Everybody Lies by Emily Cavanagh

Genre: Mystery, Thrillers, Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: October 2020

While to most Great Rock Island is a summer-holiday destination, to Evvy and a small group of locals, it is home. Every year, when the cold rolls in carrying storms off the Atlantic, the island reverts to being just theirs for a few months. However, the discovery of an outsider’s body lying on the snow-covered beach shakes the community. Evvy’s own life is plunged into fear and chaos when it comes to the light that Ian, her partner, was the last person to see the victim alive. As questions, suspicions, and gossip mount, Evvy will do whatever it takes to protect her daughter.

The promise of a murder-mystery set to the backdrop of an isolated community where beauty turns to nightmare and tight-knit to claustrophobic had me running to read Everybody Lies by Emily Cavanagh. Sadly, I soon discovered it was more small-town drama and less mystery — specifically that of two families and their twisted lives. Between the lies, the cheating, the drugs, and enough bad decisions between them to sink the entire island, I couldn’t connect or empathize with any of them. The writing itself is not bad, but with no likable characters to keep me invested, I found myself skimming after the forty percent mark, even then only because I had committed to reviewing it.

In the end, I think the main issue was a book not reaching the right hands. A reader looking for a family drama, a story that dwells on the downward spiral of poor choices, and the heartbreaking effects of drugs could like Everybody Lies.

Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: April 2020

Louisiana, 1875. Joined by necessity, three unlikely companions embark on a dangerous journey to Texas. Lavinia, a spoiled heiress to an impoverished plantation, and her illegitimate, Creole half-sister Juneau Jane make the trek out of financial desperation. Hannie, a former slave, searches for her mother and siblings, all ripped from her before the abolishment of slavery. Each carries deep wounds and heavy secrets that will both haunt and propel them as they travel west

Louisiana, 1987. First-year teacher Benedetta Silva has a student loan to pay. A subsidized job at a poor rural school seems like the perfect answer. Then she lands in small, backward Augustine where outsiders pose a threat and leaving is unheard of. Benny finds she cannot relate to her underprivileged students, and her attempts to do so only seem to widen the chasm. But amidst the crumbling plantations, the threads of history weave a slowly fading but powerful story of three young women and their almost-forgotten quest.

I know I’ve found a superb writer when I become so engrossed in a tale that I forget it falls outside of my usual reading preferences. Lisa Wingate hasn’t done that once, but consistently with each novel of hers that I have read. Despite being outside my go-to genres, every year her book lands among my top reads. The Book of Lost Friends is no exception.

In the beginning, I struggled briefly to jump into the story, but before too long I found myself completely and utterly immersed. Wingate’s use of language creates such a deep and emotional connection in the reader that I spent the majority of the time on the brink of tears. Some of it did stem from sad events — one can’t talk about slavery and some of the other heavy topics and not expect sorrow — but most of the time it came from the sheer beauty and richness of her prose.

The characters and settings are so exquisitely crafted that they take on lives of their own. Putting down the novel not only proved jarring when the world around me didn’t match that of the book, it also left a gaping hole the size of Texas. My heart still searches for friends and places it believes exist, while my brain futilely tries to tell it that they can only be found within the pages of this novel.

As always, Wingate manages to bring to the surface festering wounds from history and teach us about the past while never losing sight of hope and the future. Whether you are a fan of women’s fiction and time slip novels or not, this is one book I strongly recommend.

Potential trigger warning: A rape does occur. While it happens off the page, the character does deal with the emotional, physical, and mental effects of the attack.

Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!

 

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Genre: Drama
Publisher: Ballentine Books
Publication Date: June 2017

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss lives aboard a river shantyboat with her parents and siblings. To the outside viewer, it might look like she doesn’t have much, but Rill has everything she needs. However, life as she knows it changes one night when her father must rush her pregnant mother to the hospital. While alone with her siblings, strangers arrive and yank the Foss kids from their home and toss them into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage. Despite false assurances that they will soon be reunited with their parents, the children soon discover the cruel truth. This forces Rill to fight to protect her siblings from a perilous and unknown world they can’t control.

South Carolina, present day. Born into affluence and prestige, Avery Stafford never dreamed her family tree could hide a scandalous history. But when a chance encounter with a senile woman stirs up questions, Avery works to track down her family’s long-held secrets — secrets that could destroy those she loves most or bring healing.

Heart-wrenching, riveting, and haunting, Before We Were Yours delivers an unforgettable tale that sticks long after the final page. Lisa Wingate pens a poignant and captivating tale of a disturbing time in history. Based on the real-life scandal of Georgia Tann, the director of an adoption organization that kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families, the story wrecks the reader while also proving impossible to set aside. Despite the hard topic, Wingate manages to weave a thread of hope throughout the tale.

