Released 8/14/18
Read from: Dec 25, 2018- Dec 30, 2018
Format: Print (library)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
It's officially the last day of 2018, and it looks like the last book I'll read this year is The Line That Held Us, which I finished last night. I'm glad I ended up giving it a chance. It was a relatively short
I started it expecting to watch someone live in constant fear of being discovered as the reason for an accidental shooting, but it was much more than that. Darl Moody was trying to poach deer on someone else's property outside of deer season when he accidentally shoots and kills a local man who was also on the land poaching ginseng. Carol's brother Dwayne is a huge, scary individual that has no rational thoughts or control over himself when he is angry or hurt, and he loves his brother very, very much. With nothing else left in the world, he'll stop at nothing to make his brother's death feel avenged. Other people suffering is all that can make him feel better.
There are descriptive violent and gory scenes. Seeing as this isn't a typical type of book I've read, it's hard for me to compare, but I have heard that there are Stephen King books out there that are much worse. This book will not be for the faint of heart for that reason.
What I found surprising about this book, and what has now made me add all of Joy's books to my TBR list, is the way that such a terrible individual as Dwayne could be written in a way that you still want him to be happy in the end. Even though he is trying to kill off and hurt the other main characters (you won't root for that to happen, these characters are all very likable), you still want him to find his peace too.
I visibly cringed when reading the violent scenes, which were all because of Dwayne. His reactions to things are at a level that most people could never understand ad feel empathy for, but Joy does an excellent job really making you feel the heartbreak, suffering and loneliness that Dwayne feels when he finds out that his brother is dead. I think he MAY find peace in the end, but it's hard to tell. The ending was a little confusing and I don't feel that I understand what happened. So far, I haven't found any good reviews that explained it to me either.
This book opened up a whole new genre that's out there; books that are all set in Appalachia, describing worlds that a lot of Americans have no idea exist. But they're there, and they're very different from ours. Joy's books all take place in this area, and they're all rated pretty high, along with a few other books that Goodreads suggest when you are on this books page, so I'll definitely be dipping my toes into them, thanks to this book.
What I'm Reading Now
1) The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer (CD audiobook from the library)
Released 4/3/18
Started listening: Dec 21, 2018
**Update: I've made some progress in this story since the last blog post. It's started to focus on Cory now, which I like. A little bit of a break from the feeling I was getting from it before, making me a little more interested again.
I ended up adding this book to my TBR list because I kept seeing it out there in newsletters and
I was at the library picking up The Line That Held us when I saw this one on display so I just grabbed it on impulse. It seemed like a good story to listen to passively in my car while driving to work since I can't easily listen to CD's anywhere else.
So far I'm not hating it but I'm not loving it. As of now it's on track to be a 3/5 star rating. The characters definitely have development so far, and it's not preachy at all. Feminism is an overall premise though that is borderline too much for me, so we'll see how it goes.
2) The Total Package by Stephanie Evanovich (Overdrive audiobook)
Released 3/15/26
Started listening: Dec 28, 2018
**Update: About halfway through now. The back story is all over and we're into what I think is the beef of the story. We've learned about the female main character now and the story is now being told from her point of view. Still so far en route to be a 3/5 star read. Definitely a light read so far.
This one was on my wish list on Overdrive for a while. I eventually put it on hold because I
The main character is Tyson Palmer, an ex star quarterback who threw his career away because of bad personal choices. He is given a chance to revive his career when the coach of a badly performing team forces him into treatment and offers him a verbal contract to give him a chance to play again if he brings his team to victory. The romance angle comes in when a media analyst who has nothing but negative things to say about his performance sparks his interest. Little does he know, she's the girl he had a relationship with in college. They're both trying to reach the top, but will they be able to make it work with each other?
Seeing as this is a romance novel, I'm sure they will. But will the story that gets them there be interesting and hold my attention? We'll see.
Next up on my TBR:
Star of Shadowbrook Farm by Joanna Campbell
Released: January 1992
Format: Print (library)
This book is part of the Thoroughbred series. I had a lot of these books as a kid but I never read a single one! I always wanted to though and now I'm finally going to do it! It's a
As you all know, I read a lot. And I have to break up my reading every few books with quick and easy reads. Nothing better to do that with than middle grade series books. Before this series I was reading the American Girl and Magic Attic Books. American Girl still releases new characters and books so I will throw those in every so often too. The Thoroughbred series is LONG, but they're all under 200 pages. Totally readable in a couple of hours if I have the time to sit down for that, or on beach trips or long car rides. Perfect size for packing! I held an interest in this series as a kid because I was a huge horse lover and loved riding myself.
So the book I'm starting with focuses on Susan. She is a character in the main series. Susan is really shaken up by her most recent fall. She's fallen many times, has ridden horses all her life. She suffered a minor injury, but it could've been much worse, AND the accident was all her fault, so now she is afraid to ride again. When Evening Star, a previously abused horse comes to the farm where Susan lives, he shows a lot of potential as a jumper, but only trusts Susan. Susan wants to make him a champion but she isn't ready to ride again.
We all know how this book is going to end. This will not take any brain power for an adult reader, but that's the whole point!
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