LDS single mother – LDS Women's Book Review

Delivering Hope by Jennifer Ann Holt – Blog Tour

Posted by Shanda Blog Tours, Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews, Special Features

Feb 062012

Delivering Hope

Author: Jennifer Ann Holt

Publisher: Cedar Fort, Inc.

Published Date: February 8, 2012

Softcover; 224 pages

Genre: General Fiction

ISBN#: 9781599559025

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: received a PDF review copy in exchange for an honest review

Backcover:

Olivia Spencer wants to be a mom more than anything else in the whole world, but years of infertility have wounded her soul and placed a strain on her marriage to Michael. Now, Olivia finds herself wondering if the life she has built will even survive.

Allison Campbell is a recent high school graduate who discovers that a moment of excitement has led to an unplanned pregnancy and an overwhelming heartache. As the lives of these two women touch, we see that deep love can pave the way for sacrifice, and we all learn the true source of hope and healing.

Review

Author Jennifer Holt draws on personal experience to add emotion and perspective to both sides of the adoption process in her debut novel, Delivering Hope. The first section of the book pulls the reader into the anticipation and then ultimate heartbreak of Olivia, who wants more than anything to have a child, and her husband, Michael, who worries he is losing his happy, loving wife to the bitterness of infertility.

In the second section of the book we meet Allison, a good, intelligent LDS high school graduate with a scholarship and plans for the future. She makes a poor choice after a graduation party and learns that every wrong choice has consequences, in this case, a pregnancy. The father wants nothing to do with the baby, and Allison soon falls in love with the tiny, innocent life growing inside her. Allison is hard-working with a supportive family and she is looking forward to raising her daughter. As time goes on, though, Allison realizes she must decide if, as a single mother, she can provide everything her precious baby needs.

While Delivering Hope is more tell than show, I was pulled into the stories of these two families enough that it didn’t really matter to me. I especially felt Allison’s anguish as she tried to decide whether to place for adoption the baby girl she wanted to keep so badly. There was one particular quote that touched me during a scene with Allison and her father:

“When the heartache became almost more than she could bear, her dad squeezed her tighter, and Ally’s heart broke as she realized that her baby would not have the safety of a father’s arms to be held in when she cried.” -page 118

There are strong themes of turning to the Savior, repentance, forgiveness and love running throughout the story that will uplift all readers, and those who have had experiences similar to the characters will particularly enjoy Delivering Hope.

Delivering Hope Contest

Jennifer will be giving away a signed copy of the book to two individuals, and a signed bookmark and Delivering Hope magnet to five individuals. There will be several ways to enter, and you can enter using one or all of the ways.

1. Become a follower of Jennifer’s blog: www.jenshopefulwriting.blogspot.com and leave a comment letting her know you stopped by!

2. “Like” the Delivering Hope facebook fan page: www.facebook.com/DeliveringHopeNovel

3. Watch the book trailer: www.bit.ly/peCixw and post a comment on the Facebook page telling what you liked about it.

The winners will be randomly chosen at the conclusion of the blog tour and posted on both Jennifer’s blog and the Facebook fan page by 10:00 am on Saturday, February 11th.

Meg’s Melody by Kaylee Baldwin – Blog Tour

Posted by Shanda Blog Tours, Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews, Special Features

Jan 102011

Welcome!

I am so excited to be the one to kick off the blog tour for Meg’s Melody! Kaylee sweetly agreed to take part in our Countdown to Christmas 2010 last year and it was great learning a little more about her. You can read her interview here.

Kaylee is also giving away a copy of Meg’s Melody to a lucky commenter at the conclusion of her blog tour, so be sure to comment on each of the posts during the tour. Trust me when I say Meg’s Melody is worth the effort to win!

About Kaylee

Kaylee Baldwin grew up in Mesa, Arizona, and graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in English literature.

She currently lives in southern Arizona with her husband, Jeremy, and their three children. When she is not writing, Kaylee enjoys reading, starting new craft projects, and spending time with her family.

For more about Kaylee visit her website/blog.

About Meg’s Melody

From the back cover:

She paced the small confines of her bathroom as she waited the obligatory two minutes for the result. Yet, part of her sensed the truth. Not only did Austin take her self-esteem and plans for happiness, but he also took her get-out-of-this-marriage-free card.

The plus sign glared at Meg from the white plastic frame of the pregnancy test. The test fell from her hands and clattered into the bathtub as Meg’s back slid against the wall until she reached the floor.

“I’m pregnant,” she said into the quiet.

Meg never imagined she’d end up like this. With nowhere else to turn, she’s forced to rely on the family she pushed away, the church she abandoned, and an unexpected friendship to help her find her forgotten melody. Meanwhile Matt is still mourning the loss of his wife. But determined to keep things together for his daughter’s sake, he decides starting over in a new place might be just what his family needs.

This touching story combines romance with redemption and real conflict to remind you it’s never too late to find joy. Kaylee Baldwin’s capable hand renders a sincere, heartfelt story of rediscovery and hope. Perfect for romantics of all ages, this book will captivate your heart and rekindle your belief in the magic of music.

My Review

This might be Kaylee’s first novel, but it doesn’t read like it. She has put a lot of effort into studying her craft, and it shows. I like the cover; the softer colors and expectant mother are appropriate for the story, and the music notes and flourishes are a really nice touch.

I can only imagine what an expectant single mother must struggle with, as I’ve never been one myself, but I feel like Kaylee did a good job capturing what that situation might be like for someone in Meg’s situation. While she had very supportive family around her, they weren’t perfect. They were a pushy with sneaking in “dates” without Meg’s permission, which was one thing that kept me from liking Meg’s sister, Missy, very much.

One thing I really appreciate is how well Kaylee wrote Lilia, Matt’s four-year-old daughter. I have read many books with children that made me cringe because they were either too… well, just too much- or simply not believable in voice or behavior. I loved Lilia, and feel like there was a great balance of her presence in the book as well as an appropriate level for how a 4-5 year old girl would speak and behave.

There is a bit of a love triangle, or square if you count Austin, though the reader can guess pretty quickly who Meg will most likely end up with. The question is if they can get through the extra baggage they’re carrying to be together and if it is just too soon for both of them. I found the second love interest to be a bit over the top at times, but there are guys like that out there, so it wasn’t unbelievable. I didn’t like Austin. But I wasn’t supposed to like him. One thing I didn’t understand was how easy it was for certain characters to dismiss the fact that Meg was having a baby and everything that meant.

Meg experiences some spiritual progress as she returns to church after her husband leaves her, though I didn’t find the book preachy at all.

The romance is clean with a few toe-curling scenes that were very well done. I really liked the love interest, and while things might not have gone exactly how I hoped, I found the ending quite satisfying.

Meg’s Melody is available for purchase from Deseret Book and Amazon.

My rating: 4/5 stars

Would I-