Have you heard the BUZZ?: The Sound of Wings by Suzanne Simonetti - REVIEW!

Hi guys!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're spreading a little PRE BOOK BIRTHDAY BUZZ for a new title set to release this May via She Writes Press. It's a work of Women's Fiction that's all about letting go of the past, but not the lessons learned from it, embracing the future, and the gift that is the present in whatever form brings you joy. Sound good? Great...let's get started then. Ladies and gents, today's book spotlight shines on...

The Sound of Wings

by

Suzanne Simonetti

9781647420444

She Writes Press

Release Date: May 4, 2021

About the book...

Seventy-year-old Goldie Sparrows faces declining finances, questionable health, and a late husband who torments her from the beyond. She seeks refuge in her butterfly garden, which is filled with voices and memories from long ago.

Jocelyn Anderson is a struggling writer who finds escape from her custody battle in the journal of her late mother-in-law. As she gets pulled through the pages of time, Jocelyn discovers her own husband has a hidden history she knows nothing about.

Is this secret now Jocelyn’s to keep?

Krystal Axelrod is living a life she never dreamed she could have. And yet the demons of a dysfunctional childhood and mean girl culture from her cheerleading days cast their shadow over her ability to feel whole, capable, and worthy. Does Goldie hold the key to Krystal’s path to freedom?

AMAZON | B&N | iBOOKS | INDIEBOUND

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At first, I wasn't certain I was going to get there. You know...that place where you lose yourself in the novel and can't bare to part from the page. Honestly, I was having a hard time keeping the characters straight, though Goldie was quite clear to my heart. Watching the relationships and connections build in this small town over time though...that was what really reeled me in. The way the friendships tethered them not only to themselves, but each other. The way their own histories seemed to come full circle by knowing not only themselves, but where they came from. The way we intimately meet each of these ladies, watch them overcome so much, and come out the better for it on the other side.

Jocelyn was the writer that couldn't...write that is. Writer's block would be the polite term, but truly she had roadblocks thrown up by her heart she was having great difficulty overcoming. Krystal was the town girl elevated to golden status by her marriage, and though it was one of love not convenience, there are some that won't let her forget where she came from and how easily she could be taken off that pedestal. Goldie was the long time resident of this little town with a art business to boot, but her own steady stand in life is threatened by life itself, and the memories that can't seem to be held back any more than the tide from the shore. Their stories all seem so separate, and yet there are ties that bind even they can't fathom. When everything comes to the surface, it is with a heavy heart, but perfect understanding that we see the bigger picture, and hear the beauty of those wondrous wings.

In the end, I was initially lost, but found my way (much like the characters)...same as the book did into my heart.  There is a portion of the story where a past transgression is shared that's been alighted to off and on throughout one person's journey, and yet you can't help but feel GOOD about it, or at least its outcome, and still see the beauty that surrounds everything thereafter.  

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About the author...

Suzanne Simonetti grew up in the New York suburbs just outside of the city. After earning a BS in marketing, she spent several years writing press releases, until she left her corporate job to focus on her passion for crafting fiction. She lives on Cape May Harbor with her husband. When not on her paddle board or yoga mat, she can be found at the beach trailing the shoreline for seashells, scribbling in her notebook, and channeling dolphins for meaningful conversation.

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Special thanks to the Caitlin Hamilton Marketing and Publicity, LLC team and She Writes Press for the copy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, this promotion, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is set to release May 4,  2021, so mark your calendar or pre-order your copy today!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

PRE-PUB PARTY: Wild Mountain by Nancy Hayes Kilgore

HI there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

So, the weather...she is SO unpredictable right now...at least in my neck of the woods.  I live in NW FL, so we're keeping our eye on that Irma character lurking in the islands at the moment.  Fingers crossed and eyes raised in prayer that it keeps heading further towards the east, though I truly don't wish it on anyone.  Anywho...while I'm battling the surging customers (I work in retail...let's just say there are Thanksgiving type crowds and madness, but without the delicious turkey dinner to look forward to) and keeping a weathered eye on the weather, how about you direct your attention to this curious read....

