Friday, August 1, 2014

Book Review and Giveaway: Tangled Lives

By Kathryn Hamilton

**Giveaway is now closed**

Imagine finding out that you are pregnant after a one-night stand in the 1960s. Now imagine being presented with an opportunity to reunite many years later. This is the situation Annie Delancey finds herself in after discovering she is pregnant at 19 and makes the decision to give her son up for adoption. Thirty-odd years later, married with three adult children, Annie receives a letter telling her that her first-born is seeking her out. Once the decision is made to meet, no one could ever imagine the impact it has on all involved.

Hilary Boyd has received tremendous praise for her storytelling ability. She is incredibly adept at creating a real human story with believable characters. She has a writing style that lends itself to making readers feel as though they are watching a snapshot of the characters at a specific moment in their lives. Ms. Boyd’s sophomore novel, Tangled Lives, is a beautifully crafted story that flows effortlessly from page to page. It has been said that Ms. Boyd is a master of observation and she demonstrates this in the ways each character responds to the appearance of Daniel into their lives.

Annie is a strong female character and readers will want things to work out for her. She is a woman who loves deeply, has honest intentions, and carries a lot of guilt. I tried to put myself into the shoes of her family, but I found myself incredibly frustrated with their behaviour. Ms. Boyd does a fantastic job of letting her characters be who they are, flaws and all. Especially with a topic as emotionally charged as adoption, an author must be respectful. Annie is able to explain her side of the story without judgment.

At the heart of this novel is a story about family and how messy things can become when an unexpected event occurs. Ms. Boyd tells an honest story with genuine emotions of happiness, fear, suspicion, jealousy, forgiveness and love. As a precaution, this may be a trigger for anyone who has been involved in an adoption, whether it is as a parent or child. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Boyd in the future and I know that the chick lit world is better for having her in it.

Thanks to Rock Star PR & Literary Consulting for the book in exchange for an honest review. They also have one copy available for a lucky reader anywhere in the world! (Print available for US/Canada, e-book is worldwide.)

How to win:
Please tell us something unexpected that has happened to you recently (it can be something positive though and doesn't have to be epic. :) )

One entry per person.

Entries without contact information (e-mail address, Twitter account, Facebook page, etc.) will NOT be counted (and we do NOT count "Google +" as contact information).

Open worldwide (print version available to US/Canada). Giveaway ends August 6th at midnight EST.


34 comments:

Janine said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Janine said...

I recently hosted an online fundraiser and it turned out to be a bigger success than I ever thought it would. We got a big donation to the cat rescue from it. It showed me that people do care and I can do something good to help.

kinini01@hotmail.com

susieqlaw said...

Sendsusanmail at gmail dot com

I recently relocated and rented a place to live. The rental developed a water leak, and I had to put my stuff in storage and look for a new place. Friends, both old and new, have been so kind and provided me with a place to stay while I hunt for a new rental! ...turning a negative experience into a positive experience!

Robin Driscoll said...

My life is pretty routine, the most unexpected thing that happened to me recently was finding out rabbits like eating the wires in my truck. Quite an expensive event. pp92596 at outlook dot com

Charlotte said...

I was eating an English muffin for breakfast this morning when my bridge fell out. It is a four teeth one. My dentist is closed on Fridays. I will have to wait till Monday to call for appointment. What away to start the week end.
CABWNANA1@bellsouth.net

Rhonda g said...

Rhondajgothier@yahoo.com

Unexpected how much I miss Iowa now that I am home on vacation. But still gonna live in Florida. :)

Anonymous said...

I am cycling out of a year and a half long deep depression. I can laugh and smile for real now. My light is back!

lbryant said...

I married a military man 10 years ago and thought I'd have to move away from my comfortable life in my hometown of Jacksonville. FL. However, to my surprise I have had the best adventures moving to different places and now live in the Pacific Northwest and I love it. I'm so glad I took that leap of faith. Oh, and I'm still married to that same wonderful guy! -Laura P. Bryant (@brya9386, laura.p.bryant-1@hotmail.com)

Anonymous said...

