The Memory Thief by Emily Colin

The Memory Thief by Emily Colin
Published by Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House
Review copy received at SIBA

One devastating night, Maddie Kimble receives the news she’s been dreading ever since she met her husband, Aidan – his adventurous, thrill-seeking ways have finally caught up to him and he was killed in an avalanche while climbing Mount McKinley. Maddie is left alone to care for their young son, Gabe, and the only person who can even begin to understand what she’s feeling is Aidan’s best friend, J.C. – who also happens to have been in love with Maddie for years. Hundreds of miles away, Nicholas Sullivan, upon waking up in a hospital bed, learns he’s just barely survived a motorcycle crash. With no memories of his life accessible to him, he strangely begins taking on new habits and behaviors, as well as dreaming about a woman and young child he’s never met before. As Maddie’s and Nicholas’s worlds collide, their lives will both be changed in dramatic, unexpected ways.

I’ve had this one languishing on my shelves since I received it in September at SIBA, so the fact that Emily Colin will be at the UCF Book Festival THIS weekend was the exact kick in the pants I needed to read it.

So, I feel compelled to mention this right off the bat – there is a bit of a supernatural thing going on in this book. You kind of can’t let the stuff that is not actually possible get in your way of enjoying the book. You just have to go with it and let Colin take you on this beautiful journey. Which she does – but you need to suspend your disbelief for a while to go there.

That being said, I found The Memory Thief to be a wonderful novel with so much to love. Maddie tugged at my heartstrings and oh my gosh, Gabe! What an adorable, insightful child he was. The reader gets to know Aidan only through Maddie’s memories, so I can’t say that I got to know him very well, but I must admit that I liked J.C. quite a bit more than the Aidan Maddie presented to the reader. This of course made it much easier for me to appreciate the fact that J.C. is also in love with Maddie, but I’m sure that was a move on the author’s part to get the reader to feel more sympathy for Maddie and J.C.’s situation. Which I definitely did.

At its heart, this is a love story. It’s a story of Maddie and Aidan’s love, but it is also the story of how Maddie found love after his death. It’s a love story fraught with complications, so it definitely is more interesting than your typical romance, but I was pulled into the book most often by the romantic aspects of it. And I rooted for Maddie to find the peace and happiness she truly deserved the whole time I was reading the book – to the point where I wanted to stand up and cheer when things went the way I was banking on them going!

So. The supernatural stuff was difficult for me to swallow, but once I got past it (in my mind, not in the book), I was able to really enjoy this beautifully crafted story Emily Colin has put together. If you like women’s fiction, or romance, or a combination of the two, I’d highly recommend trying out The Memory Thief.

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson
Published by Grand Central Publishing, an imprint of Hachette
Review copy provided by the author

Three generations of women, living in the same home, with only fifteen years between each generation – Mosey is fifteen years old and knows that this is the year her grandmother, Big, and mother, Liza, are convinced that she’ll end up pregnant just like the two of them did in their fifteenth year, so Mosey is just as convinced she will not succumb to the same fate.  But when a small grave is uncovered in their backyard, Mosey is left reeling and questioning everything she’s ever known about her life. Big is determined to find answers, because she knows that her daughter has something to do with it, but unfortunately Liza’s mind hasn’t recovered much from her stroke so she’s not able to offer any explanations. As Mosey and Big arrive independently at the same truth, they realize that they must face it together or their family of three doesn’t stand a chance.

I was almost dreading reading this book because upon finishing it, I have now read everything Joshilyn Jackson’s written. And that is sad because I love her books and always want there to be another one. Write faster, Joshilyn!!

So, A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty was everything I’ve come to expect from Jackson’s books and maybe even a little more. At its core, this is a book about family. About what makes up a family – is it the family you’re born into, or the family that you create? About how when something happens to someone in that family (such as a stroke, in Liza’s case), you do whatever you can to take care of them, even if you’ve hated every single decision they’ve made in their life, even if that means rearranging so much of your own life and making huge sacrifices for their benefit. About how just because you don’t love what a family member does, you still love them, and you still must offer up forgiveness and acceptance and love at every turn.

As I was reading this novel, the characters jumped off the page and made their way into my own life and heart. I felt so attached to them, so deeply interested in what this mysterious grave meant for them all, that it caused me to compulsively read this book until I finished it. I couldn’t step away from these women or their secrets because I cared so desperately about what this grave would change about their lives.

