Book Review: The Best Summer of Our Lives

BOOK DESCRIPTION (FROM AMAZON)

Summer Wilde is a wannabe country music star. But when her latest girl band abandons her in a motel outside Tulsa, she is forced to face the shadows of her past.

Twenty years ago, the summer of ’77 was supposed to be the best summer of her life. She and her best friends, Spring, Autumn, and Snow—the Four Seasons, 4ever—had big plans.

But those plans never had a chance. After a teenage prank gone awry, the Seasons found themselves on a bus to Tumbleweed, “Nowhere,” Oklahoma, to spend eight weeks as camp counselors. Arriving with hidden secrets and buried fears, those two months changed their friendships and the course of their lives.

Now, thirty-something and with no direction for her future, Summer is at a crossroads. Returning to the place where everything changed, she soon learns Tumbleweed is more than a town she left and never wanted to see again. It’s the place for healing, for reconciling the past with the present, and for finally listening to love’s voice. Celebrating the songs of our hearts, the joys of love, and the threads of friendship that tie us all together, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hauck’s radiant story perfectly captures all the romance, heartache, and hope of the best summer ever.

BOOK REVIEW

Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Snow–the Four Seasons–are headed off to be camp counselors during the summer of 77, a summer that will change their lives forever. They have no idea that hidden anger, wreckless choices, and long-kept secrets will combine to try and tear them apart. Twenty years later, in 1997, Summer is a struggling singer, still trying to make it big in music. She makes commitments to no one, especially Spring, Autumn, and Snow, who she left behind years ago.

This is a wonderful coming-of-age story with explosive hidden secrets that will keep the reader riveted to the page. The characters are easy to connect with, and The Four Seasons are a special group. All of the relationships in this book are complex and nuanced, and the author brings in real-life tragic events–the murder of three girls at Camp Scott, Oklahoma, in 1977, and the Ted Bundy murders at Florida State in 1978. There’s a special character named “The Preacher” who brings a spiritual level to the story in almost a paranormal way.

With a compelling plot and memorable characters, this story will touch your heart.

I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel Hauck is the NY Times, USA Today, & Wallstreet Journal bestselling author of over thirty novels. She lives and writes from sunny central Forida with her pastor husband.

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BUY LINKS

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google

Self-published Saturday: My Alien Life #bookreview

Self-published Saturday is my effort to help self-published/indie authors with marketing. Self-published/indie authors have to do it all, from cover design to editing to spreading the word about their book. If I can help even a little with marketing, I’m happy to do it. Below is my review of My Alien Life, a wonderful novella about a 9-year-old girl taken in by her elderly aunt after her father’s death.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

“My mother was a no-nonsense woman. If it wasn’t in the Bible or on Jerry Springer, then it couldn’t happen. Of course, there’s a lot of freaky stuff in the Good Book, with ladders to heaven and angels with animal faces and such. And crazy, muckraking talk shows probably aren’t the best yardstick for anything short of how depraved humans can be. But the point is that when she was abducted by aliens and impregnated with me, she had some trouble processing. I’m pretty sure Jerry actually covered that one, but I guess she missed the show that day. TiVo hadn’t been invented yet, just in case you’re wondering. Trust me, if it had, she’d have been all over that.” — Lynette, age 9

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J. Martain is a coastal North Carolina native who spends most of her time questioning the way the universe and all the beings in it work. This often leads her down a deep research rabbit hole until she resurfaces with a new theory and a backstory to explain it. Her characters are sometimes human, sometimes not, but they prefer not to be judged on that criteria.

#BookReview

Abandoned by her mother, Lynette is raised and cared for by her devoted father, until the day he dies when she is 9.  Amongst a sea of uncaring relatives, her elderly Aunt Magnolia arrives and takes her home, with a deal that “Mags” will stay alive at least until Lynette is 16 and can raise herself.  This is a heart-touching novella that will induce smiles as well as tears. 

The writing of J. Martain absolutely captivated me throughout.  Every bit of dialogue and every descriptive word paints a vivid and imaginative picture that allows the reader to completely immerse themselves in Lynette’s world. Lynette’s strong, realistic, and precocious personality just jumps off the page. Mags’ no-nonsense manner does not hide her loving nature, and she begins showing Lynette how to care for herself at a very young age.  Together they are an unlikely pair—a woman in her 90s and a preteen, but they become a family.  This is a lifetime of a story in four chapters and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves stories with strong characters

I received a free copy of this book via BookSirens. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.

BUY LINKS

AMAZON | AMAZON UK

BEFORE YOU GO

*If you buy the book, please leave reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, as well as anywhere else you review books.  Some people feel very daunted by writing a review. Don’t worry. You do not have to write a masterpiece. Just a couple of lines about how the book made you feel will make the author’s day and help the book succeed. The more reviews a book has, the more Amazon will promote it.

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