Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Eden by Jamie Lisa ForbesEden by Jamie Lisa Forbes

Publisher:  Pronghorn Press, (May 25, 2020)
Category: Literary Fiction, Southern Fiction, Family Fiction
Tour dates: May & June, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-941052-32-2
Available in Print and ebook, 285 pages
Eden by Jamie Lisa Forbes

Description Eden by Jamie Lisa Forbes


Rowen Hart has been raised as the pampered son and only child of a prominent family in the small community of White Rock, North Carolina. It’s the 1950s and he’s drifting through the days, following the life path his parents have planned for him and preparing to go away to college. When his father’s suicide turns his world upside down, he finds himself responsible for his mother in their suddenly reduced circumstances that leave them dependent on his uncle, his father’s business partner.

Ill prepared to take over as head of the family, Rowen doesn’t know which way to turn. Then a neighbor’s ten year old daughter comes to live with them, baffling him with her wild behavior and never ending attempts to win his approval and making his new responsibilities even more overwhelming.

As Rowen tries to find his way, he begins to question everything about his upbringing, his current circumstances and his plans for the future as they turn to dust in his hands.

My Thoughts Eden by Jamie Lisa Forbes


It is 1950, as Rowen Hart is about to go off to college, his world splits apart when his father commits suicide. His mother takes to her bed and the only one left to help pick up the pieces is their housekeeper Adeline.  Rowen has a summer job picking tobacco but he slacks off quite a bit.  As the book opens, he has slacked off to attend a trail that 10 year old Eden is called to testify at.  Her father died around the same time and Rowan’s father. She testifies that her uncle shot her father but no one believes the 10 year old, including her own mother.  Eden shows up on the doorstep of Rowans and asks his mother if she can live with them.

She looks up to Rowen and takes to following him around.  He goes to his Uncle, who was in business with his father to get his father’s share.  His uncle said there was nothing left from his father’s share and gives him a little money for his mother.  He says he will give his mother a small sum every month but Rowen will have to pay for college and also make up the balance his family will need to survive. He suspects his uncle is lying about his father’s share but just doesn’t have the backbone to argue.  Against his mother’s and Adeline’s wishes, he decides not to go to college.

Rowan’s luck turns when their neighbor Claude stops by to repair the broken gate that Rowen keeps putting off fixing.  Actually, he doesn’t really know how and doesn’t have the proper tools.  Rowen comes out of the house to ask Claude why he is fixing their fence and then proceed to help as Claude directs them.  Claude sees something in Rowen and invites him to work for him on his construction crew until the end of summer when he will leave for college.  Of course he doesn’t go to college.

As the months and years go by, Rowen starts to mature.  He marries and has 3 children and keeps bring money home.  However, he still has a long way to go.  There are many times I wanted to slap some sense into him.  I wanted someone to slap some sense into him!

The characters leaped of the page and welcomed me into their dysfunctional lives. I couldn’t help joining them; I was caught like a deer in headlights.  I especially loved Eden, so precocious and full of life despite her lot in life.  I would love to tell you more but don’t want to risk spoilers.

I really had a hard time putting this book down and be warned, there were parts that made me cry like a baby.  Jamie Lisa Forbes owes me a box of tissue!  She really captured the 1950’s south, warts and all.  Her take on the human condition reminds of the greats like John Steinbeck and Harper Lee!  This is her third book and I also read and loved the first two.  The first two won awards and I believe ‘Eden’ is just as deserving! She really captures the heart and soul of her characters.  I imagine they haunt her as they will haunt me for a long time to come.  I just can’t get them out of my head.  I highly recommend ‘Eden’ and give it 5 stars!

About Jamie Lisa ForbesEden by Jamie Lisa Forbes


Award winning author, Jamie Lisa Forbes was raised on a ranch along the Little Laramie River near Laramie, Wyoming. She attended the University of Colorado where she obtained degrees in English and philosophy. After fourteen months living in Israel, she returned to her family’s ranch where she lived for another fifteen years.

In 1994, she moved to Greensboro, North Carolina. In 2001, she graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law and began her North Carolina law practice.

Her first novel, Unbroken, won the WILLA Literary Award for Contemporary Fiction in 2011. Her collection of short stories, The Widow Smalls and Other Stories, won the High Plains Book Awards for a short story collection in 2015. Her law practice gave her the opportunity to travel many of the back roads of North Carolina and meet the unique and diverse individuals who inspired Eden.

Website: https://www.jamielisaforbes.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jamielisaforbes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamieLisaForbes

Buy Eden by Jamie Lisa Forbes


Amazon
Barnes&Noble
IndieBound


Giveaway Eden by Jamie Lisa Forbes


This giveaway is for the winner’s choice of print or ebook however, print is open to the U.S. only and ebook is available worldwide. There will be 2 winners. This giveaway ends July 1, 2020,midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Follow Eden by Jamie Lisa Forbes Tour


Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus May 15 Kickoff & Guest Post

Jo Amazon May 18 Review

Amy Locks, Hooks and Books May 19 Review & Excerpt

David Goodreads May 20 Review

Bookgirl Goodreads May 21 Review

Betty Toots Book Reviews May 22 Review & Interview

Lu Ann Rocking Book Reviews May 26 Review & Guest Post

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus May 27 Review

Just Another Reader May 29 Review

StephenMatlock.com June 1 Review & Interview

Linda Lu Goodreads June 5 Review

Dawn Bound 4 Escape June 8 Guest Review

Jas International Book Promotion June 12 Review

Becky Sincerely Uplifting June 15 Review & Excerpt

Kathleen Celticlady’s Reviews June 22 Guest review

Mindy A Room Without Books is Empty June 24 Review

Kimberly Amazon June 30 Review

Eden by Jamie Lisa Forbes

When I read the description of The Story of Sassy Sweetwater, I knew I had to read it!  I love southern fiction, especially when it takes place during the critical civil rights movement.