Honestly, I can safely say that A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty is my favorite of Jackson’s novels to date. I truly cannot wait until she publishes again as I’ve loved her books so much. These novels are so full of heart, amazingly realistic characters, and snappy dialogue. Her excellent writing and intricate plots (always involving some kind of mystery) are just the icing on the already fantastic cake. Highly recommended!

And Then I Found You by Patti Callahan Henry

And Then I Found You by Patti Callahan Henry
Published by St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of Macmillan
Review copy provided by the SheReads Book Club

On the surface, Kate Vaughn seems to have it all – she’s close to her family, she has a wonderful boyfriend, Rowan, who is ready for marriage, and she owns a successful business. But secrets from her past continue to haunt her, and when she is faced with the possibility of settling down with Rowan, she panics and travels back to the place where her life took a devastating turn thirteen years ago – and to the person who caused this huge life event to occur. But opening up pieces of her past she’s kept hidden all these years makes things even harder for Kate, and she must figure out how to come to grips with the choices she’s made and move forward so the people who love her can do the same.

Reading And Then I Found You was a total win-win for me – not only is it the SheReads book club April selection, but also the author is going to be at the UCF Book Festival in a couple of weeks! Meeting authors is incredibly fun no matter what the situation, but when I’ve read and enjoyed one of their books, the meeting is SO much more rewarding. So I’m now really looking forward to meeting Patti Callahan Henry!

This is a novel with a ton of heart, and honestly it captivated me from the very first page. I’m not afraid to admit I even shed a tear or two at the end. Kate had to make a decision, at a relatively young age, that many women face at some point throughout their lives – what to do about an unplanned pregnancy. The choice that she made at that time, while in hindsight still was the right thing to do, shaped so much of Kate’s life from that point on. She wasn’t able to fall completely in love with Rowan or any man before him because of this huge choice she made that continued to be heavy on her heart, and I found myself feeling incredibly sympathetic towards Kate because of this. She definitely wanted to let the past go and move on with her life, but she was so emotionally tied to everything that happened that she was unable to do so.

There’s a lot happening in this story that I’d rather not spoil for you, so I’d rather not talk too much more about the plot. Instead I’ll let you know that these characters became real to me as I read this novel – I hoped for Kate to find a resolution and some peace in her life, I wanted good things for the kind and patient Rowan, and ultimately I wished for a romance to happen that was pretty touch and go for most of the novel. I was definitely hanging on to every word Callahan Henry wrote in this novel and waited desperately for the ending I was really hoping to see.

I truly enjoyed And Then I Found You. This is a sweet, lovely novel that deals with a serious topic. I found a lot to love about these characters and rooted for them the whole way through. This was my first time reading a Patti Callahan Henry novel but it will not be my last! For lovers of women’s fiction, this is a great one to pick up.

Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart

Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart
Published by Harper Perennial, an imprint of HarperCollins

Sarah Price is perfectly content with her life – working full-time so her husband, Nathan, can write fiction for a living and being mommy to their two young children. Sure, her life at thirty-five isn’t exactly what she had pictured ten years ago, but she’s mostly happy with the way things have turned out. Until the fateful day when Nathan delivers shocking news – his new novel, Infidelity, is not exactly fiction, but a mirror of his own life as he’s recently had an affair. Untethered and betrayed, Sarah must figure out how she got into this wife/mom role in the first place, why she gave up on her own dreams in favor of her husband’s, and if she can ever begin to forgive Nathan and possibly keep their family intact.

I’ve been hearing great things about Leah Stewart’s books for some time now, and when I learned that she’s going to be at the upcoming UCF Book Festival I decided it was high time I pick up one of her novels. Ultimately I am happy I read this one. It was reminiscent of books by authors like Jennifer Weiner or Emily Giffin – novels I like to call smart chick lit. The perfect book that is easy to read but has plenty of heart, great characters, and deals with serious subjects.