Masterful storytelling, vivid settings, and raw, real characters ensured my total investment in the tale. I laughed, I cried, I suffered, I rejoiced, as I experienced the events right alongside the characters. Dual timeline stories are very rarely my cup of tea, and yet Wingate continually amazes and pulls me in with hers. For the romantics, though romance is not the dominant thread, a bit of a love story exists. I won’t give anything away, but he is amazing! I strongly recommend this novel.

Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!

The Memory of You by Catherine West

Genre: Romance, Drama
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: March 2017

Thirteen years ago, Natalie Mitchell’s life tailspinned when her twin sister died. That day, she not only lost her other half and best friend but also a part of herself. Since then, she has stayed away from her family’s winery, but when her grandfather suffers from a heart attack, Natalie has no choice but to return to Sonoma. With Maoilios failing and her father pushing to shut it down, Natalie must decide the fate of her family’s business and legacy, all the while fighting the nightmares of that horrible summer that have returned with a vengeance.

As the vintner on Maoilios, Tanner Collins wants nothing more than to get the winery back on its feet after a bad season, but Natalie’s arrival could render all his attempts in vain. Even though he’s battling his own issues on the homefront, Tanner is determined to prove to his childhood friend that they have something worth saving. However, the woman who now stands before him is nothing like the girl he remembers.

I only discovered Catherine West a few months ago. As with most new-to-me authors, I hesitated investing time and money on an author I didn’t know. I worried for nothing. I love the two books I’ve read so far.

The Memory of You delivers a heart-wrenching story that reaches the deepest parts of one’s soul. West tackles deep subjects while gently nudging the characters, and ultimately her readers, toward the Giver of hope.

Raw and realistic characters drew me in. Even though I hadn’t experienced some of the struggles they endured, I could connect with them. I came to feel their sorrows and joys, their failures and triumphs in my own skin. This rang true all the way from the hero and heroine to the secondary cast that surrounded them. Watching Tanner and Natalie reconnect after years and fall in love was pure delight.

The heroine wears a necklace with a zodiac charm which surprised me because it involves the study of astrology and is not consistent with the Biblical values otherwise promoted in the story.

The setting truly pops to life in this book and stuck with me long after I finished, giving me a severe case of book hangover. I longed to return to the wide expanse of vine-laden land and inhale the grape-scented air.

I strongly recommend The Memory of You to readers looking for a redemptive story with romance and family, and a book that doesn’t shy away from tackling the hard and messy issues in life.

Review copy provided by publisher. Thanks!

**Oiginally posted on Radiant Lit.

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The Whiskey Sea by Ann Howard Creel

Genre: Drama, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: August 2016

As the daughter of the town’s late prostitute, Frieda Hope knows hardship. She is accustomed to whispers and rejection, and vows to provide a better life for her sister, Bea. When Silver, a kind fisherman, takes the two girls in, Frieda finds refuge and solace on the water. However, her plans crumble when Silver sells his boat to WWI veteran Sam Hicks.

The elderly fisherman believes Hicks will make a good husband for Frieda, but she has other ideas and convinces the young veteran to teach her how to repair boat engines. Nonetheless, it quickly becomes evident that her mechanic wages won’t cover putting Bea through teacher’s school. Determined to make Bea’s dream a reality by any means necessary, and now in the height of the Prohibition, Frieda becomes a rumrunner, succumbing to the lure of making big money fast. Things start to look up, especially once she meets a handsome Ivy Leaguer bent on winning her over. But choices have a way of catching up and Frieda finds herself grappling to find firm ground.

I don’t often read historical fiction and I’ve never picked up a Prohibition era novel, but The Whiskey Sea had me riveted from beginning to end. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be bittersweet. Ann Howard Creel pens a story of hope, heartbreak, and the choices in between.

I watched helplessly as Frieda steadily advanced toward a precipice of bad decisions, yet I couldn’t resist becoming entrenched in her story, desperately wanting to be her friend and help guide her out of her downward spiral. By the end, I felt that, for the most part, Frieda was repentant for her choices and actions. Though in an area or two, I did wonder whether she was sorry for what she’d done or for the outcome.

Hicks’ steadfastness, loyalty, and sense of morality made him my favorite almost immediately. My appreciation for him only grew as the story progressed. The author brought the setting to life so vividly that I could taste the ocean brine, see the coastal shoreline, and hear the cawing seagulls and breaking waves. Days after finishing the book, I still feel like I stand on the brink of that world. I need only to close my eyes and I’m back with Frieda, Bea, Silver, and Hicks.

As a fan of The Magic of Ordinary Days (both the book and Hallmark movie) also written by Creel, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to review this story. While the characters, setting, and time period differ greatly, a common thread and theme exists between the two. 

Readers should be aware that, while not predominant, there is some foul language, and though not described in graphic depths, there are moments of intimacy.

Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!

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