Category Archives: The Story Plant

April 25, 2023 · 12:02 am

Review: Amazing Gracie by Laura Drake

Title: Amazing Gracie by Laura Drake
Publisher: Gramarye Media/The Story Plant
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 273 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by the Author

Summary:

CJ has returned from war. But she has not left the war behind. The one bright spot in her life is her nine-year-old sister, Amazing Gracie, or Mazey, as CJ knows her. Mazey is brilliant, curious, and innocent, but she’s carrying burdens of her own, including a deep desire to meet the father she’s never known.

When CJ heads off on a cross-country motorcycle trip to visit the homes of her fallen friends, Mazey somehow convinces CJ to let her tag along. It isn’t the journey CJ expected, but it is the journey she needs. Contending with her demons, confronting her past, and facing her future, CJ comes to terms with choices she couldn’t have anticipated. And when Mazey’s quest takes a surprising turn, both CJ and Mazey discover that this road trip has been headed to an undisclosed destination all along.

A story of family in all its incarnations, Amazing Gracie is a deeply felt excursion presented by a writer of rare warmth.

Review:

Laura Drake’s Amazing Gracie tugs on the heartstrings from the novel’s touching beginning to its emotional ending.

CJ Maxwell might be home from war, but it continues to loom largely as she tries to honor those close to her who did not make it home. Her first stateside stop is to see her beloved nine-year-old sister Amazing Gracie aka Mazey. CJ’s plans take an unexpected turn as she brings Mazey with her aafter discovering their mom Patsy refuses to put her sister’s needs about her own

Mazey and CJ may have been raised under the same conditions but they are as different as night and day. Mazey is very intelligent, a bit naïve and relentlessly positive. CJ’s outlook on life is somewhat grim as she wrestles with a heart-rending tragedy from war. Together, they set out on a cross-country journey that is life-alterin

Amazing Gracie is a thoughtful and sensitive portrayal of the aftermath of war.  CJ and Mazey are vibrant three-dimensional characters with realistic issues to resolve. The motorcycle trip’s various settings are well-drawn and easily capture the imagination.  Mazey’s story arc resolution and CJ’s character development and subsequent realizations will bring readers to tears as Laura Drake skillfully guides this heartfelt novel a triumphant conclusion.

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Filed under Amazing Gracie, Contemporary, Laura Drake, Rated B+, Review, The Story Plant, Women's Fiction

April 21, 2022 · 12:02 am

Review: The Road to Me by Laura Drake

Title: The Road to Me by Laura Drake
Publisher: The Story Plant
Genre: Contemporary, Family Fiction
Length: 320 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Jacqueline Oliver is an indie perfumer, trying to bury her ravaged childhood by shoveling ground under her own feet. Then she gets a call she dreads—the hippie grandmother she bitterly resents was apprehended when police busted a charlatan shaman’s sweat lodge. Others scattered, but Nellie was slowed by her walker, and the fact that she was wearing nothing but a few Mardi-Gras beads. Jacqueline is her only kin, so, like it or not, she’s responsible.

Despite being late developing next year’s scent, Jacqueline drops everything to travel to Arizona and pick up her free-range grandma. But the Universe conspires to set them on a Route 66 road trip together. What Jacqueline discovers out there could not only heal the scars of her childhood but open her to a brighter future.

Review:

The Road to Me by Laura Drake is a heartwarming novel of forgiveness, healing and self-discovery.

Jacqueline “Jack” Oliver is not at all happy she has to rescue her feisty grandmother Nellie from her latest shenanigans. Her relationship with Nellie is complicated and full of unresolved pain but Jacqueline gives in when her grandmother wants to take one last road trip. Jacqueline is often frustrated by Nellie’s hippie nonsense but she eventually tries to just go with the flow. Some stops along their trip are eyebrow raising but over the course of a few days, the secrets she learns provide much needed insight into Nellie’s life. And along the way, Jacqueline learns a lot about herself. But will these revelations lead to changes in her life when she returns home?

Ohh, boy, is Jacqueline ever furious with Nellie for her latest antics. She is on a tight schedule because of her perfume business but she decides to indulge her grandmother’s desire to see the Grand Canyon one last time. Jacqueline has never been able to forgive Nellie for doing nothing to save her from her chaotic, dysfunctional childhood. She still carries these painful memories and she clings tightly to control while keeping people at arms’ length. Can a few days with Nellie heal the deep wounds she cannot seem to let go of?

