A Sound Among the Trees - Susan Meissner

Publisher:  WaterBrook Multnomah

Pages:  336

Source: “I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for  

                this  review”

Genre:  Historical, Contemporary, Romance

From Goodreads:

A house shrouded in time.

A line of women with a heritage of loss. As a young bride, Susannah Page was rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, a traitor to her Virginian roots. Her great-granddaughter Adelaide, the current matriarch of Holly Oak, doesn’t believe that Susannah’s ghost haunts the antebellum mansion looking for a pardon, but rather the house itself bears a grudge toward its tragic past. When Marielle Bishop marries into the family and is transplanted from the arid west to her husband’s home, it isn’t long before she is led to believe that the house she just settled into brings misfortune to the women who live there. With Adelaide’s richly peppered superstitions and deep family roots at stake, Marielle must sort out the truth about Susannah Page and Holly Oak— and make peace with the sacrifices she has made for love. 

My Thoughts:

I loved this book.  It has something for everyone.  There is the contemporary romance between Marielle and Carson.  Marielle has moved across the country to  in the house that Carson’s first wife lived in.  She is now raising his two children from that marriage.  In the mix is the grandmother-in-law who is the matriarch of the house.  Most of the people in the area believe the house is haunted.  Adelaide doesn’t.  She believes the house holds a grudge that affects the women in the family.  If Marielle is to survive in this new environment she must put to rest the ghosts, real or imagined, of this house.  She must discover the secrets that have kept generations in the dark.  I loved that the person who held the key (literally and figuratively) to those secrets was the one person most considered an outcast.  She was also the one person that I really admired.  She faced her ghosts head on. 

This is a book that I whole heartedly recommend to anyone who likes romances, the Civil War and it’s impact on families and a great mystery to tie it all together.

ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!

This is to inform all of those wonderful people I have promised reviews to that I have hit a small
glitch.   Okay, so it's a BIG glitch.  I've been having problems with my computer and have patiently been waiting for a new one.  (I am currently writing on my school computer).  It had a major crash and all of my files were deleted.  Not good at all.  Luckily when having the same problem a couple of months back I put everything (or most of it) on my husband's external hard drive.  I am trying to recover everything.  It is taking a while.  Please bear with me as some of it may be delayed.  Thank you for understanding.

A Work in Progress - Brad Cotton

Publisher:  Now or Never Publishing

Pages:  234

Sourced:  received a copy for review

Genre:  Adult Literary Fiction

From Goodreads:

Writer Danny Bayle’s life is in shambles. His girlfriend has left him and his grandfather — the last and most important influence in his life — has just passed away. Danny has spent the last few months languishing, unable to write a single word, but at the urging of a friend ventures out into the world in an attempt to jumpstart a new life, befriending in the process an interesting assortment of characters including an author, a musician, an artist, and a retired nurse. Garnering the attention of more than one woman, Danny sees his new friends unwittingly begin to shape what could just be the story of his life. But will he ever let go of the girl that got away?

My Thoughts:

I will have to say that the author is very creative.  I enjoyed reading about a struggling writer.  Why?  For those of us who write, we could definitely relate to Danny.  Danny drinks too much, and tends to sleep around.  For this reason I didn’t enjoy Danny the way I probably should have.    I want to be honest and up front.  I didn’t really enjoy the book as much as I have others.  This book is written in first person and makes it and interesting read.    Danny tries to re-invent himself in the hopes of getting over his depression and getting back to his writing.  In the process he tries several things.  I loved the fact he pursued Karate and decided after only one lesson that it just wasn’t for him.  He tries painting and a number of things.  His major problem is he is still stuck on his former girlfriend and can’t seem to move ahead.   Read the book to find out if he succeds in this quest or does he change it up completely.