In this case, cheating and the possibility of divorce are the most obvious themes running through the novel, but Stewart brings so many insights to the subject of marriage itself to the table here. Sarah is a character wrestling with the fact that she turned into such a different person after getting married and having children from who she was before, and this is a fact that she didn’t realize until Nathan cheated. This rang so true to me – who hasn’t made compromises or changed their dreams partly due to their spouse and/or children? If you can tell me your life is exactly as you pictured it ten years ago I’d call BS for sure – I think we all divert our paths as we grow and change and mature. In Sarah’s case, she was left questioning the diversions her own path had taken as she began to understand that she made incredible sacrifices for the sake of her family and had to wonder if her husband even realized that to be the case. So many of Sarah’s musings throughout this novel felt so authentic to me and I really felt a camaraderie with her – even though I have never been in her exact situation.

I also loved that Husband and Wife dealt with the reality of infidelity, of the fact that when you have a marriage and a home and children and someone cheats, you don’t just automatically leave them and move on with your life. Sarah truly struggled with the decisions she had to make upon learning of Nathan’s infidelity – marriage isn’t something you can toss away because of one transgression. Yes, some people do make the choice to divorce after one person cheats, and that’s a perfectly fine choice to make, but it’s not the obvious nor easy choice in most cases. Stewart doesn’t shy away from the fact that this is a messy situation with real-life consequences, and she shows the awful, gut-wrenching decision-making process that Sarah (and Nathan) had to go through.

And I liked the characters! Sarah, especially, is incredibly well-drawn. She is a great mother who makes a million mistakes a day. She works hard at her job but isn’t terribly ambitious. She is a loving wife who can be unkind to her husband at times. She is a true friend who calls her friends almost never. Basically, she is a person who mirrors the reality of many women’s lives. I saw myself and many of my close friends in her and I appreciated her character, with all her flaws, that much more for it. I even sympathized with Nathan, even though I hated what he did. Stewart created in Nathan this incredibly flawed guy who, at the core of his being, did still desperately love his wife and was deeply apologetic about what he had done. I despised his actions but could still empathize with his character, which says a lot about the quality of Stewart’s writing.

Have I explained with enough detail how much I enjoyed Husband and Wife? I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s one of my favorite books ever, but I truly appreciated so much about this novel and am very much looking forward to reading more of Leah Stewart’s books. For lovers of the women’s fiction and chick lit type novels, this is a must-read!

Second Nature by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Second Nature by Jacquelyn Mitchard
Published by Random House
Review copy provided by the publisher

When Sicily Coyne was thirteen years old, she and her firefighter father were in a fire at her school, a fire that killed her father and left her with a disfigured face. Sicily’s mother passed away two years later, so Sicily was raised by an aunt who taught her to live life to the fullest, and as an adult Sicily is happy, engaged to a wonderful man who she’s known since childhood. But when she learns a devastating secret that shatters her entire life, she decides to take a huge plunge and accept the face transplant surgery that is being offered to her. The surgery changes her life in a million ways, but she is faced with more obstacles than she’d expected, and the choices she has to make about her new life have consequences she never could have anticipated.

I chose to read Second Nature because I’ve enjoyed Mitchard’s books in the past, and I was excited to find out that some characters from previous books (the Cappadora family, best known from The Deep End of the Ocean) make appearances in this book. The beginning of the book showed promise, and I found myself interested in Sicily’s story from the very start, but ultimately I felt that Mitchard crammed way too much drama into one novel here and was left feeling disappointed.

It is difficult to explain exactly what I didn’t love about this book without giving away plot spoilers, since my main issue had to do with the events in the book, so the best way that I can say it is this – just when I thought the events of the book had hit their breaking point of ridiculousness, something even MORE ridiculous would happen. I don’t mean ridiculous like stupid, I mean that there is NO possible way THIS many coincidences could happen, that this much stuff could happen to one person, etc. Does that make any sense?

However, I have to admit that I did care enough about the characters to continue reading through my disbelief and finish the book. I also am a fan of Mitchard’s writing and have enjoyed a few of her other novels in part because of the writing. She does write a compelling story with well-drawn characters.

I was sad not to like this one. It’s disappointing when an author you typically enjoy provides you with something less than stellar. Oh well.

The Book Lover by Maryann McFadden

The Book Lover by Maryann McFadden
Published by Three Women Press
Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley

From the publisher:

Ruth Hardaway has had one passion all her life: books. For the last thirty years she’s devoted her life to her store, The Book Lover, trying to bury her painful past. But now the store is in jeopardy, and the past is catching up with her.