Nellie is quite the character and she has always lived life on her own terms. She tends to live in the present and she spent a lot of her life going wherever the road led her. On this unexpected road trip, Nellie takes Jack on a journey that revisits some of her most painful yet also happiest memories. Will their last stop bring them closer together?

The Road to Me is an entertaining and meaningful novel that is quite captivating. Jacqueline and Nellie are vibrantly developed, well-rounded characters who are flawed but relatable. The various stops on the trip spring vividly to life and are easy to visualize. The situations they sometimes find themselves in are laugh out loud funny. The storyline is engrossing and multi-layered. Laura Drake brings this heartfelt novel to a poignant yet uplifting conclusion.

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Filed under Contemporary, Family Fiction, Laura Drake, Rated B+, Review, The Road to Me, The Story Plant

February 22, 2017 · 11:58 pm

Review: Ashes by Steven Manchester

Title: Ashes by Steven Manchester
Publisher: Story Plant
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction
Length: 272 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Middle-aged brothers Jason and Tom Prendergast thought they were completely done with each other. Perceived betrayal had burned the bridge between them, tossing them into the icy river of estrangement. But life – and death – has a robust sense of irony, and when they learn that their cruel father has died and made his final request that they travel together across the country to spread his ashes, they have no choice but to spend a long, long car trip in each other’s company. It’s either that or lose out on the contents of the envelope he’s left with his lawyer. The trip will be as gut-wrenching as each expects it to be . . . and revealing in ways neither of them is prepared for.

At turns humorous, biting, poignant, and surprisingly tender, ASHES puts a new spin on family and dysfunction with a story that is at once fresh and timelessly universal.

Review:

In Ashes by Steven Manchester, two brothers heal the rift between them on a cross-country road trip to spread their father’s ashes.

Corrections Officer Jason Prendergast and his college professor brother Tom have been estranged for the past fifteen years when they learn their abusive father has died.  In order to fulfill the terms of his will, they must embark on a cross country trip to spread his ashes in Washington state.  While neither of the brothers is overly enthusiastic about the request, they agree to follow through with his wishes. Their journey is fraught with tension as they disagree about everything from the route to take to the restaurants they choose but they also bond over shared memories from their dysfunctional childhood.  Will Tom and Jason make peace with their fractured past by the journey’s end?

Tom and Jason are complete opposites and their differences become even more obvious during their trip.  Tom is controlled with plenty of self-discipline and he is quite health conscious.   Jason, on the hand, is overweight and enjoys nothing more than a grease-laden meal and a couple beers at the end of a long day.  Tom enjoys the finer things in life whereas Jason is more comfortable in a local diner. Despite these differences, both men have similar parenting styles  and they have relatively good relationships with their children.

As they squabble their way across the United States, Jason and Tom are caught up in memories of both the good and bad things from their abusive childhood.  They also catch up on the paths their lives have taken and they are surprised to discover they do have a few things in common.  Both brothers are taken aback when their preconceived perceptions of one another are sometimes proven wrong.  While some of their discussions do not end well, other conversations result in useful observations that are unexpectedly helpful.  By the end of their journey, both Jason and Tom have made life-altering decisions that are a direct result of their time together.  When they part ways, Jason and Tom have achieved a fragile peace between them but will this be the beginning or end of their relationship?

Ashes by Steven Manchester is an interesting journey of healing and forgiveness for both Tom and Jason.  Some their interactions occasionally devolve into immature schoolboy shenanigans, but for the most part, their conversations are deep and meaningful.  All in all, a remarkable story that will resonate with anyone who has experienced a rocky relationship with any of their siblings.

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Filed under Ashes, Contemporary, Fiction, Rated B, Review, Steven Manchester, The Story Plant

April 18, 2016 · 11:57 pm

Review: The Girl Who Stayed by Tanya Anne Crosby

Title: The Girl Who Stayed by Tanya Anne Crosby
Publisher: The Story Plant
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 288 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Summary:

Zoe Rutherford wasn’t sure what she was expecting when she returned to Sullivan’s Island. The house on Sullivan’s hadn’t represented home to her in decades. It was the place where she endured her father’s cruelty. It was the place where her mother closed herself off from the world. It was the place where her sister disappeared. But now that her parents are gone, Zoe needs to return to the house, to close it down and prepare it for sale. She intends to get this done as quickly as possible and get on with her life, even though that life seems clouded by her past, both distant and recent. But what she discovers when she gets there is far beyond her imagining and will change her in profound ways.