Learning to accept that my younger sister no longer knows me due to Alzheimer's. She is also Down Syndrome

Becky Prazak
rjprazak6@gmail.com

Kayla Book Lover in Florida said...

I won a book giveaway out of 6,000 entries. So exciting!

kaylagothier@yahoo.com

Melissa Seng said...

I got summer pneumonia. Epic fail!

Unknown said...

Two weeks ago, I experienced a charley horse for the first time. That was the worst pain I've ever felt in my entire life (haven't given birth). Apparently I have pinched nerve. On a positive note, I received an email from a former colleague with whom I'd lost touch some years ago, and we've made plans to meet for lunch.

Unknown said...

The pinched nerve has addled my brain ... kateivan {at} aol {dot} com

Jessica said...

I just found out I'm getting a promotion soon so that was very good news. =]

Thanks!

walkingcorpse11@hotmail.com

Margie said...

My daughter and her husband came up for a visit last week.
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

Susan T. said...

After three years of trying and one miscarriage my best friend is pregnant again! Four months along!
twitter: @suekitty13
email: sueterendy at hotmail dot com

Linda Kish said...

I got a call from an old boyfriend I haven't seen in almost 20 years.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Suus said...

This book looks so great!
A few weeks ago I started a happy mail project. I'm sending people I know some lovely mail to make their days. I also tweeted and put on facebook that people I don't know could receive mail from me as well if they liked. It's amazing how happy some nice mail can make someone. And several of my friends are joining me now. I've received a couple of great packages and quite a few sweet postcards myself as well, which I didn't expect at all when I started to send mail. It's great!

Melanie Backus said...

I spent a few days with my college room mate this week. We had a great time enjoying food and fun, oldies music and a lot of laughs.

mauback55 at gmail dot com

rhonda said...

Our son met a beautiful girl&got married last weekend,

Rita Wray said...

A pipe broke and now I have a water leak. The plumber is coming on Monday, hopefully it won't cost an arm and a leg to fix.
It's always something as you all know.

Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

jennifer.essad said...

my uncle passed away at his computer desk over a week ago

Carl Scott said...

My darn ATV broke down, now it needs a new starter motor which is a big job. Waaaaah! #firstworldproblems

So sorry about your uncle, Jennifer

Carl Scott said...

BTW carlscott(at)prodigy(dot)net(dot)mx

Thanks

Connie Porter Saunders said...

At the age of 63, I became a grandmother for the first time. My granddaughter is 5 months old and the joy she is giving us is indescribable!

Connie

bn100 said...

bad flight

bn100candg at hotmail dot com

Mary Preston said...

I had my old sewing machine put through a maintenance check, & since it now runs like a dream, I don't have to buy a new one.

marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Preet said...

The fan in my laptop went bad. A friend say my post lamenting its loss on facebook and he ordered and switched it out for free. The kicker is we hadn't spoke in close to 10 years.

kaur_chanpreet at hotmail dot com

Ro said...

Pretty boring right about now. Waiting till fall for a couple of trips. Looking forward to returning to California where we lived for awhile. Have not been back to this part in over 40 yrs.



huelsebusch@earthlink.net

Unknown said...

The most unexpected thing to happen to me lately is to finally figure out that people can only treat you badly if you allow them to. I'm 64. Little slow on the uptake.

bonlyn55atyahoo.com

Anonymous said...

Got to be with my husband's cousin and his 2 sisters this weekend and hear some amazingly funny stories of their growing up! They hadnt all been together in many years so this was an unexpected event for us all!Linda White frogz60@hotmail.com

Heather Foster said...

Well my husband is deployed and I cross stitch as a hobby and it helps me not think of missing him. A friend of mine I've only known through Facebook sent me a care package with at least a dozen patterns or kits to keep me going with a positive note letting me know she's praying for me and to stay strong.

HRFulton@yahoo.com

Bridget T. said...

I won a big giveaway from Live with Kelly and Michael.

iambtinrb@aol.com

Melissa said...

Thanks for participating!
Thanks to Rock Star PR for sharing the book with our winner.

Random.org chose one winner from all entries with contact info (one entry per person).

Congrats to Carl Scott!