Patricia Perry Donovan

This book was engaging enough to read, but I didn't find the plot to be terribly novel or engaging.

Upon reading the blurb, I assumed that Alex would be kidnapped or something metaphysical would happen or something extraordinary. Spoiler alert: it's just a car crash and she wanders off by herself like any intelligent human teenager would do. The blurb implied a lot of suspense that wasn't delivered.

From there, the plot honestly isn't that riveting. At no point while reading was I ever on the show more edge of my seat, concerned about the character's lives. It took a good half of the book to build up to the actual disappearance, and while I enjoyed the first half of the book more, it was let down by the ending turning into a wild goose chase. Reading about the family dynamic was much more interesting.

Alex was fun to read about, and I enjoyed details such as her calling one lady Mom Hair and folding her gum wrappers into Ws all the time. Seeing her struggle and hearing about all of her history was intriguing and I felt that for a teenage character she was well developed and while Donovan did make her extremely angsty, she avoided making her childish.

I'm glad this was told from third person, because otherwise switching from Carl's to Meg's to Alex's perspectives would have become confusing very quickly. Carl was a fun character with an interesting backstory and it was entertaining to see him moving forward, but he also didn't really fit in with the other two, and his perspective felt continually out of place.

This book's strongest aspect was honestly the family dynamic and looking at the process of divorce/separation and how it affected the children. There was one really poignant scene when Alex's friend called Alex's parents out for fighting, and that scene was by far the most powerful one of the book.

This wasn't necessarily a bad read, but nothing really stood out to me and I had much higher expectations.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. show less

3.5 / 5

Different from what I was expecting but an enjoyable read overall.

While this book was billed a suspense/thriller, I felt it lacked the tension to qualify as either and instead ended up as more of a family drama with a dash of mystery thrown in. That's not to say that a family drama is a bad thing, but it wasn't quite what I had in mind from the synopsis.

The story is delivered ha from three perspectives (Meg the mother, Alex the daughter, and Carl the transport driver respectively) and show more I felt that they all had realistically different voices.

Meg is a mom who seems to be in over her head, unable to understand her teenage daughter or her estranged husband. She has a busy job and struggles to communicate with her family. She often assumes the worst due to that lack of communication and she's hasty in making some big decisions.

Alex is a confused teen, grieving over the loss of her best friend and feeling incapable of confiding in either of her parents, who are separated but still living together. Like many teens, Alex is at a loss of how to cope with everything, and thus makes some unwise choices.

Carl is the founder of a transport service which supervises troubled teens on their way to their destination, which in Alex's case is a boarding school her mother picked out. Carl has a past he struggles with but he tries to take life 'one show at a time' and ultimately hopes to help the teens he transports find their way.

I found it very easy to be drawn into the story and I felt like I really understood each character's motivations and choices. By the end of the book, I felt that the character's aren't quite where they want to be just yet, but they're on their way there with confidence.

Though there was a sad lack of diversity and bit of a wish fulfillment vibe, where problems are a bit too easily solved, but overall the story was sweet, simple, and to the point.

That being said, this book can come off a bit like a 'first world problems' meme, because while the family is said to be struggling monetarily, they can still afford to send their daughter to a big boarding school and hire a transport service to take her there. Occasionally, as someone who themselves is effectively broke 24/7, I found myself rolling my eyes at the family's issues. Simultaneously, as someone with depression and anxiety issues, I knew that just because your problems aren't as severe as someone else's, it doesn't mean they're any less painful.