THE GIRL WHO STAYED is a remarkable exploration of the soul by a writer with a rare talent for reaching into the hearts of her characters and her readers, a novel of transformation that will leave you moved and breathless.

Review:

The Girl Who Stayed by Tanya Anne Crosby is a leisurely-paced emotional journey of healing.

Haunted by her younger sister’s still unsolved disappearance thirty years earlier, Zoe Rutherford left home at eighteen and never looked back. Now thirty-nine years old and finally free of an eight year abusive relationship, she returns to Sullivan’s Island to fix up the family home then put it up for sale.   Unprepared for the onslaught of memories, Zoe cannot stop thinking about her childhood and the devastating loss of her eight year old sister Hannah.

Those long events shaped Zoe’s entire life and she has not been able to escape its lingering effects.  Her childhood was far from idyllic and in the aftermath of Hannah’s disappearance, Zoe took the brunt of the blame.  Her relationship with her father deteriorated after an unfounded accusation that Zoe was responsible for Hannah’s disappearance and she suffered both emotional and physical abuse in the years before leaving home.  Traumatized by both the accusation and abuse, Zoe continues to remain stuck in the past.

Zoe is a desperately unhappy and tormented character.  She is standoffish, emotionally distant and fiercely independent.  Although professionally successful, she has low self-worth and she is full of self-loathing.  Zoe is unsure if her memories are accurate and she is confused by her impressions of those long ago events.  Despite her close relationship with her sister, she was also extremely jealous of Hannah and she cannot help but obsess over her bewildering feelings about her sister and her unsolved disappearance.  In the midst of her attempts to come to terms with her unhappy childhood, Zoe is also striving to understand how she allowed herself become trapped in an abusive relationship for so long.

Zoe’s memories of the past are revealed through a series of flashbacks as she reminisces about key events from her childhood.  Viewing these memories as an adult provides her with a different perspective of her parents’ reactions. With this new understanding, Zoe recognizes how profoundly her dysfunctional childhood motivated her decisions and choices once she reached adulthood. Hoping to break this destructive pattern, she begins making more of a concerted effort to repair her fractured relationship with her brother and his family. Zoe tries to be less distrustful of the new people in her life but will opening herself to new friendships lead her into danger?

With an eclectic cast of characters and a haunting yet realistic storyline, The Girl Who Stayed by Tanya Anne Crosby is a captivating novel of new beginnings.  Beautifully rendered and quite atmospheric, this poignant yet ultimately uplifting story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned.

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Filed under Contemporary, Rated B, Review, Tanya Anne Crosby, The Girl Who Stayed, The Story Plant, Women's Fiction

March 7, 2016 · 11:58 pm

Review: Perfectly Broken by Robert Burke Warren

Title: Perfectly Broken by Robert Burke Warren
Publisher: Story Plant
Genre: Contemporary, Literary, Fiction
Length: 270 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Summary:

A novel of sex, dads, and rock & roll.

His rock star days may be behind him, but stay-at-home dad Grant Kelly’s life is getting more interesting by the day. It’s the beginning of the post 9/11 era, and he and his wife and four-year-old son have traded a New York City apartment for a Catskills farmhouse, where ghosts from the past, worries for the future, and temptations in the present converge to bring about drastic changes in their marriage, their friendships, and their family.

A gorgeously nuanced novel with unforgettable characters, PERFECTLY BROKEN is a story of human frailty, the endurance of the heart, and the power and possibility of forgiveness.

Review:

Perfectly Broken by Robert Burke Warren is a riveting novel of family, friendship, loss and ultimately, healing.

Years after quitting his band over creative differences, Grant’s life has not exactly turned out as he expected. He’s a mildly depressed (and slightly neurotic) stay at home dad whose friendship with fellow rocker Paul Fairchild reminds him of everything he never achieved. Forced to rely on the goodwill of longtime friends Trip and Christa Lamont after wife Beth loses her job, the couple, along with four year old son Evan, relocate from New York City to the Catskills. Soon after their move, the cracks in their marriage rise to the surface and after a terrible tragedy, Grant makes a impetuous decision that might destroy his family.

