I’m delighted to be hosting today’s stop on the blog tour for Choosing Hope by Holly Kammier. Described as ‘a powerful story of passion, deceit and the things we do for love’ you can find my review below. To read reviews of Choosing Hope by other great book bloggers, visit the tour page here.
Plus, there’s a giveaway (INTL) with a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card.
To enter the giveaway click here.
The giveaway closes on 16th November 2017.
About the Book
A broken marriage. A love affair. A lie that changes it all…
Hope Rains Sullivan is living the dream – a successful husband, two beautiful young boys, and a charming home in Northern California. She should be happy. She almost convinced herself she was, until Adrian came along. Adrian, appears to be everything her husband isn’t. He works with his hands, and is even willing to use them in a fight. He’s sexy, strong and fit, with warm brown skin that alludes to his Spanish background. Best of all, he lives for spending time with his kids. Feeling alone in her marriage, Adrian offers her a way out. Hope’s affair is just the beginning. Her journey inward will require untangling her complicated past and surviving an astonishing revelation. Her lover is not who he pretends to be. She’s searching for her happily-ever-after, and no matter how painful the journey, she’ll find what she’s been looking for all along – the chance to choose Hope.
Praise for Choosing Hope
‘Dark around the edges with a shocking twist I didn’t see coming, this is the kind of book you’ll be passing around to your friends so you can talk about it. Holly Kammier delivers romance, suspense, and a strong, smart heroine who turns out to be nobody’s victim. Don’t miss this one!’ ( Kat Ross, best-selling author of The Midnight Sea)
Format: eBook, paperback (334 pp.) Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Published: 31st October 2017 Genre: Adult, Romance, Thriller
Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk ǀ Amazon.com ǀ Barnes & Noble ǀ Kobo ǀ iTunes
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme
Find Choosing Hope on Goodreads
My Review
Choosing Hope is certainly not your typical romance story. I was quite surprised by how dark it became at times and how disturbing I found the physical and mental impact of some of the events on its main character, Hope.
On the surface, Hope may seem to have it all – a lovely house, a hard-working and successful husband, two lovely children – but underneath there lurks anxiety, frustration and disappointment at what her life has become. Having given up her career to be a full-time homemaker, she feels unfulfilled and restless. Despite the fact that her relationship with Kevin has deteriorated into disaffection on her part and barely restrained anger (or worse) on his, Hope lacks the confidence or self-belief to leave the sanctuary of their marriage.
A dysfunctional family background – including episodes of drug and alcohol-fuelled violence – has made her adept at appeasing the male members of her family and deferring to others’ wishes. When she reconnects via social media with her first love, Adrian, the possibility of a new and much rosier future opens up for her. Everything about Adrian seems to be the polar opposite of Kevin. He says and does exactly the right things, responding empathically in a way that Kevin does not. But does Hope have the courage to step away from her current life into a new one? And is Adrian as perfect as he seems?
I have to say that for part of the book I did struggle to engage with or feel any empathy for Hope. Her belief that her life came down to a choice between two men rather irritated me. I found myself thinking: strike out on your own, don’t rely on other people to determine the course of your life, how can you let other people manipulate you like this? However, as events unfolded, I found myself growing more sympathetic towards Hope and, in the end, had a degree of admiration for her. And for her mom.
Choosing Hope is an interesting exploration of a woman’s journey through disaffection, infidelity and betrayal to eventual self-discovery and independence.
I received a review copy courtesy of Neverland Book Tours and chose to give an honest and unbiased review.
In three words: Dark, emotional, unsettling
Try something similar…Exquisite by Sarah Stovell (click here to read my review)
About the Author
Co-owner of Acorn Publishing, Holly Kammier is a UCLA honors graduate and an accomplished content editor. With a background in journalism, she has worked everywhere from CNN in Washington, D.C. and KCOP-TV in Los Angeles, to the NBC affiliate in small-town Medford, Oregon. Holly is the best-selling author of the novel, Kingston Court, and Could Have Been Hollywood, a memoir. She recently completed her third book, Choosing Hope, a spin-off from Kingston Court. Holly resides in her hometown of San Diego, California, close to family and friends. A world traveller in her younger years, these days when she isn’t writing or working with new authors, she spends much of her time hanging out with her two boys, Josh and Alex. Holly is an avid reader with a passion for timeless books and beautiful writing. She also enjoys long walks with her Jack Russell Terrier, romantic movies, and making her mischievous sons smile wider.
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