#BookReview: A Heart Beyond by Grace Greene

A Cozy Comfortable (Cat) Blanket. Sometimes You Just Need Space To Heal. Ok, so I can’t decide on a title for this review and both of those work, so this review gets two titles. 🙂 The first was stolen from a phrase another reviewer used and then modified slightly to put my own twist, the second is completely my own.

This is one of those books where seemingly not much happens. We encounter a woman after the tragedy has already struck, and we get enough of the backstory to be invested in her character, but that isn’t where she is *right now*. Where she is *right now* is a series of WTF comedic elements that wind up with her having a cat… that she doesn’t actually own, and that seemingly doesn’t want to be owned at all.

And in the process of acquiring said cat and learning to take care of it… well, maybe she finally has space to simply *be* and to heal from the aforementioned trauma. Maybe there is a possible romantic interest, but maybe there doesn’t actually need to be a romance. Maybe, just maybe, we can have a book that is essentially about nothing more than finding the space to simply *be*, to allow the space to heal without focusing on the trauma or the process of healing… and simply allow the healing to happen.

Maybe this isn’t the case with every trauma and every healing – there are absolutely times for more decisive and immediate actions in both, and there is absolutely space for stories detailing such journeys. But that journey isn’t this journey, and Grace here brings exactly that – grace – in showing this kind of healing too. Of just taking care of your (often annoying) cat and maybe sitting under a comfortably cozy (even cat print, such as one in particular from Vera Bradley) blanket and simply *being*. Not necessarily “enjoying” the moment or having any other emotion or being “mindful” or anything else. Just. Simply. Being.

Grace has done phenomenal work with more “active” healing in prior books, and to see what she does here with such a simple concept… it is like watching a 3* Michelin chef make a boiled egg, or a particularly talented bartender make the perfect Old Fashioned… it is simply a thing of utter beauty, one that is not often found and is to be savored when you do find it.

Very much recommended.

This review of A Heart Beyond by Grace Greene was originally written on September 4, 2024.

#BookReview: An Echo In Time by Boo Walker

Strong Multi-Generational Tale. With this tale, Walker expands into something I’ve never seen from him (though I *am* a somewhat recent fan, only finding him within the 2020s or so) – a dual timeline, present day/ historical fiction tale. Both periods are executed well for their time and setting, though there are some mystical elements to the present day setting that will be harder for some to accept – and some elements of the more practical present day setup that may seem just as unrealistic to others.

Still, Walker manages to write a female lead as well as most female authors within the women’s fiction space while *also* having a male lead that is also Walker’s typical greatness with such characters. That he *also* manages to give both of them a compelling romance – and proving some of my points re: “romance novels” along the way! – is even more icing on the cake there.

But really, the story here is about the trauma and the seeming generational nature of it. In this respect, I didn’t really see the present day issues as “trauma” so much as a lot of bad luck/ bad circumstances. Yes, any one of the things *suck*, but I didn’t really see them as “trauma”. (Though the one situation, part of the practical yet possibly unrealistic stuff noted above, … well, I’ll shut up now to avoid any possible spoilers.) This noted, the historical period was simply *full* of trauma, that part I absolutely got and it was 100% crystal clear – particularly as they relate to some other books I’ve read and raved about over the decades.

And yet, regardless of which part of which storyline’s traumas hit you, the reader of this review, harder… Walker, as always, shows superb skill in bringing the characters *back from it* – which isn’t really a spoiler, given this is very much Walker’s style in every book I’ve read from him. Indeed, it is a particular strength of his that sets his tales apart from many in whichever genre you may place his books. Thus, no matter your own traumas in your “real” life and no matter how much you may identify with a particular trauma found in this tale… you’re also going to find a degree of catharsis within these pages that is Walker’s particular brand of real-world “magic” with his words.

Very much recommended.

This review of An Echo In Time by Boo Walker was originally written on August 27, 2024.

#BookReview: Follow Her Down by Victoria Helen Stone

Moving Thriller Set Against Family Trauma. There are times when you find a thriller tale that has genuine heart, when a book that is supposedly intended to make your heart beat faster also manages to make the room quite dusty at times. This is one of those tales.

There is quite a bit to unpack about this story, but to reveal the things that truly make it as powerful as it is could delve too far into spoiler territory. Suffice it to say that the setup itself is done well – we are many years after a massive trauma for a family and even their small community, and the trauma reverberates to this day in many different ways. Stone manages to craft a story that is pitch perfect thriller – more bodies are piling up *now*, and it seems they may be connected to the original trauma, at least if some people are to be believed. It is the way she goes about executing this story, exploring the various internal dynamics within our main character and the larger dynamics within her family and community, that give this book its heart and its soul.

Overall a strong tale, though perhaps not *so* atypical as to be heads and shoulders standing above others of its form and genre. Still, for those that enjoy this type of tale – or even those open to exploring if they like this type of tale – this is certainly a strong entry within the space, and a worthy read indeed.

Very much recommended.