Dating back to childhood, Grant has a history of avoiding his problems instead of facing them. Suffering PTSD after a traumatic event, he has relied on anti-depressants to cope with the world but tapering off the medication after losing their health insurance, everything he has repressed begins resurface. After a shocking discovery, Grant continues to bottle up his emotions until they spill over into an act of betrayal that can never be undone. Everything comes to a head during a raging storm when a tension filled evening with friends leads to drunken revelations and a tragic decision that ends in heartache.

Gritty, raw and filled with deep emotions, Perfectly Broken is a realistic portrayal of life after marriage and the disappointment of unfulfilled dreams. The storyline is engaging and full of unexpected twists and turns. The characters are vibrantly developed, wonderfully flawed and surprisingly likable. Robert Burke Warren brings the novel to a brilliant conclusion that is heartwarming and immensely gratifying. An engrossing debut that readers will remember long after the last page is turned.

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Filed under Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Perfectly Broken, Rated B+, Review, Robert Burke Warren, The Story Plant

February 21, 2016 · 11:58 pm

Review: The Changing Season by Steven Manchester

Title: The Changing Season by Steven Manchester
Publisher: The Story Plant
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance
Length: 276 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

A remarkable coming-of-age story with special appeal to dog lovers.

This was supposed to be a simple summer for Billy; one more lazy expanse of time before college began. He’d fill the hours playing with Jimmy – his canine best buddy – going camping and doing all the things he promised Jimmy they’d do before Billy left.

But that was before the accident that shook the entire town.

It was before the summer job that turned into something so much more than a way to get a paycheck.

And it was before Vicki.

This summer was destined to be many things to Billy, things he didn’t truly understand until now. But it was definitely not going to be simple.

An enormously touching, richly textured, deeply moving novel of new adulthood, THE CHANGING SEASON is an experience to savor.

Review:

The Changing Season by Steven Manchester is a thought-provoking and bittersweet coming of age novel for recent high school graduate, Billy Baker.

Billy and his best friends Charlie Philips and Mark Diethelm are eagerly anticipating their last summer together before going off to college in the fall. While Charlie and Mark have their futures all mapped out, Billy is still a little lost as he tries to figure out what career appeals to him. As their summer begins, Mark gets a head start on his degree by taking a few classes at the local college and Billy starts looking for a full-time job to help pay his tuition. Charlie, on the other hand, disappears after making a fateful decision that will have a devastating effect on not only him, but numerous other people, including Billy.

Billy’s summer is off to promising start as he begins a new job at a local animal shelter and unexpectedly finds love with his new girlfriend, Vicki. He is still worrying about his future as he tries to figure out what he decide on his major, but he has a short term plan to get some of his core classes out of the way until he figures it out. His romance with Vicki is all consuming and their dates are sweet with both of them eagerly exploring their passion for each other. Unfortunately, not everything is sunshine and roses for Billy as he wrestles with a moral dilemma after a friend confesses a terrible secret to him. His loyalty to his friend eventually puts Billy in an untenable position as his relationship with Vicki becomes more serious.

As Billy transitions from naive teenager to young adult, he turns to his faithful canine companion, Jimmy, for comfort. Jimmy is a much loved family pet who has been Jimmy’s best friend and trusted confidante for the past twelve years. With Jimmy’s unconditional love and devotion, Billy survives some pretty serious heartbreak after the truth about his friend is finally revealed. Billy is also distressed by realization that while his life is just beginning, Jimmy is entering his twilight years and their time together is limited as his beloved dog begins to feel the effects of aging.

The Changing Season by Steven Manchester is a heartwarming young adult story that is fast-paced and engaging. The characters are well-developed and multi-faceted with easy to relate to flaws and imperfections. Billy’s struggles to leave boyhood behind and begin the next phase of his life are realistic and are sure to resonate with readers of all ages. The novel’s conclusion is a little poignant but uplifting as Billy embarks on the next phase of his life forever changed by the lessons learned during his last summer as a carefree teen.

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Filed under Contemporary, Rated B, Review, Romance, Steven Manchester, The Changing Season, The Story Plant, Young Adult