Lucinda Barrett has lost everything in a life shattering betrayal. Desperate, she goes after one last dream – to be an author. Alone and broke, she embarks on a thousand mile journey, from bookstore to bookstore, eventually landing on Ruth’s doorstep. Ruth takes Lucy under her wing, championing her book and even offering her refuge at a nearby lake cabin. She wants one small favor in return, for Lucy to keep an eye on her son, Colin, who’s recovering from a war injury.

As the two women grow closer, Lucy strikes up an unlikely friendship with Colin. And she begins to think of Ruth as the mother she’s always wished for. For Ruth, Lucy is the one person she can confide her secrets. Or so she thinks.

As each woman begins to face her past, and the repercussions that still haunt her today, happiness finally seems within their grasp. But neither has any idea that their toughest decisions lie ahead. Or that their friendship is about to fall apart – because of a little white lie.

Despite this novel having an incredibly unfortunate cover, I decided to read it because I’d heard great things about McFadden’s previous novels. I actually ended up enjoying the book and I’m glad I read it, although I can’t help but wonder why on earth the publisher went with that cover!

The Book Lover is a story about two women, both sort of at a crossroads in their lives and not sure which way to go. Lucy has been betrayed by the one person who she trusted to never hurt her, and what she chooses to do with her fork in the road is to forge her own course, creating an elaborate plan to hand sell copies of her new book to every independent bookseller she can find. I found her story incredibly compelling and I really felt for her. The approach that she took to get her book out there was unconventional (and if I were a book seller, I would have found it annoying), but when she got the novel in the right hands, it certainly worked for her. I admired her tenacity and unwavering commitment to her work, and I rooted for her to end up with the success and happiness she was working so hard to find.

Ruth, on the other hand, is at a crossroads for a different reason. She’s owned her independent bookstore, The Book Lover, for many years now and the effort of running a business is starting to wear on her. The business itself is struggling, and constantly trying to keep on top of payroll, bills, etc., has begun to feel like more of a chore to Ruth than the fun it used to be. So when Lucy walks into her life, a breath of fresh air and someone who seems to need Ruth just as much as Ruth needs Lucy, it’s like a weight off of Ruth’s shoulders to finally be able to talk to someone about everything she’s going through. I liked Ruth, and definitely identified with her struggle to keep doing what she loved even though it was wearing her down and forcing her to push everything else in her life to the side. I rooted for her too, to figure out what was the right decision for her with the store and also to find the love in her life that she so deserved.

I have to admit that I had difficulty understanding why, when the “white lie” happens between the two women, there was such an issue in their friendship. I guess because the reader sees things from both points of view, but it just didn’t seem to be something that either woman should have been getting so bent out of shape about. So that was a bit disappointing – the climax of the novel was anticlimactic, for me anyway.

But besides that slight issue I had with the novel, I did enjoy it. Both main characters were compelling and I cared about them. I liked the concept and setting of an independent bookstore. Overall, The Book Lover is a sweet story that will appeal to lovers of women’s fiction.

Love Anthony by Lisa Genova

Love Anthony by Lisa Genova
Published by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
Review copy provided by the publicist

From the publisher:

Olivia Donatelli’s dream of a “normal” life shattered when her son, Anthony, was diagnosed with autism at age three. Understanding the world from his perspective felt bewildering, nearly impossible. He didn’t speak. He hated to be touched. He almost never made eye contact. And just as Olivia was starting to realize that happiness and autism could coexist, Anthony died.

Now she’s alone in a cottage on Nantucket, separated from her husband, desperate to understand the meaning of her son’s short life, when a chance encounter with another woman facing her own loss brings Anthony alive again for Olivia in a most unexpected way.

Beth Ellis’s entire life changed with a simple note: “I’m sleeping with Jimmy.” Fourteen years of marriage. Three beautiful daughters. Yet even before her husband’s affair, she had never felt so alone. Heartbroken, she finds the pieces of the vivacious, creative person she used to be packed away in a box in her attic. For the first time in years, she uncaps her pen, takes a deep breath, and begins to write. The young but exuberant voice that emerges onto the page is a balm to the turmoil within her, a new beginning, and an astonishing bridge back to herself.

Lisa Genova’s previous two books have received a lot of buzz, but I hadn’t read anything by her before so I wasn’t sure what to expect with Love Anthony. Unfortunately, though, I was expecting to kind of love it (since everyone raves about her as an author), so I was slightly disappointed when I didn’t fall in love with this novel. I did enjoy it, it just wasn’t the gem of a book I was hoping for.

