Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Book Review: Heaven Adjacent by Catherine Ryan Hyde


Hi all,

As you may already know, I’m already a big fan of Catherine Ryan Hyde’s work. So, it will come as no surprise to you that I loved her latest novel, HEAVEN ADJACENT. Honestly, if I had to chose my favorite book of hers to date – this would be it. Beautifully written, honest, heartfelt, and realistic. I loved this one! Below is more about this novel and my review.

Heaven Adjacent


Catherine Ryan Hyde


Book Description:

From New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde comes a bittersweet novel about healing old wounds and finding a new place to call home…

Roseanna Chaldecott spent her life as a high-powered lawyer in Manhattan. But when her best friend and law partner dies suddenly, something snaps. Unsure of her future, Roseanna heads upstate on one tank of gas and with no plans to return.

In the foothills of the Adirondacks, Roseanna discovers the perfect hideout in a ramshackle farm. Its seventy-six acres are rich with possibilities and full of surprises, including a mother and daughter squatting on the property. Although company is the last thing Roseanna wants, she reluctantly lets them stay.

Roseanna and the young girl begin sculpting junk found around the farm into zoo animals, drawing more newcomers—including her estranged son, Lance. He pleads with Roseanna to return to the city, but she’s finally discovered where she belongs. It may not provide the solitude she originally sought, but her heart has found room for much more.


Publish Date: June 19, 2018
Lake Union Publishing


Preorder now on Amazon


My 5-Star Review:

Rosanna has a high-powered job and everything that money can buy but when her best friend passes away suddenly, Rosanna has second thoughts about the life she is living. On a drive outside of the city, she comes upon a run-down farm that calls her name. A place to be alone and rethink her life. But after buying it, she finds she is not alone. Other people are drawn to her little piece of heaven too. And when her son shows up on her doorstep, wondering what has gotten into her, she isn’t sure how to answer. Can she return to her empty city life, or is the little farm her destiny?

Beautifully written, heartfelt, sometimes humorous, honest. These words describe this latest story by Catherine Ryan Hyde. She touches a nerve here, giving the reader something to think about. Are you living your life to its fullest? Rosanna isn’t sure she is, and we follow her as she struggles with the changes going on around her. Changes occurring by her recent loss, by the people who are now surrounding her, by her trying to reconnect with her grown son. But the author does this in a way that entertains, makes you smile, and maybe even cry. This is Catherine Ryan Hyde at her best. Highly recommended.


About the Author:

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of thirty-three published books. Her bestselling 1999 novel, Pay It Forward, adapted into a major Warner Bros. motion picture, made the American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adults list and was translated into more than two dozen languages for distribution in more than thirty countries. Her novels Becoming Chloe and Jumpstart the World were included on the ALA’s Rainbow List; Jumpstart the World was also a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards and won Rainbow Awards in two categories. The Language of Hoofbeatswon a Rainbow Award. More than fifty of her short stories have been published in many journals, including the Antioch ReviewMichigan Quarterly Review, the Virginia Quarterly ReviewPloughsharesGlimmer Train, and the Sun, and in the anthologies Santa Barbara Stories and California Shorts, as well as the bestselling anthology Dog Is My Co-Pilot. Her short fiction received honorable mention in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest, a second-place win for the Tobias Wolff Award, and nominations for Best American Short Stories, the O. Henry Award, and the Pushcart Prize. Three have also been cited in Best American Short Stories.

Hyde is the founder and former president of the Pay It Forward Foundation. As a professional public speaker, she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with AmeriCorps members at the White House, and shared a dais with Bill Clinton. An avid equestrian, photographer, and traveler, she lives in California.


Tuesday, April 3, 2018

New Release: The Good Liar by Catherine McKenzie Plus a Giveaway!

I'm so excited to share this new release by the talented author, Catherine McKenzie. And she has generously offered up one of her other books for a giveaway!


New Release!

The Good Liar 

Catherine McKenzie


Book Description:

Can you hide a secret with the whole world watching?

When an explosion rips apart a Chicago building, the lives of three women are forever altered.

A year later, Cecily is in mourning. She was supposed to be in the building that day. Instead, she stood on the street and witnessed it going down, with her husband and best friend inside. Kate, now living thousands of miles away, fled the disaster and is hoping that her past won’t catch up with her. And Franny, a young woman in search of her birth mother, watched the horror unfold on the morning news, knowing that the woman she was so desperate to reconnect with was in the building.

Now, despite the marks left by the tragedy, they all seem safe. But as its anniversary dominates the media, the memories of that terrifying morning become dangerous triggers. All these women are guarding important secrets. Just how far will they go to keep them?


Buy now on Amazon Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback, and Audiobook: http://amzn.to/2oYNnZf




About the Author:

A graduate of McGill University in History and Law, Catherine practices law in Montreal, where she was born and raised. An avid skier and runner, Catherine's has published six bestsellers which have been translated into numerous languages. HIDDEN was a #1 Amazon bestseller and a Digital Bookworld bestseller for five weeks. SMOKE was named a Best Book of October by Goodreads, one of the Top 100 Books of 2015 by Amazon, and was a #1 Amazon bestseller. FRACTURED was also named a Best Book of October by Goodreads in 2016. Catherine published her first novel writing as Julie Apple, THE MURDER GAME, in 2016, and had a short story included in MONTREAL NOIR in 2017. 


Visit Catherine online at: 

Website   

Facebook  

Twitter and Instagram at @cemckenzie1.



Giveaway

To celebrate, Catherine is offering a FREE Kindle copy of her novel, FRACTURED, to one lucky winner. The giveaway will run from now until 4/10/2018. Enter by using the Rafflecopter below, or by leaving a comment. U.S. Residents only, please. (Sorry :( )

Good Luck!