Prospice {+ a Giveaway!}

A few months ago, I was at work, business as usual when my sister-in-law sends me a message via g-chat basically saying "my mom wrote a book, would you review it on your blog?" My immediate response {in my head} was "WHAAAAAAT?!" I have known Tate {my sister-in-law} and her family for almost 10 years {she and my brother are high school sweethearts} and I was completely shocked that her mom, Karen, had written a book. Not shocked because I didn't think she could do it, but because I never knew it was something she was doing. And, the fact that it was both written and published was really cool! Not to mention I have a not-so-secret-dream of someday writing and publishing a book, so I was also a twinge jealous. 

I get my copy of the book, signed copy thank you very much, and I dive in. I'm not going to lie to you, I was nervous about this. What if the book absolutely sucked? I would hate to give a negative review but there was no way I was going to encourage my beloved blog readers to read a book that was bad. Well you guys, not only was the book good, but I couldn't put it down and absolutely loved it! No lie!

The story pulled me in almost immediately and it didn't take long to really fall in love with the characters. Karen did an incredible job of keeping the story interesting, keeping it moving {don't you hate when stories just drag on?} but she also took the time to thoughtfully build the characters. I truly felt like I knew these people and for that reason felt connected to the story. I couldn't put the book down because I was desperate to know what happened to this family - not just the main character, Dinah, but all of them. To top it off I was sad when it ended. Actually bummed that I couldn't read more about these amazing people I had gotten so attached to.

Me & Karen at the launch of Prospice!

Here's an overview of Prospice via Barnes & Noble:

Struggling to move on with her life after she loses her husband in World War II, Caroline Hunt brings her two daughters back to her childhood home in Salem, Massachusetts. Caroline's chance meeting with her college sweetheart leads to a complex union that weaves two families together, bringing both great joy and heartrending sorrow. At the center of this compelling drama is the simmering, uncontainable attraction felt by step-siblings Dinah and Tru.

A profoundly stirring story of young people on the brink of adulthood and the stark realities of family life-including harrowing grief and the consequences of long-buried secrets-Prospice is rich with psychological detail and unforgettably delineated characters. In elegant prose and pitch-perfect period detail, Karen Kelly draws us deep inside the lives of her characters, offering poignant humor along with page-turning suspense that will captivate readers to the very last, revealing page.

Prospice is Latin for "look ahead," an apt designation for this beautifully wrought debut sure to be embraced by all who love The Memory Keeper's Daughter or the novels of Julia Glass and Ann Patchett. Evocatively portraying several generations of vividly drawn women, it is the story of a family that learns, through sorrow and loss, to find happiness and the strength to look ahead.

This is the first book I have finished since having Kenley and that's a big deal because it's not the first book I started. This has really been the only one to keep my attention and I finished it in just a couple of days. If you are looking for a great book to snuggle up by the fire and read during these chilly fall and winter months, Prospice is it! 

To read a sample of Prospice click right HERE!

Karen has so generously offered to give away a book to one of my wonderful readers!!! Use the form below to enter and I will announce a winner next Friday!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you don't win, go buy it in Hardcover, Paperback or for your Nook HERE.
Kindle users go HERE.

I was given a complimentary book to review but the opinions in this post are my own.