry Clio, love ya, honest!) and facing her fears. She TASTES life in dribs and drabs without lingering too long in order to avoid the possibility of undesired entanglements, almost missing out on the feast that life has to offer. She's a lot to learn and learn it she will with the potential love of her life (Henry) and her bestie. Which brings us to...
Smith Anderson...
...organizer of lives, yet not in charge of her own. Quite the conundrum, isn't it? She's the more outspoken of the two (which definitely works in Clio's favor), willing to put her heart on the line, but only just. You see, she holds a few secrets close to her heart as well...one from college days, another to do with an impending marriage, and a few others scattered about her varied life experiences...and their weight, however much self imposed, is dragging her down. If she can only put those perceived failures behind her, she'd be in a world of her own making. Clio can help to some degree, as does her life coach (something I'm not altogether sold on, personally), and the influence of an unexpected soul, which brings us to...
Tate Pennington...
...despite outward appearances, he's in his own downward spiral. His past love life is in shambles and getting uglier by the day, though his present has potential. His life is off course thanks to some killer instincts with a nifty little app that went viral and scored him a fat sum of cash to line his pockets...but he's drinking away his days/nights (blame the former love life issue, for he's got a sailor mouth at times but a poet's soul) and decidedly lacking direction. He needs to find his inner compass to guide himself out of these murky waters, but sometimes it's not enough to seek your path on your own. Sometimes you need that wake up call from life, that helping hand of another, that unexpected detour to really shake loose all you were carrying around and remind you of the important things in life.
So, you see, they are an interesting trio with a lot going for and working against them, but in the bright lights of this big city, they're certainly not alone. Peace, love, and acceptance...three things hard to give and accept, but three very important elements to a good relationship with others and yourself. Will these three find what they're looking for, or rather what they really need? Only one way to find out, but I'll let you in on a little secret...the journey to getting there, the rambling about if you will, is totally worth it in the end.
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About the author...
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Born and raised in New York City, Aidan Donnelley Rowley graduated from Yale University and received her law degree from Columbia University. She is the author of a previous novel, Life After Yes, and the creator of the Happier Hours Literary Salons. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and three daughters.
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Special thanks to Trish at TLC Book Tours for the chance to bring this tour to you and to the team at HarperCollins for the copy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, THIS TOUR, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now...in fact, it just celebrated its paperback release last week via William Morrow, so those in love with one format or the other, you've now got a choice. (Yay!) Be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
3 comments:
An interesting trio indeed, I really like the sound of these characters.
The ways the lives of these characters intersect and impact each other is part of what draws me to this book. I'm interested to see how it all turns out.
Thanks for being a part of the tour!
Life is so like this...rarely is life a straight road, but rather our journeys are rambling and crazy, but like you said, worth it in the end.
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