Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by A Daily Rhythm.
My featured book today has been languishing on my Kindle since December 2013, so it’s about time to bring it out, don’t you think? Here, Home, Hope, by Kaira Rouda, will surely appeal to readers of chick lit and other women’s fiction titles who are ready to transition into something new in their own life.
Intro: Here’s how I knew something about my life had to change.
I was sitting in the dentist’s chair, waiting for the topical numbing goo to take effect on my gum so the dentist could jab a needle into the same spot. My only choice for entertainment was to stare at the light blue walls surrounding me or flip through the channels available on the television suspended on the sea of blue. I chose the latter and discovered an infomercial: Learn to preach in Spanish. The sincere narrator promised to tell me how many souls needed saving, and what an impact I could have, after I took their course, of course.
Maybe this was the answer to the problem I couldn’t name, the cause of the sadness I felt just under the surface of my life? I could become a successful Spanish missionary. I stared at the screen transfixed until Dr. Bane appeared to administer the shot of Novocain.
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Teaser: It was odd that I’d ended up this way: a vintage housewife living in a modern world. My mom had been a stay-at-home mom, a model of domestic perfection. Perfect house, perfect kids, perfect meals. And then poof! My dad ran off with a neighbor. (p. 66).
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Blurb: Kelly Mills Johnson becomes restless in her thirty-ninth year. An appetite for more forces her to take stock of her middling middle-American existence and her neighbors’ seemingly perfect lives. Her marriage to a successful attorney has settled into a comfortable routine, and being the mother of two adorable sons has been rewarding. But Kelly’s own passions lie wasted. She eyes with envy the lives of her two best friends, Kathryn and Charlotte, both beautiful, successful businesswomen who seem to have it all. Kelly takes charge of her life, devising a midlife makeover plan.
From page one, Kelly’s witty reflections, self-deprecating humor, and clever tactics in executing that plan—she places Post-it notes all over her house and car—will have readers laughing out loud. The next instant, however, they might rant right along with Kelly as her commitment to a sullen, anorexic teenager left on her doorstep tries her patience or as she deflects the boozy advances of a divorced neighbor. Readers will need to keep the tissue box handy, too, as Kelly repairs the damage she inflicted on a high school friend; realizes how deeply her husband, Patrick, understands and loves her; and ultimately grows into a woman empowered by her own blend of home and career.
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What do you think? Do the excerpts grab you? Intrigue you? I’m hoping that, after all this time that I’ve had the book, it will be worth the read.
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CURL UP AND READ 