Review and Blog Tour: The Promised World by Lisa Tucker

Fraternal twins Billy and Lila have always had a very close relationship. Since losing their parents when they were teenagers, they have built independent lives but remain devoted to each other. They live close to each other and see each other regularly. Since Lila can't really remember anything about their past, she relies on Billy to hold the memories for the both of them. And he has, weaving elaborate stories that fill in all of her blank spaces and create the happy reality he promised her years ago.

When Billy is dies violently, Lila's world is torn apart. She is unable to function without him, her compass for interpreting the world has been lost. She loves her husband of eleven years, Patrick, very much, but she can't seem to break out of the spiraling grief that has engulfed her. The fragmented memories that start to surface totally confuse her, as they are at odds to all she has believed to be true. She desperately wants custody of Billy's three children, he and his wife had been going through a bitter divorce, but Lila's mentally fragile state make such an attempt impossible.

So, Lila turns to sleeping pills to numb her pain. Patrick can't seem to get through to her or do anything that helps to life her out of the despair that she is in. He goes to see Billy's wife, Ashley, hoping to find some way to help Lila. Instead, Ashley shows him a sympathy card...from Billy & Lila's mother. He is shocked but thinks it must be some sort of prank. His wife couldn't have lied to him about a thing like this for so many years, could she?

Why would two adolescents claim that their parents were dead, when one of them at least is very much alive? What could have happened to cause them to construct a fictitious past and cut all ties to home and family? These are questions that they must all find the answers to, for the sake of the entire family. When Lila's splintered memories finally begin to emerge, will she be strong enough to accept what they contain?

I was completely riveted to the pages of this story. It is a fascinating psychological look at the lengths the mind will go to in order to protect the self. The relationships between Billy and Lila, their spouses and children, were intricate and interesting. The author explores the adult difficulties that result from the psychological abuse of children, the kind of abuse that doesn't leave any marks but twists and destroys just the same. A moving story with a depth of seriousness, I truly enjoyed this novel.

I received this book as part of the Blog Tour hosted by TLC Book Tours. For a complete list of the blog stops, please click here. For more information about the author and her novels, please visit her website.

The Promised World is published by Atria Books, ISBN 978-1-4165-7538-

Review: The Diary by Eileen Goudge

While sisters Emily and Sarah are completing the heartbreaking task of emptying out their dying mother's home, they come across an old diary. It was at the bottom of a box, long forgotten in the attic of the house they both grew up in. As they crack it open, they recognize their Mom's handwriting and are astonished by the dates the diary covers, June to November 1951. Just prior to their parents wedding date of December, 1951.

As they begin to read, the women are shocked to realize that the diary reveals their mother Elizabeth's love for another man. She was all set to marry her high school sweetheart, Bob, when a young man she had known since she was five years old came back to town. A.J. is a cartoon artist at the county fair and he certainly is not the type of boy that Elizabeth's mother would approve of. He has no steady job, his parents died when he was nine and he has been abused by the relatives who raised him. He has had a hard life. Of course, Elizabeth falls for him practically on sight.

A.J. and Elizabeth begin to sneak some time together, carefully avoiding the prying eyes of their small town. When a fire erupts near their rendezvous spot, A.J. doesn't hesitate to jump in to help fight the blaze. His quick presence on the scene throws suspicion on him and he is arrested for the crime. Elizabeth has no choice, she admits to Bob that she has been seeing A.J. and then she goes to the police and provides him with the alibi that he needs to prove his innocence.

Emily and Sarah are shocked to their cores as they read the events in the diary. Did they never really know their parents? They had seemed so happy together, so completely content. It is overwhelming to discover this hidden past that they had no idea existed. What happened to A.J.? If Elizabeth loved him enough to ruin her reputation for his sake, why didn't they get married? How could their Dad have forgiven her so completely as to never once hint at what had happened? They can't ask their Mom, she is unconscious and gravely ill. So, they resign themselves to not knowing, to always wondering what happened. Until an unexpected event reveals something wonderful.

This was a joyful book that I read in one sitting, like Emily and Sarah did in the book, because I just had to find out what happened. It is an excellent combination of tender romance and complex emotional drama that I found to be intensely satisfying. Indeed, this book is an eye opening reminder of the stories and history contained in each elderly twinkling eye. Let us not forget the valuable stories, big and small, that our elders have to pass on.

The Diary is published by Vanguard Press. ISBN 978-159315-543-8

This review was originally published at Curled Up With a Good Book.

Review: The Four Corners of the Sky by Michael Malone

The first six years of Annie Peregrine's life were non-stop motion and excitement, but not really the good kind. She spent those years with her father, Jack, a small time con man who was constantly in trouble. They were permanently on the road and more than once had to skip whatever town they were in at a moment's notice. Not a great life for a little girl.

On Annie's seventh birthday Jack drives her to his childhood home in Emerald, North Carolina: Pilgrim's Rest. There he abruptly leaves her with his sister, Sam, a lesbian who runs the local video store and her best friend, pediatrician Clark Goode, who lives with her. With his parting words Jack gives Annie his old Piper Warrior airplane as a birthday gift.

So, things settle down and Annie has a fairly normal childhood. Sam and Clark adopt her and the three form a loving family. But Annie has a driving need for perfection in every thing she does and she pushes herself, physically and mentally, to be the best. She learns to fly on that old plane and becomes a Navy pilot. She impetuously marries a fellow pilot, Brad, and then files for divorce when she catches him in bed with someone else.

That's where things stand when, on her 26th birthday, she returns to Pilgrim's Rest and finds an envelope from her father. He claims to be dying and wants her help. It seems that he has had a stolen statue, The Queen of the Sea, for years. He has removed most of the precious gems that were on the statue and hidden them all over the place. He sends Annie on what basically amounts to a scavenger hunt to recover the statue and the gems that go with it. She agrees, on one condition. Jack has never told her who her mother really is (her birth certificate says her mother is Claudette Colbert) and she will help him in exchange for her mother's name.

As Annie goes after Jack, who is always a step ahead and remains as elusive as ever, she begins a search that will change her in ways she cannot imagine.

Up until the end, I really enjoyed this novel. The mystery of the statue and the suspense of the search were exciting and action-packed. There are flash backs woven in that serve to fill in the background and extend the drama. I thought the characters were interesting and the bonds of their relationships felt sweet and true. They were well rounded and flawed in various ways which made them all the more lovable.

I just couldn't understand the ending. I'm trying to avoid spoilers here so I will just say that Annie comes across some astounding information and then...nothing. She doesn't mention it beyond a couple of cryptic comments, doesn't explain her thinking or feelings to the reader. Doesn't do what any average person would do with that revelation. Maybe that is the point, but I am totally flummoxed by it. I kept expecting the information to be talked about, or thought about, or SOMETHING. I feel like I'm not sharp enough to figure out why the author did this, or that I totally misunderstood and got it wrong. Argh.

I wish I had read this one in a book club, I would love to discuss it!

At any rate, after that you will want some additional reviews, I'm sure! So here they are:

At Home With Books
Savvy Verse and Wit
Diary of an Eccentric
Review from Here
A Bookworm's World
Books are My Only Friends
Library Queue

The Four Corners of the Sky is published by Sourcebooks. ISBN 978-1-57071-744-4