I think that as a reader, you have to decide for yourself whether or not this type of book is for you, and I hope that somehow in my rambling review, I've helped someone decide whether or not to give it a try. show less

Deliver Her/Patrica Perry Donovan On the night of Alex Carmody’s sixteenth birthday, she and her best friend, Cass, are victims of a terrible car accident. Alex survives; Cass doesn’t. Consumed by grief, Alex starts cutting school and partying, growing increasingly detached. The future she’d planned with her friend is now meaningless to her.Meg Carmody is heartbroken for her daughter, even as she’s desperate to get Alex’s life back on track. The Birches, a boarding school in New show more Hampshire, promises to do just that, yet Alex refuses to go. But when Meg finds a bag of pills hidden in the house, she makes a fateful call to a transporter whose company specializes in shuttling troubled teens to places like The Birches, under strict supervision. Meg knows Alex will feel betrayed—as will her estranged husband, who knows nothing of Meg’s plans for their daughter.When the transport goes wrong—and Alex goes missing—Meg must face the consequences of her decision and her deception. But the hunt for Alex reveals that Meg is not the only one keeping secrets.
 
This book was engaging enough to read, but I didn't find the plot to be terribly novel or engaging.
 
Upon reading the blurb, I assumed that Alex would be kidnapped or something metaphysical would happen or something extraordinary. Spoiler alert: it's just a car crash and she wanders off by herself like any intelligent human teenager would do. The blurb implied a lot of suspense that wasn't delivered.
 
From there, the plot honestly isn't that riveting. At no point while reading was I ever on the edge of my seat, concerned about the character's lives. It took a good half of the book to build up to the actual disappearance, and while I enjoyed the first half of the book more, it was let down by the ending turning into a wild goose chase. Reading about the family dynamic was much more interesting.
 
Alex was fun to read about, and I enjoyed details such as her calling one lady Mom Hair and folding her gum wrappers into Ws all the time. Seeing her struggle and hearing about all of her history was intriguing and I felt that for a teenage character she was well developed and while Donovan did make her extremely angsty, she avoided making her childish.
 
I'm glad this was told from third person, because otherwise switching from Carl's to Meg's to Alex's perspectives would have become confusing very quickly. Carl was a fun character with an interesting backstory and it was entertaining to see him moving forward, but he also didn't really fit in with the other two, and his perspective felt continually out of place.
 
This book's strongest aspect was honestly the family dynamic and looking at the process of divorce/separation and how it affected the children. There was one really poignant scene when Alex's friend called Alex's parents out for fighting, and that scene was by far the most powerful one of the book.
 
This wasn't necessarily a bad read, but nothing really stood out to me and I had much higher expectations.
 
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. show less

You won a bed and breakfast in yet another contest, Mom? Please say I am not hearing you correctly?

Poor Faith. Her mother, Connie, has always entered contests ever since she was a child and has never won, but then she wins this one which seems unbelievable because of the prize. Connie has won this prize after writing an essay about why she should win the bed and breakfast, and Connie is determined to come all the way from New Mexico to claim and see her prize.

Faith lives in New York City and show more accompanies her mother to the bed and breakfast at Wave's End at the Jersey Shore. As predicted, the place is in bad shape and nothing like the pictures in the contest.

As Faith argues with her mother about the "prize," a hurricane is making its way up the coast. Faith goes back to New York and then returns as the hurricane is gaining in intensity to make sure her mother is safe.

Faith finds more than she wants to find when she returns with her mother's impulsiveness being a very big problem this time.

AT WAVE'S END is an enjoyable read with characters that were very believable and lovable. A mother/daughter team is always a treat because it can go two ways: the best it can be or the worst it can be. :)

You will be comparing your relationship with your mother and might see some similarities as well as differences.

Secrets kept for a long time and finally revealed are part of AT WAVE'S END, but do they bring mother and daughter closer or farther apart?

Food was another major component with three of the characters being chefs, and who doesn't like to talk about food and gorgeous kitchens?

If you need a fun, light, heartwarming read that shows the resiliency of and the generosity of mankind, then you will not want to miss AT WAVE'S END.

It has something for everyone and the reason I enjoy women's fiction....family, love, tenderness, surprises, a few tears, and warmth.

ENJOY!! I certainly did. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the author in return for an honest review. show less