domestic violence – In So Many Words

The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up by Laura Pearson is a wonderful book which I devoured in one sitting. I loved the process of watching Shelley recover her memories gradually after waking up in the hospital from a coma. By alternating the timeline between then and now, Pearson allows the reader to slowly get more and more of Shelley’s story.

The book does have a focus on generational domestic violence, so it could be hard to read for some people. I do think it was handled very well, but you may want to avoid this book if that is triggering for you. The characters were well developed and the pace was steady.

The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is one small plot point at the very end which was totally unrealistic. I won’t give more details so as to avoid spoilers. Despite that, I still think this is a great book and plan to read more from this author.

book-reviews

oysterville-small

The Oysterville Sewing Circle by Susan Wiggs is a charming story with elements of friendship, family, love, business, and even social justice. It centers on Caroline Shelby, an up and coming fashion designer whose life is changed in an instant, twice; once by a betrayal and then by a loss. She returns home from New York City to her hometown of Oysterville, Washington to rebuild her life.

I greatly enjoyed this book as Caroline reconnects with old friends and makes new ones, as well as reaches out to help women in difficult situations. I also found her entrance back into the design world highly interesting as she finds new inspiration in her changed circumstances. And, of course, a little romance never hurt anyone.

I didn’t know when I started the book that it had a storyline about domestic violence. I usually avoid books with abuse in them because they often sensationalize it, but Wiggs handled the topic in a thoughtful and careful manner.

All in all, I would highly recommend this book.