Posted on by Jacquie Biggar

Big News and #BookReviews- Sunrise Canyon by Janet Dailey, The Women by Kristin Hannah, Fusion: Poems of Life @BalroopShado


I won the 2023 Reader’s Favorite gold medal in the new adult genre!

It’s no secret my writing has floundered for the last year or more. Ever since I had Covid I’ve been having trouble finding much enthusiasm for anything. I’m not sure if others have had this problem but it is frankly depressing. I’m also finding it difficult to come up with the words for what I want to say. I can see it, feel it, but say it? Not so much. Very frustrating when trying to hold a halfway intelligent conversation, lol.

Into the middle of my personal crisis, I published my first new adult novel, Letting Go. The story is deeper and more poignant than anything I’ve tried before. Much of my inner anxiety went into these characters, creating a complex relationship between two estranged sisters. I decided to enter Letting Go in the annual Reader’s Favorite contest and was thrilled to come out with a gold medal!

Exciting!

I haven’t received any film deals yet, but you never know 🙂

By the way, the fabulous cover for Letting Go was created by fellow bogger, and friend, Teagan Geneviene. She is a creative genius. I highly recommend visiting her website for imaginative, original stories.

Now for this week’s book reviews. Once again, I hit the bonanza with these reads. All are excellent choices. Click the covers to learn more.

The posts on this site may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission should you make a purchase using a link.

Sunrise Canyon by Janet Dailey

Before he left for Afghanistan, Jake O’Reilly had everything—a beautiful wife, a baby on the way, a wonderful life. Three years later, his wife is dead and he is so haunted by his memories of war that he can’t bring himself to go home. But when his wife’s grandfather tracks him down and persuades him to come work on his ranch, where Jake’s daughter is living, he agrees—even though he is reluctant to expose his little girl to the man he’s become.
 

A wounded warrior finds peace and a new sense of purpose in the Arizona desert.

Jake comes back from war broken. His wife is dead, nightmares haunt him, and his daughter, under the care of his wife’s cousin, doesn’t know him. When he lands in jail over a fistfight, Jake thinks he’s hit rock bottom. Then he gets bailed out by his wife’s grandfather, who offers him a job on his ranch to pay off the debt, and a toxic combination of shame and disgust at the man he’s become sours his stomach. But he agrees to the position, though he makes the old man agree not to tell his daughter who the stranger is.

Kira and her grandfather, Dusty, run a therapy program for troubled kids on the family ranch. They’ve seen the positive effects caring for horses has on the teens and are proud of their success. Though there’s just the three of them, including the cook, and her young niece, Paige, Kira thinks they do fine, so she’s surprised when Dusty comes home with a new employee- Jake.

Working on the sidelines, Jake watches Kira and Dusty teach a group of angry kids while trying to keep a distance from his own cute-as-a-button daughter, who seems to have decided the ‘stranger’ needs company. Time begins to heal old wounds and romance floats in the air, but trust doesn’t come easy for this family who have been through so much. Can they overcome their history to have a chance for the future?

This is a wonderful, heartwarming story. I loved little Paige and cried for Jake and all he’d been through in the war. PTSD is debilitating and often ruins lives. We need to do more to help our veterans.

About the Author

JANET DAILEY’s first book was published in 1976. Since then she has written more than 100 novels and become one of the top-selling female authors in the world, with 325 million copies of her books sold in nineteen languages in ninety-eight countries. She is known for her strong, decisive characters, her extraordinary ability to recreate a time and a place, and her unerring courage to confront important, controversial issues in her stories.

The Women by Kristin Hannah

From master storyteller Kristin Hannah,  New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds, comes the story of a turbulent, transformative era in America: the 1960s. The Women is that rarest of novels—at once an intimate portrait of a woman coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided by war and broken by politics, of a generation both fueled by dreams and lost on the battlefield.
“Women can be heroes, too.”

A haunting novel of war and the debilitating effects of PTSD.

Frankie McGrath knows her parents expect her to follow tradition, get married, have children, and keep an immaculate home for her husband. Then her beloved brother ships out to fight the Vietnam War and all of a sudden Frankie wants to do more- win a piece of the pride her father has for his son’s service. When her brother’s handsome friend whispers, “Women can be heroes, too,” it lights a fire in Frankie’s spirit, one that sends her to the Army Nurse Corps and a year’s consignment overseas.

Excited at the prospect of telling her parents, Frankie is shocked and hurt when her news is ill-received, and then devastated moments later when two soldiers show up at the door with news of her brother’s death. Heartsick, Frankie leaves for her tour of duty and is immediately thrown into a chaotic new world of death and destruction beyond anything she could imagine.

Life in a warzone is dangerous.

Chaos.
Bright lights, music blaring, doctors and medics and nurses shouting instructions, casualties screaming. She saw Jamie, dressed in a bloody gown and masked up, coming toward her. There was blood everywhere, on walls, the floor, faces—dripping, geysering, pooling. Patty Perkins, in bloody fatigues, yelled, “You’re in the way, McGrath,” and pushed Frankie aside; she stumbled and hit the wall as two medics carried a litter into the OR. On it, a soldier—a kid—was sitting up, yelling, “Where are my legs?”

The Women- Kristin Hannah

But it’s also about connections. Soldiers band together and become brothers in arms. The threat of death or dismemberment forges relationships, sometimes literally in blood.

But coming home is just as hard. When Frankie returns, it’s to a country in upheaval. The service she’s given is treated with disgust. People spit at her, and taxis refuse to pick up anyone in uniform. Her parents treat her as though she was away on an extended holiday (two years in the frontlines), and the VA insists women didn’t go to Vietnam. She is essentially on her own. Then her two best friends from the war show up to get her back on her feet, and so the long, and heartbreaking, journey begins.

