Welcome to The Bookish Babe's stop on the Finding Bliss Blog Tour!
My stop includes a review and tour giveaway.
Series: Stand alone
Category/Genre: Women's Fiction
Publisher: Amazon Publishing
Publication Date: 7/16/13
Format: eARC
Pages: 285
Source: Received from publisher for review
Chloe Carlyle has always longed for the perfect family.
Growing up with an alcoholic single mother, she has seen her share of heartbreak and disappointment, and is striving to build a new legacy for herself. After graduating from college, she takes a job working as a summer girl for the Reeds––a wealthy, accomplished family that personifies her American dream. Her summer takes an unexpected turn when the Reeds’ eldest son Tyler, the star quarterback for Notre Dame, shows up and turns her life upside down.
An ambitious young woman with a wry sense of humor, Chloe never imagined herself as the type to succumb to the looks and charms of the hometown hero, but she falls hard for Tyler, and is devastated when they part ways at the end of the summer. As she heads off to law school, Chloe tries to convince herself this was just a fling, but she can’t quite get over him. It’s not until Tyler contacts her out of the blue late one winter night that everything changes.
After doing everything in her power to build the perfect life, Chloe soon learns that there are things beyond her control. She must draw on inner reserves of strength as her life takes unpredictable—and sometimes heartbreaking—twists and turns, and she finds herself faced with decisions she never thought she’d have to make. Poignant, heartfelt, and emotional, Finding Bliss is a reminder that you don’t have to live a fairytale life in order to have a happy ending.
Finding Bliss is a book that leaves me struggling a bit to find the right words to express my feelings. It is one woman's journey towards finding love, maybe, but more importantly, finding herself.
Finding Bliss is not a love story. This is something that I had to continually remind myself while reading. Women's Fiction is a genre that I typically enjoy, but as a romantic, that is something that I always struggle with. Sure, there is usually romance in some form, but it is not the focus. Finding Bliss is a "big picture" story. It is not a romanticized account of her life. It was sometimes sweet and romantic, but also sad and troubling. It was real.
This is the first book of Silver's that I've read, and I really liked her writing style. It was very clean and inviting. I was immediately pulled into Chloe's head. I don't know if this was intentional, but Chloe was the only character that I felt drawn or connected to. There were several secondary characters: Chloe's mom, best friend Grace, the Reed family, Tyler and Cam, but I never felt as if I knew them. Grace was more of sporadic character. Chloe's mom, who was not mentally stable, was a strong influence into her personality and choices.
There were two men in Chloe's like, Cam and Tyler, but Finding Bliss is not a love triangle. Cam is a long-time friend and apparently had feelings for her, but I never felt that. I mean, I was told that he did, but I never got that sense of longing or sadness over an unrequited love from Cam. Tyler was...Tyler. I liked him and felt sorry for the position he was put in by his family. He seemed like a nice guy who genuinely cared for Chloe, but he also makes bad choices sometimes. I just don't know how I felt about him. Maybe it was the romantic in me, but I didn't want to believe that he could be selfish and just wrong. (Okay, at this point maybe I'm over thinking this!)
There were quite a few moments that I truly enjoyed Finding Bliss, and was so invested in Chloe's life. But at other moments, I felt as if I was missing a true connection. The ending left me hopeful, yet puzzled. I think I can see what the author was going for, but I didn't feel it. As I mentioned before, Finding Bliss is a realistic story. This is the story of a life, the good, bad, and ugly.
Purchase Finding Bliss at:
(I receive no compensation for purchases.)
GIVEAWAY
1 Kindle Paperwhite
1 FINDING BLISS ebook and 1 FINDING BLISS Paperback
Disclosure:
No purchase necessary. Must be 13 years of age and older
to enter unless stated 18 + years of age. Must reside in countries able to
receive eBooks via email. The retail value of the items is $131.57 USD. The number of
eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Winners will be
selected after July 31, 2013 randomly by Rafflecopter. Entries will be reviewed for
accuracy. Participating blogs and AToMR Tours are not liable for purchasing,
shipping or emailing the items, winner not receiving the items, or lost items
shipped/emailed. This sweepstakes is sponsored by the author and items will be
provided via email or shipped by the author. If the items are not claimed via
email within 24 hours of receiving notification the item will be forfeited with
no winner or an alternate winner may be selected at AToMR Tours discretion with
email verification by July 31, 2013. Any taxes associated
will be paid by the author unless otherwise stated. AToMR Tours has the right to
obtain and publicize the winners name and likeness. Void where prohibited by
law.
About the author:
A graduate of
Purdue University, Dina Silver has spent the past fifteen years feeding her red
wine habit by working as a copywriter in the advertising industry. In addition
to writing ad copy, she formed Dinas Ideas (dinasideas.com),
a greeting card company, in 2003. Dina serves as the sole writer and designer
for the business and has penned over 300 greeting cards since its inception.