Today's title on deck came to me via Caitlin Hamilton Marketing and Publicity, LLC.  It stars the sophomore release of this particular author (new-to-me) and a  work of Fiction that manages to snag several larger issues within its story weaving web.  Interested?  Well then, what are we waiting for!  Today's book of choice is...

Wild Mountain

by

Nancy Hayes Kilgore

9780998701233

Green Writers Press

About the book...

Vermonter Mona Duval loves the covered bridge beside her store. She loves local history and the rugged, rural nature of her home state. But when an ice storm collapses the bridge, she is bereft. Frank MacFarland, a seasonal resident who is beguiled by Mona, lends his political expertise to help rebuild the bridge. But they meet with powerful opposition. Tensions arise in the town, compounded by resistance to the soon-to-be-voted on Freedom to Marry bill. And then, unexpectedly, Mona's abusive ex-husband arrives. Wild Mountain is a page-turning, beautifully written novel about the love between Frank and Mona, the love of place, freedom to marry, and freedom from the past, by a writer whose prose has been compared to Alice Munro's.

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The story creates a visual picture of the beautific landscape of Vermont, both how it is, was, and could still be. It's a somewhat lyrical journey, embracing the wonders to be found in nature, the exhausting supply of deities, entities, and "powers that be" to believe in, and how a seemingly small change in landscape can have a much bigger ripple effect.

What at first glance I thought to be a tale of a woman's life changing right from her very foundation and her having to muster to push through or accept defeat...which I would have been fully satisfied with...ended up being intertwined with many heavier issues (surprise!). We've the spousal abuse she experienced in her past come to haunt her in her present. There's the subject of gay marriage and the fight for equal rights, each tackled as a topic but also something deeper as it directly affects several character's lives as well as plays a role in a spiritual aspect of the story. We've the constant battle to strike a balance between the past and the future, and the unexpected impact those decisions can have on our present. There's the reconciliation of old loves and new possibilities, both in the mind as well as the heart. We even have a contemplation on who it is exactly that's responsible for our world in the first place (non confrontational to readers though), and what they really wanted for us as a people. Pretty heavy stuff, like I said, but interesting just the same, and it still plays well with the side story of potential love to be found.



In the end, while not at the top of my favorites list, it did subtlety work its way into my heart.  For me, the most memorable moments were Frank coming to the aid of the baby moose (~tear~), Mona's reaction when the covered bridge was in peril (~double tear~),  and the unexpected freedom found in the passing of two souls (one we'll mourn, the other...not so much).  So take a chance, and welcome the autumnal reads with a wordy walk through the Northeast US of A.  See what catches your eye, your thoughts, and your heart...

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About the author...

Nancy Hayes Kilgore, a writer and psychotherapist, and was 2016’s winner of the Vermont Writer’s Prize. Her writing has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and her first novel, Sea Level, was a Foreword Reviews Book of the Year. Formerly a parish pastor, Nancy leads workshops on writing and spirituality for clergy, therapists, and writers throughout the U.S. She lives in Vermont with her husband, a painter, and expresses her passion for nature, spirituality, and psychology through writing.

SITE

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Special thanks to the Caitlin Hamilton Marketing and Publicity, LLC team and Green Writers Press for the ARC for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, this promotion, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is set to release October 1st, 2017, so mark your calendar or pre-order your copy today!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

BLOG TOUR: Fill the Sky by Katherine A. Sherbrooke

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Can you believe it?  OCTOBER is almost OVER!  I mean, where did the time GO?  It seems like just yesterday, we were preparing for a month of spooky reading, and the ushering in of Autumn.  Cie la vie.  I guess it just goes to reinforce the idea of living in the moment and cherishing all that we have instead of lamenting all we have not.  A good lesson for all, including the characters in today's featured title.  Please join me in welcoming, a blog tour courtesy of Caitlin Hamilton Marketing & Publicity LLC.  It stars a work of Fiction that introduces us to three beautiful characters on a path of healing, friendship, and understanding.  Ladies and gents, today's book of choice is...

Fill the Sky

by

Katherine A. Sherbrooke
 9780984824533

SixOneSeven Books

About the book...