Love Anthony is about two women, both struggling with huge losses in their lives and trying to create new realities for themselves. On the outside, you wouldn’t think they have much in common – one a newly single mom with three young daughters, the other a woman with no living children and whose marriage dissolved years ago. However, as the story goes on, it’s clear they have much in common and their lives end up intertwining in a unique and unexpected way.

While I liked both Olivia and Beth, I couldn’t quite connect to either one of them. I think part of it is because my life is so vastly different from their circumstances – I have never had children, have never been through a divorce, etc – but part of it may just be the way the characters came across the page. While I wanted to connect with them, and I definitely cared about their stories and wanted to see them through, I just felt that they were both at arm’s length from me throughout the book.

The other issue I had with the novel is that I think the way the two end up connecting with one another at the end was supposed to be a surprise, and I saw it coming from almost the first page. I strongly dislike the fact that I saw this ending coming from a mile away.

However, there were many things I did like about the book. The writing was really very good and Genova really created a sense of place with the novel. I felt that I was on Nantucket with these women, I could smell the salty air and hear the waves crashing. There was one particular scene where Beth is having a family portrait taken, and I almost felt that I was right there with them as they were getting the pictures taken with the ocean as a backdrop.

Also, I listened to the audio of this one and it was performed very well. Debra Messing (of Will and Grace fame) narrated it brilliantly. She truly embodied both of these characters and I think I only kept listening after not totally loving the book because of her narration. If you plan to read this one, I highly recommend experiencing the audio.

While I didn’t fall in love with Love Anthony, I would still consider checking out the rest of Genova’s novels and I can still recommend the book if you like this type of thing. It just didn’t work perfectly for me.

Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women’s Literary Society by Amy Hill Hearth

Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women’s Literary Society by Amy Hill Hearth
Published by Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley

From the publisher:

Eighty-year-old Dora, the narrator of a story that began a half century earlier, is bonding with an unlikely set of friends, including Jackie Hart, a restless middle-aged wife and mother from Boston, who gets into all sorts of trouble when her family moves to a small, sleepy town in Collier County, Florida, circa 1962.

With humor and insight the novel chronicles the awkward North-South cultural divide as Jackie, this hapless but charming “Yankee,” looks for some excitement in her life by accepting an opportunity to host a local radio show where she creates a mysterious, late-night persona, “Miss Dreamsville,” and by launching a reading group—the Collier County Women’s Literary Society—thus sending the conservative and racially segregated town into uproar. The only townspeople who venture to join are regarded as outsiders at best—a young gay man, a divorced woman, a poet, and a young black woman who dreams of going to college.

This brilliant fiction debut by Amy Hill Hearth, a New York Times bestselling author, brings to life unforgettable characters who found the one thing that eluded them as individuals:a place in the world. Inspired by a real person, Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women’s Literary Society will touch the heart of anyone and everyone who has ever felt like an outsider longing to fit in.

Why don’t I read more Southern fiction? Every time I read these types of novels, I always enjoy them tremendously and begin kicking myself for not spending more time in the genre. Oh well – this book was fun, entertaining, and incredibly sweet. I really liked it.

While Miss Dreamsville certainly falls on the lighter side of fiction, there are themes running throughout that bring the subject matter into a slightly more serious territory. We have racism, prejudice of all kinds and against all types of people, a Yankee woman completely out of her element in a Southern town, and it’s all set in the setting of a book club. Any book lover is sure to be interested by the discussions the book club has and the reactions the different members have to what they’re reading, but even more so any reader is sure to become invested in these characters and the challenges they face throughout the novel.

While Dora is the narrator of this story, the real heart and soul of the book lies in Jackie, the Northerner who came to this Southern Florida town and created quite a bit of drama for the people of Collier County. Jackie is uncomfortable in her new life, unfamiliar with the Southern way of living and can’t seem to adjust to what she sees as a backwards way of life that she is now forced into. I loved the ways in which she decided to spice up life in Collier County and instead of fitting in, she paved her own way there. She was a character I could really empathize with and I definitely rooted for her throughout the book.

I really enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend it! Fans of Southern fiction and bookish books will love it even more.