Book Description:


Publisher: Musa Publishing (January 20, 2012)
Category: Southern fiction, Contemporary fiction, Women’s Fiction
Tour Date: July, 2013
Available in: eBook,  289 Pages


Finalist for the ForeWord Book of the Year Awards for 2012! Won the Eric Hoffer Award for Sassy Sweetwater for 2013 – Honorable Mention Best ebook Fiction!


After thirteen years on the run Violet McLaughlin returns to Carter’s Crossing, South Carolina, in 1962, with her young daughter, Sassy. The Crossing is right outside of Beaufort and the turmoil of the Civil Rights movement will forever leave its scars on the young and impressionable girl. As Sassy stands before the imposing white farmhouse for the first time, with no knowledge of her history but that the McLaughlin’s are her kin, Sassy begins a journey that will tear her apart before it heals her. Growing up among secrets that will forever damage her relationship with her mother, she attempts to make sense of her past. But will her passion for art and her love for Thomas Tierney be enough to sustain her future? Will the puzzles she must solve to discover who she is be worth the journey?


My Thoughts:


The Story of Sassy Sweetwater exceeded my expectations!  I reminded me of southern saga and I could not stop turning the pages until the end.


Sassy Sweetwater was born in the thick of a family with many problems.  Unwed, Violet gives birth to Sassy with the help of her sister, Elvira, on the bank of the Sweetwater river.  They were able to hid her pregnancy.  Violet takes Sassy away right after to start her life as an young unwed mother.  She works as a waitress among doing other things to put food on the table. 


When things finally get too tough, she returns home with Sassy, who is now 10 years old.  It is there that all hell breaks loose!  I can’t tell too much without the risk of spoilers.


The characters are all colorful and quirky and just pop off the page and come to life. Steeped in family secrets, the south, and a bit of romance, Vera Jane Cook’s poetic prose put me in a trance. While reading it, I was living among the characters and seeing everything take place, first hand.  Sassy narrated but the narration seemed to slip off into the distance.


I did not want this book to end! Cook took me on a real southern journey through the saga of one southern family with many secrets.  I highly recommend you go on this amazing journey yourself. 


5/5


I received this ebook for my honest opinion.
.

About Vera Jane Cook:

Vera Jane Cook, writer of Award Winning Women’s Fiction, is the author of The Story of Sassy Sweetwater, Lies a River Deep, Where the Wildflowers Grow, Dancing Backward in Paradise and Annabel Horton, Lost Witch of Salem.

Jane, as she is known to family and friends, was born in New York City and grew up amid the eccentricity of her southern and glamorous mother on the Upper West and Upper East Side of Manhattan.


An only child, Jane turned to reading novels at an early age and was deeply influenced by an eclectic group of authors. Some of her favorite authors today are Nelson DeMille, Calib Carr, Wally Lamb, Anne Rice, Sue Monk Kidd, Anita Shreve, Jodi Picoult, Alice Walker and Toni Morrison. Her favorite novels are too long to list but include The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, Cheri and The Last of Cheri, The Picture of Dorian Grey, Wuthering Heights, Look at Me, Dogs of Babel, The Bluest Eye, The Art of Racing in the Rain, Body Surfing, Lolita, The Brothers Karamazov, She’s Come Undone, Tale of Two Cities, etc., etc., etc.,


The Story of Sassy Sweetwater is a finalist for the ForeWord Book of the Year Awards for 2012. Her first novel, Dancing Backward in Paradise won the Eric Hoffer Award for publishing excellence and the Indie Excellence Award for notable new fiction, 2007. The Story of Sassy Sweetwater and Dancing Backward in Paradise received five stars from ForeWord Clarion Reviews. The Story of Annabel Horton, Lost Witch of Salem is her first paranormal novel.

The author works by day for an education publishing company as an account manager and lives on the Upper West side of Manhattan with her long term partner, her Pomeranian, Daisy, her Basenji/Chihuahua mix, Roxie, her Chihuahua, Peanut and her two pussy cats, Sassy and Sweetie Pie.

Vera Jane Cook’s Website:  http://www.verajanecook.com/

Vera Jane Cook on Twitter: https://twitter.com/verajanecook
Vera Jane Cook on Facebook: 
https://www.facebook.com/vera.j.cook


Thanks to the author, Vera Jane Cook, I will be giving away one ebook copy of The Story of Sassy Sweetwater at the end of the tour.  The giveaway is international and ends on August 10, 2013.  Please use Rafflecopter to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Buy The Story of Sassy Sweetwater:

Follow the Tour:


So Many Precious Books July 8 Review & Giveaway
Library of Clean Reads July 9 Review
Library of Clean Reads July 10 Interview
From Isi July 10 Review
I Feel So Unnecessary July 11 Review
Silver’s Reviews July 12 Review
Girl Who Reads July 15 Interview
A Book & A Lattee  July 16 Review
Romance & Inspiration July 17 Review
The Eclectic Reader  July 19 Review & Giveaway
Joy Story July 22 Review
Faerie Tale Books July 23 Review
Faerie Tale Books July 23 Guest Post & Giveaway
Reading Renee July 25 Review
Book Lover’s Library July 26 Review
Book Lover’s Library July 29 Interview
VW Stitcher July 30 Review
Maniac Mama of 2 July 31 Review
M. Denise C. Aug 1 Review
Books, Books & More Books Aug 5 Review                                                                     
Books, Books & More Books Aug 6 Interview
The Self Taught Cook Aug 8 Review
Wall to Wall Books Aug 9 Review & Giveaway
Tweet

Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.