This review of Follow Her Down by Victoria Helen Stone was originally written on June 5, 2024.

#BookReview: No More Secrets by Kerry Lonsdale

Satisfying Conclusion. Let’s be clear up front: This is absolutely one of those trilogies where you need to read the books in order to both avoid spoilers and to understand all that is going on. So go read No More Words and No More Lies before you read this book – and then be glad you bought all three of them at once, because unlike certain apparently masochistic advance reader copy readers, you had the wisdom to wait until the entire trilogy was available to read this book. Because this entire trilogy is one where you’re going to want the next book *now*, and at least with this concluding chapter, all is revealed – finally – and everything comes to a satisfying conclusion for all characters. Not that I’m going to reveal what those conclusions were for anyone in this review, but Lonsdale does do a solid job of wrapping up the trilogy.

In this particular tale, we finally find out what has been motivating Lucas all along, where he ran off to and why, and yet again we also get a satisfying “solo adventure” before the siblings from the first two books intersect with the tale once again. Truly a compelling series, and truly a compelling “solo” tale here. Very well executed, with near perfect pacing throughout. With this latest trilogy complete, and with it a bit of a break from the types of tales Lonsdale was telling quite a bit before this, it will be interesting to see where Lonsdale goes from here – she has proven quite conclusively that she doesn’t need the “crutch” her previous stories were almost beginning to seem like they were leaning on, and now that she has the sky is truly the limit. This book, this trilogy, and this author are all very much recommended.

This review of No More Secrets by Kerry Lonsdale was originally written on January 3, 2023.

Featured New Release Of The Week: Beach Heart by Grace Greene

This week we’re looking at a remarkable book about healing and finding your way, even at your very lowest point. This week we’re looking at Beach Heart by Grace Greene.

Here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

The Chair Comes Too! Yes, the title of this review is a reference to a minor yet great element of this particular tale, one that I can relate to a great deal. In this case, the chair in question is where our lead was sitting when she found out some momentous news, at a point where she was at her lowest. In my own case, my grandmother had a bench on her front porch for years that she or I would sit on while we talked as she smoked her cigarettes – and that very bench now sits in my house. For both of us, these furniture pieces come to serve as a reminder of both devastation and healing, of fond memories and the moments they were ripped away – but ultimately, of a strength neither of us knew at the time that we possessed. And yes, this book also serves as a great introduction to Greene’s style for those who have never read her books before as well as a familiar voice telling a new story with some wrinkles we don’t always see even from Greene herself. Truly an outstanding book, one great to read on a beach somewhere if you get a chance – or anywhere else if you don’t. Very much recommened.

#BookReview: The End Of Trauma by George A Bonanno

Remarkable Examination of Trauma And Its Permanence. This is a truly eye opening book about the remarkable resilience of many, perhaps most, people – and how the science of trauma often gets the permanence of trauma wrong. Bonanno has spent his career researching these topics, and this is a solid look at his best findings to date. Told using some long-term case studies as a bit of a narrative structure (and certainly a recurrent theme), this book does a great job of showing how intensely personal trauma and resilience are, yet also using facts and studies to back up the case studies and show larger findings and trends. The bibliography here comes in at about 23% of the total text, which is within normal range – and would likely have been a bit more, without the focus on the case studies. Of note, the case studies are from an accidental spine injury – from a traffic accident – and from survivors of the 9/11 attacks, which helps to show the wide range of trauma. Though also of note, sexual traumas are not examined directly. While Bonanno makes the case for general applicability to all traumas for his findings of resilience and the factors that lead to it, one wonders whether more directly studying various types of traumas using Bonanno’s framework would truly show true general applicability? Still, that question would be an intriguing premise for a follow up book – but this book itself does in fact make a strong case for its premise and adds quite a bit to the overall discussion of trauma, PTSD, and resilience. Very much recommended.

This review of The End of Trauma by George A Bonanno was originally written on July 12, 2021.

#BlogTour: Hieroglyphics by Jill McCorkle

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a tale that is an interesting examination of life and death. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Hieroglyphics by Jill McCorkle.

Here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

Jumbled And Disjointed, Yet Somehow Works. This is one of those books that arguably *shouldn’t* work, given how truly disjointed it is with its time period and character jumps, and yet as more of a meditation/ reflective work on life and death, it really does actually work. As we work through the various streams of consciousness of Fred, Lil, Shelley, and Harvey, we see each of their lives through their own eyes as they struggle with past, present, life, and death. We see the traumas large and small, the regrets and the victories, the confusions and the joys. Admittedly, the particular writing style will be hard to follow for some, and even I found it quite jarring despite my own abilities to largely go with any flow of a book. But in the end it really does work to tell a cohesive yet complex story, and really that is all anyone can ultimately ask of a fiction tale. Thus, there is nothing of the quasi-objective nature that I try to maintain to hang any star reduction on, even as many readers may struggle with this tale. And thus, it is very much recommended.

And here’s the new paperback cover provided by the publisher, as well as a photo of the author. 🙂