I hope you enjoyed the interview with Gina Holmes in my previous blog post. Here’s my review!
After Holton’s wife, Adele, dies in a freak car accident, he is unable to cope with the pain and guilt. He is a talented driftwood sculpture artist but loves his gin. Drowns in it. One day, Libby, shows up at his door claiming to be Adele’s friend but later admits that she’s her daughter. Libby is expectant of meeting her birth mom only to find out that she’s passed away. All that’s left is her father who is an alcoholic and claims to be responsible for her mother’s death. Libby was given a good life except her adoption mother wasn’t exactly the nurturing type. With mixed emotions, Libby convinces Holton to give her a summer job. Will the truth bring them together or push them apart? And how does his driftwood art come into play?
I enjoyed this book. I was able to feel the color of emotions throughout the book. The feeling of anger portrayed through Holton and his answer of turning to alcohol. The feeling of an expectant high of meeting a birthparent and then seeing that dream shattered in a million shards. I could see, smell, and almost touch the alcohol and how it affects another human being. But the author was able to balance both sides and portray the angst of not only being the alcoholic but being on the other side of the fence trying to help him.
When an author can make you feel those deep-seated emotions, she’s hit the mark. It’s easy to put an unknown person (i.e. birthparents) on a pedestal. But then to actually meet them and find out that they are human with flaws just like you can shake you to your core. And finding out that someone has betrayed you and how to reconcile those feelings. And how does God come into play?
This is a heart-warming story that you don’t want to miss. I was given a free eBook through NetGalley and Tyndale House Publishers.