I was a young girl from Canada when the Vietnam War took place. It wasn’t until later that I learned about Agent Orange, Napalm, and PTSD. It wasn’t until I read The Women that I understood the horrifying details of this war and the lasting legacy it left on not just their country but the people of the USA, as well.

War is ugly, but is it worth the cost to our men and women? I don’t think so.

Kristin adds an after-note at the end thanking the veterans who helped her maintain accuracy in this all-important piece of history. I’ll end my review with these thought-provoking words:

I spoke with Senator Bob Dole last year, who admitted that as of 1970, most senators didn’t even know what MIA or POW meant. Think about that. Last year the people running our country—a country at war—didn’t know what missing in action meant.

The Women- Kristin Hannah

About the Author

KRISTIN HANNAH is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty novels, including The Nightingale, The Great Alone, and The Four Winds. A former lawyer turned writer, she lives with her husband in the Pacific Northwest.

Fusion: Poems of Life

The poems in this collection are an amalgamation of harmonies and edges that bind us firmly. We have to wade into murky waters to measure the depth. We have to risk the heights to know our worth. Slippery snow makes us learn how to create footholds. Some songs of life dilute in the hourglass of time to erase the shadows – dark or light, all the colors play an equal role to create a fusion.

To read Balroop’s poetry is to take an emotional journey of life, love, loss, and endurance.

The beauty of her phrases is a trademark and shines in this collection. She doesn’t shy away from life’s hardships, rather she embraces the pain and fuses it with healing emotions that sigh through my heart.

Here are just a few of my favorites:

From Hugs

Who would forget these times
When we yearn for hugs
Of friends and family?

Who would remember
That a little virus tore us apart
Snatching away our choices!

Fusion: Poems of Life- Balroop Singh

Dreamers

Dreamers know no fears
They don’t rush to open new doors
They soar above them
And land wherever they like.

Fusion: Poems of Life- Balroop Singh

And Ambrosial Love

Snow clad mountaintops
Kiss capricious clouds.
Emerald lake watches,
As rosy hues of dawn smile.
Singh, Balroop. Fusion: Poems of Life (p. 19). Kindle Edition.

Fusion: Poems of Life- Balroop Singh

I urge you to savor this poet’s writing, you won’t regret it.

Balroop Singh

Balroop Singh, an educator, a poet and an author always had a passion for writing. She would jot down her reflections on a piece of paper and forget about them till each drawer of her home started overflowing with poetic reminders, popping out at will! The world of her imagination has a queer connection with realism. She could envision the images of her own poetry while teaching the poems. Her dreams saw the light of the day when she published her first poetry book: ‘Sublime Shadows Of Life.’ She has always lived through her heart. She is a great nature lover; she loves to watch birds flying home. The sunsets allure her with their varied hues that they lend to the sky. She can spend endless hours listening to the rustling of leaves and the sound of waterfalls. She lives in California. You can visit her blog at http://balroop2013.wordpress.com

The kids took a much-needed vacation to a hot springs resort- I’m jealous, lol

Did you do anything fun this summer?

46 Replies to “Big News and #BookReviews- Sunrise Canyon by Janet Dailey, The Women by Kristin Hannah, Fusion: Poems of Life @BalroopShado”

  2. Hi Jacquie, congratulations on your award. I was also knocked by Covid and all the major health issues among my family members. My writing has been limited to poetry, children’s stories and short stories. Lovely reviews 😀. I also enjoyed Balroop’s beautiful poetry book.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Congratulations, Jacquie!! I loved Letting Go, and I still think about some of the scenes. Bravo – it deserved the Gold Metal! Thank you for sharing the reviews. I have only read Balroop’s Fusion and loved it. ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Sorry that covid mindfog has a grip on you too. Its nasty stuff. I keep waiting for it to lift and the ideas to flow back. Soon…

    Huge congrats on your much deserved gold medal. I’m so happy and excited for you. I loved that story.

    Great reviews. I loved Balroops latest too. She paints such beautiful pictures for us.

    Sending healing hugs xo

    Liked by 2 people

  9. Congrats on the award!

    I used to read Janet Daily back in the day. I’m curious if this is a new book or one of her older ones. Since she passed away several years ago, who is writing under her name?

    Nice reviews, Jacquie!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes, it’s under her Americana series. I thought I read all of them when they came out, but apparently not 🙂
      I think her kids are ghostwriting for her now. I’ve tried a couple of the new Calder books-not bad, but not as good as the originals.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Congratulations Jacqui, Letting Go is a fabulous book. I’ve been waiting for Book -2 of the series! Many thanks for reviewing Fusion, I am delighted to hear that you enjoyed the ideas and images within my poems. 🥰
    I am sure your muse would return soon. Happy writing!

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Congrats once again on the Gold Medal, Jacquie. The book definitely is a winner. And I didn’t know Teagan did the cover. It’s wonderful. And thanks for the reviews. I’ve read Balroop and now have to more on my wishlist. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Fabulous reviews, Jacquie. Congratulations on your awesome news – that is fantastic. I’m so sorry you’ve been finding it hard since Covid. I didn’t have Covid, but have still been struggling to write over the last couple of years, too preoccupied with other things.

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Congratulations! 🎉 That’s wonderful! I have a few of your books waiting for me on my kindle but Letting Go sounds like a great read so I’ll have to get that one, too.

    I’ve been meaning to get Balroop’s book so thanks for the reminder.

    That pic of the hot springs… I’m jealous, too!

    Liked by 1 person

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