
All complaining aside, today I do have a book to share, a good one.
A Memory Worth Dying For by Joanie Bruce
Published March 10, 2014
I was sent an ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This post includes affiliate links.
The Goodreads introduction/ summary:
“DO NOT RETURN TO TEXAS!”
Marti Rushing gets the message, loud and clear. If she returns to Texas, her life is in danger. If she stays in Tennessee, she’s safe. But when she receives a letter telling her that Daniel, her ex-husband and the love of her life, is dying, she knows she has to defy the stalker and return to Texas to see him.
Three years ago, Daniel accused her of things she couldn’t remember doing. Without waiting for an explanation and after four wonderful years of marriage, Daniel kicks her off of his family’s Quarter Horse ranch. Now, three years after their separation, he walks into her art reception in Tennessee and acts like he doesn’t remember her. Does the memory loss have anything to do with the letter she received, or is Daniel pretending? Is he the one stalking her, or is it someone with a deadly, sinister motive? Ignoring the deadly warnings, she leaves for Texas, but on the way there, the attempts on her life begin. Will she be able to evade her pursuer’s attacks? Or will Daniel’s face be the last one she sees?
Click "Read More" to read my review. :)
Now, generally the romances that I read are historical, with small hardships like maintaining a job as a poor lady or gaining status in society as a rich one, but not so with this book: You have the policemen after murderers and murderers after the innocent all throughout the book! Its terrible suspenseful, really!
And another thing that certainly makes it realistic fiction is the hashtags. Seriously. We're talking almost 10 before page 50, and its kinda amazing; I know that I could never pull off, as a writer, such informal language, even if I was fluent in the lingo.
But anyway. These characters are so individual and real, with each struggle that they experience. We see, for example the main character trying to soothe her emotions in strife repeating the words "I'm fine. Everything is fine" (31) and other times that shes told, humorously “You know what they say, young lady. You talk to yourself when you want intelligent conversation.” (128) just because that is exactly how she is.
I'm sure that some of you are waiting for me to mention a religious aspect to the novel, and it's there, alright, not even being based off of the the trip to Chick-fil-a :) At one point (too many spoilers?) Marti argues "“Okay. Let me tell you another reason we can know the Bible is God’s Word. It was written by more than forty writers who were from different backgrounds—anywhere from fishermen to politicians. They wrote the Bible in three different languages, and they all came from three different continents—yet the Bible sounds like it could have been written by the same man. None of their writings contradict each other, yet they were written over a span of fifteen hundred years. Don’t you think that’s amazing?”" (That's from page 215)
About the author, Joanie Bruce: Joanie and her husband, Ben, live on their farm near Madison, Georgia. Writing and painting from her home in the country is an opportunity that she loves. Thankful that God has given her the talent to write, draw, and paint, Joanie strives to use that gift to encourage and delight others, and to honor Him in all of her accomplishments. Her website is http://www.joaniebruce.com.
I can recommend it to anyone that is willing to take on the 400 page challenge (although I read it all in less than t, and specifically to those that maybe need a little inspiration in dealing with a challenging relationship. If you are interested, you can read a sample of the book here as well as purchase the book from Amazon as an ebook here or paperback here.