The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner

The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner
Published by Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
Review copy provided by the publisher

From the publisher:

Actors aren’t the only ones trying to make it in Hollywood.…At twenty-three, Ruth Saunders left her childhood home in Massachusetts and headed west with her seventy-year-old grandma in tow, hoping to make it as a screenwriter. Six years later, she hits the jackpot when she gets The Call: the sitcom she wrote, The Next Best Thing, has gotten the green light, and Ruthie’s going to be the showrunner. But her dreams of Hollywood happiness are threatened by demanding actors, number-crunching executives, an unrequited crush on her boss, and her grandmother’s impending nuptials.

Set against the fascinating backdrop of Los Angeles show business culture, with an insider’s ear for writer’s room showdowns and an eye for bad backstage behavior and set politics, Jennifer Weiner’s new novel is a rollicking ride on the Hollywood roller coaster, a heartfelt story about what it’s like for a young woman to love, and lose, in the land where dreams come true.

I’m a pretty big fan of Weiner’s – have read every one of her books – so it goes without saying that I was anxious and excited to pick up a copy of The Next Best Thing soon after its release. Happily, I found that the book lived up to my expectations and I enjoyed it just as much as I have enjoyed many of my favorite Jennifer Weiner novels.

Above all else, what I most loved about this novel was the character of Ruth. She is a damaged person – physically by the car accident that killed her parents, and emotionally by the fact that she grew up without said parents – but at the same time, she has such a can-do attitude and has huge dreams for herself. She grew up with a fabulous grandmother who encouraged her beyond belief, and as a result she actually has a confidence in her own abilities that most people in her situation would not have. I loved that, while she wasn’t confident in her looks, she truly believed that she could be successful in her chosen career. I loved this about her – she was dead set on being a successful television writer, and she became one. Even when there was a ton of stuff thrown at her – as you will see if you read the book  - she never once gave up on her dream. Love.

I don’t know how much experience Weiner has with the Hollywood scene, but it seems to me that she must know what she’s talking about, because the events in the novel feel extremely realistic. It seemed to me that Weiner brought what life on a TV show set is really like and I certainly enjoyed this unique and interesting setting of the novel.

I listened to the audiobook and it was a great experience. The narrator, Olivia Thirlby, did an excellent job and I truly believed that she was Ruth. She embodied the personality of the main character and did such a great job telling this story. I definitely would go with the audiobook if you enjoy listening to your books.

If you are a fan of Jennifer Weiner, you absolutely must read this novel. I thought it was just as fun, heartwarming, and true as some of her best novels. If you haven’t yet tried Jennifer Weiner’s books – what are you waiting for? She writes smart women’s fiction that is about issues that run much deeper than traditional chick lit – family, love, acceptance, achieving your dreams, all kinds of stuff. I love her and I really liked The Next Best Thing.

The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain

The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain
Published by Mira, an imprint of Harlequin
Review copy provided by the publisher

When Travis Brown was nineteen years old, he made a decision that would change his life: he chose to be a single father to his daughter, Bella, even though he knew it would be the most difficult thing he would ever do. Now Bella is four years old, Travis has just lost his mother, his home, and his job, and he is starting to realize that life can get a lot worse before it gets better. He and Bella are living in his van when he is offered a miracle of a job, so he travels to Raleigh to take advantage of the offer. Unfortunately, what he finds when he gets there is not an actual job, just an opportunity to participate in some criminal activity and make a bunch of cash after doing so. With Bella in mind, Travis knows he must do something to give her food and shelter, so he makes a choice that sends him on a desperate, spiraling path downwards.

I liked this book. I didn’t love it, but I read it in two sittings and I felt compelled to keep reading and to find out what would happen to Travis, Bella, and the other characters involved. Travis was an incredibly naive character, and for that reason I had a difficult time connecting with him. I didn’t understand how he could miss clues about the people he was involved with that were seemingly so obvious to the reader – such as the fact that this “job” was not actual employment and that the woman who got it for him was up to no good. But other than that, it was clear that he had only the best of intentions for his daughter and wanted desperately to do the right things so she would have a happy and secure life.

The thing about this novel is that it was incredibly predictable, and ended in the most obviously sappy way possible, but I still appreciated the fact that Chamberlain gave me the exact ending I had been hoping for the entire time I was reading it. This kind of novel isn’t for everyone, but if you’re in the mood for a sweet story that doesn’t make you work too hard, The Good Father would be a nice choice.