Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

women's fiction

Searching for a place you already have: Review of Home by Ginny Yttrup

My favorite thing about Ginny Yttrup’s books are the way they deal with real-life women’s issues without glossing or sugar-coating or down-playing. Her characters are relatable. They don’t always do something extraordinary, but they overcome something in their lives that is holding them back from truly living. These characteristics set her fiction apart: there is women’s fiction and then there is Ginny Yttrup women’s fiction.

Her latest release, Home, encompasses all of these favorite elements. The main character, Melanie, is a writer, but she is struggling to live in the present. Her neighbor, Jill, is afraid of bad things happening, which manifests in OCD behavior. When she discovers the root cause of it all and confronts her past, she learns to live free. Melanie’s husband, Craig, is struggling to make the finances work out. He faces giving up the house he built for them and facing an unknown future.

(Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of the book from the author. Opinion reflected in this review is my honest one.)

Yttrup has a gift for writing in multiple points of view. Each chapter is told from a different character’s perspective, but it’s not confusing or overwhelming. When done well, it’s beautiful and brilliant, and Yttrup does it well.

You really can’t go wrong with any of Yttrup’s books. Two other books of hers I’ve read and enjoyed are Lost and Found and Invisible.

If you need more of a sense of the tone of this newest book, check out this book trailer:

 

Solid series start: Review of Home to Chicory Lane by Deborah Raney

It has taken me a decade to pick up a book by Deborah Raney, despite glowing recommendations from trusted friends.  Ten years ago, I attended a writers’ conference where she was on faculty and in my ignorance of the industry back then, I’d never heard of her or her books. Times have changed for the better, and even though I follow her on Facebook, I still hadn’t read anything by her until now.

Home-to-Chicory-Lane-PKWhen an author has been writing books for a long time, I often don’t know where to start. Should I read their early works so I get feel for their style or just start with something new? I took the plunge on Raney’s latest, Home to Chicory Lane, when it was offered for review by Litfuse Publicity Group. (I received a free copy of the book.)

And it’s just as delightful as I might have expected. Raney has an approachable charm to her Facebook posts and I find her writing to be the same. Home to Chicory Lane is the first in a new series focusing on the Whitman family. In this one, we meet the cast of characters, led by parents Audrey and Grant who have recently turned their family home into a bed-and-breakfast. On the opening weekend of the inn, their newly wed youngest daughter shows up unexpectedly, without her husband, and her parents suspect trouble.

The book is equally balanced between the two storylines: Landyn and Chase, the newlyweds, and Audrey and Grant, the new business owners. Other family members make appearances and it will be fun to find out what further antics are in store for this family.

I’m more and more fond of these family saga type of stories and the focus on individual characters in separate books. In this one, particularly, I enjoyed the banter between siblings and the real-life emotions that surface in families during times of stress and trial. This is not a picture-perfect family that makes you want to puke. The Whitmans are pursuing dreams and struggling financially and facing hardships, and though their love for each other is apparent, there is no shortage of angry outbursts or words spoken in stress.

This was just a realistic family that drew me in to their lives. (And the Midwestern setting didn’t hurt. I’m a bit homesick for the Midwest these days.)

So, don’t be like me: Don’t wait 10 years to read a book by Deborah Raney! You’ll be missing out on some enjoyable fiction.

Also not to miss: this $200 B&B giveaway as part of the book’s launch. Read on for the details about how you can win!

The first book in Deborah Raney‘s new Chicory Inn series, Home to Chicory Lane, introduces us to Audrey Whitman, a mother who has launched all her children into life and now looks forward to fulfilling some of her own dreams during her empty-nest years. However, not all of her children are ready to stay out of the nest quite yet.

Deborah is celebrating the release of her new series with a $200 B&B Weekend Getaway and a Facebook author chat party.

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One winner will receive:

  • A B&B Weekend Getaway (via a $200 Visa cash card)
  • Home to Chicory Lane by Deborah Raney

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on September 9th. Winner will be announced at the Home to Chicory Lane Author Chat Party on 9/9. Deborah will be hosting a heartfelt book chat, giving away prizes, and answering questions from readers. She will also share an exclusive sneak peek at the next book in the Chicory Inn series!

So grab your copy of Home to Chicory Lane and join Deborah on the evening of September 9th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven’t read the book, don’t let that stop you from coming!)

Don’t miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 9th!