Slow Moon Rising Book Review

 

A Cedar Key Novel

SUMMARY:  ONE FAMILY, ONE SECRET - AND ONE CHANCE TO MAKE IT RIGHT

     The beautiful Claybourne home on Cedar Key has long been a place of rest, healing, and release.  Each member of the family has turned there in times of confusion, loss, and hurt, only to feel their spirits renewed and their hearts restored.

     But Cedar Key might also be the birthplace of a lie that is poisoning the family from within.

     Join the five Claybourne women - Anise, Kimberly, Jayme-Leigh, Heather, and Ami - as they search the past and confront the truth.  Their unique paths will lead them through heartbreak, misunderstandings, and pain.  But their journeys will also bring reconciliation with each other and the precious renewal of love in their own lives.

     In her lyrical, evocative fashion, Eva Marie Everson weaves a tapestry of complicated relationships that, when complete, reveals the most beautiful work of art there is - family.

REVIEW:  This book is about keeping secrets and the harm that can come to a family and relationships if they are not revealed.  Each one of Ross' daughters has a secret and refuses to tell the other - their mother's "sickness" from being an alcoholic, a cancer scare that leaves one unable to have children, the one who tries to make everything perfect which ruins her marriage and one who finds out about a mistake in her father's past.  Once all of their secrets are revealed, the ones listed and others that occur, healing can take place, hopefully before it is too late.  

     One of my favorite characters is Anise.  I like how she approaches the girls and her new life as Ross' new wife and the girls' step-mom.  She does not come in and try to take over, making changes everywhere.  She also doesn't try to change the attitudes of her stepdaughters but loves them whether or not they accept her.  Instead, Anise makes small changes and is accepting of the girls and does what she can to help them.  She keeps secrets when asks and doesn't hold the information as leverage.  

     This is a good book, great for summer reading or if you are looking for something light to read.

This book was provided by Revell for review without compensation.

Eva Marie Everson is a successful speaker and the award-winning author of Things Left Unspoken, This Fine Life, Chasing Sunsets and Waiting for Summer.  She is coauthor of the Potluck Club books and the Potluck Catering Club series.  She lives in Florida.  Find out more at www.evamarieeversonauthor.com.

 

Waiting for Sunrise Book Review

A Cedar Key Novel

SUMMARY:  Sometimes finding your future means making peace with your past.

     Patsy Milstrap wishes she could leave her past behind.  Though she tries to put on a brave front for the sake of her family, the wounds still ache, and the scars on her soul are still deeply felt.  At her concerned husband's gentle insistence, they take a vacation on Cedar Key, an idyllic island on Florida's Gulf Coast.  A week in paradise will do them good, he says.

     When a familiar - and most unexpected - face greets her at a seaside restaurant, Patsy knows she can no longer run from the past.  But what will opening old wounds mean?  And what will the future hold?

     With a large helping of Southern charm, Waiting for Sunrise is a touching story of family, young love, and the need for forgiveness.  Eva Marie Everson expertly draws out the bittersweet moments of life, weaving them into a tale that will envelop your soul.

REVIEW:  Patsy wants to forget everything about her past but it won't let her go.  Even after she has a nervous breakdown, she refuses to talk about the events that brought her to Trinity, SC, the Buchwalds and Gilbert, her husband.
     Billy Liddle watches as his father beats his mother for whatever he feels like: a book in the wrong place, dinner not ready when he wants, a disobedient son, not answering the question about the whereabouts of his step-daughter.  While his brother, Harold, becomes more like their father, Billy becomes more like his mother: loving, kind, a hard worker and someone that can be depended on.
     These two people are tied together in the most unusual way that will affect both of their futures and unravel Patsy's carefully hidden past.
      Everything about this book is unexpected but very well written. I thought I had the book pegged from the beginning with where I thought the story was going.  Boy, was I proven wrong again and again!  The storyline was well-written and not your usual concepts or ideas.  The author discusses taboo subjects such as spousal abuse, child abuse, and mental illness in the 1960s with compassion and knowledge.  The only problem I had with the book was the ending.  I understand what the author was trying to do but it was a little confusing and felt anticlimactic.  Other than that, I highly recommend this book.

Eva Marie Everson is sponsoring a contest for a Kindle Fire in conjunction with her blog tour week for Waiting for Sunrise!  The details can be found here and runs from June 10-16^th:

http://www.evamarieeversonauthor.com/#!kindle-contest.

This book was provided by Revell for review without compensation.

Available June 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Eva Marie Everson is a successful speaker and the award-wining author of Things Left Unspoken, This Fine Life,  and Chasing Sunsets.  She is co-author of the Potluck Club books and the Potluck Catering Club series.  She lives in Florida.  For more information about Eva Marie and her books, visit her website at www.EvaMarieEversonAuthor.com.  You can also connect with her on her blog, My Southern Voice, at www.evamarieeversonsouthernvoice.blogspot.com.