Biotech entrepreneur Tess Whitford has built her life around the certainty of logic and thrives on solving problems. But when one of her dearest friends exhausts the reaches of medicine while fighting cancer and grabs onto the hope that traditional healers in Ecuador might save her, Tess has to let go of everything she knows—and every instinct she has. Unable to deny Ellie a request that might be her last, Tess flies to Ecuador to help.

Together with Joline, another close college friend whose spiritual work inspired the trip, they travel to the small mountain village of Otavalo. Immersed in nature and introduced to strange ancient ceremonies, the three friends are pushed to recognize that good health is not only physical. Tess grapples with her inability to trust; Ellie struggles with a painful secret; and Joline worries about the contract she made with an aggressive businessman whose ambitions could destroy the delicate fabric of the local community.

When an ayahuasca ceremony goes awry and an unlikely betrayal suddenly threatens to unravel their decades-long friendship, these three very different women awaken to a shared realization: they each have a deep need for healing.

AMAZON  |  INDIEBOUND  |  B&N

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Ellie, Joline, and Tess...friends since college, but with the connections they've forged over the years, they've become sister soul mates, if ever there were.  You can't help but admire their individual strengths, and yet how they grow that much more in each other's presence.  It's a good thing to, because although this was initially a trip for healing Ellie's physical ailment, it's going to turn into a life changing event for them all.  Secrets are uncovered, lost desires found, destinies questioned, and old paths forged anew, all with a side of laughter, despair, heartache, and hope.  It's a trip like none other, but in the end, they won't want to change a thing.

Though a work of Fiction, it reminded me of the memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, with a few more leading ladies, and a slightly more tangible need to heal.  It was a moving affair from start to finish, with feels around every corner, along with the chance of spilled tears.  Yes, my friends, there are beautiful moments to stop you in your tracks as well as those times that you'll feel your heart is about to split in two for oh so many reasons...word to the wise, have a tissue ready just in case.  The ending of the story is more of a non-ending, but it works.  If you're expecting all things tied up in a glorious red bow, think again...that's not how life works and this story reads very much like a major life event.  The women do reach many decisions, finding clarity in the unusual rituals (and some are pretty darn out there to us Westerners) and chaos that surrounds them, and eventually reaching their own plateaus of peace.  Truthfully, I longed for something more concrete in a few places, but all in all, everything that transpired, both the good and the bad, felt authentic to the journey we first started. 

To conclude, it was an adventure through the lives of three remarkable women who prove that an open heart/mind, and good friends, can get you through the roughest patches life can throw your way.  None of their journeys were easy, nor the truths they learned a walk in the park, but learn them they did and they were all better for it in the end.  I'd say it's best to put aside an autumn afternoon to spend with these lovely ladies and see what truths you might uncover in your own life along the way.

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About the author...

KATHERINE A. SHERBROOKE received her B.A. from Dartmouth College and M.B.A. from Stanford University. An entrepreneur and writer, she is the author of Finding Home, a family memoir about her parents’ tumultuous and inspiring love affair. This is her first novel. She lives outside Boston with her husband, two sons, and black lab. Visit her online at www.kasherbrooke.com, https://www.facebook.com/kasherbrooke/?fref=ts, or @kazzese.

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Special thanks to Caitlin at Caitlin Hamilton Marketing & Publicity LLC, for the ARC for review as well as the chance to bring this tour to you.  (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, or those tours on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title just celebrated its book birthday about a week ago today via SixSevenOne Books, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.  Don't miss the author appearing virtually and in person in the coming weeks!  Stop by her events page and mark your calendar now!  Be sure to check out the other sites on the tour as this book makes its way through the blogosphere...

Blog Tour:

10/20: Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus: Spotlight & giveaway

10/21: Under My Apple Tree: Spotlight & giveaway

10/25: A Literary Vacation: Spotlight & giveaway

10/27: Bibliotica, review

10/28: Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers: review

10/31: Broken Teepee: review

11/1: Life of a Female Bibliophile: review

11/3: Celtic Lady's Reviews: review & giveaway

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!