My thoughts
First I have to say that this is the best book this author has written so far. She's a marvelous author. Her books always draw me in. This one is just so good.
I didn't like Arden at first. I thought she was just a cold person who wanted her way about everything and didn't care who she hurt in the meantime. But as I kept reading I saw that she was looking for something. Something that may not be easy to see or understand. But something nonetheless. Yes she wanted security. She wanted love. She wanted to be accepted. And she could be selfish. But she had a heart in there too. A pretty big one. I felt for Arden in lots of ways. I think maybe I could relate to her in many ways. Arden had some anger issues that I tried to understand. She also had so much love to give when she wanted to. Arden was a complex woman for sure.
Her love life was certainly a mess. She did men wrong much of the time and hated, absolutely hated, to be told no. I believe she was spending time looking for complete and total loyalty. Yes she wanted to have money. She was not in a good financial situation. And yes she wanted total loyalty, in all areas. She seemed to use people like they were disposable. Like she would never need them again. But she did grow up. She did fall in love. In complete love. Arden married a few times. Once for a father for her unborn baby. Bit mistake. Once for security. Yes again, big mistake. Though that one did help her a lot. But Connor. Connor was her true love.
Arden lost her husband and her daughter right in the beginning of this story. A horrific train accident. Then you learn about them and her. You get to know Arden's daughter Leigh and her husband Connor. And her granddaughter Danielle. Danielle is something else. A complex child. One that Arden takes into her home and gives all the love she has. Danielle has problems after losing her mother. What child wouldn't. But she is resilient also. Just like Arden...
This is a great book. It had me crying and laughing. Feeling so many emotions. Rooting for Arden and Danielle. I felt bad for Robert, the first guy you meet, but he prevailed on his own. And he gained a lot later... Arden was a character to reckon with. You either love her or hate her. I actually ending up loving her. This book definitely tugged at my heart.
Thank you to the author for the arc book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc ebook.
About
For fans of dual-timeline, mother-daughter novels like The Paper Palace and Tom Lake, a compelling contemporary novel about a woman’s struggle to face her reckless history, with its trail of damage and deception, and her quest for the redemption that might still be possible.
From the ruins of Egypt to the privileged life of Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the story of a woman’s odyssey through the maze of love, loyalty, recklessness, and remorse, as the consequences of her acts ripple through the generations.
Approaching a milestone birthday, Arden Rice has seen it all: three marriages, hardship and wealth, choices she both regrets and defends, all fueled by the same fierce desire—to give her daughter the best possible life. At least, that’s what Arden tells herself.
But nothing is simple. Arden is haunted by her impetuous history, with its trail of damage and deception. Yet she’s finally made a life where she can be her best self—until the unthinkable happens, and a train engineer’s lapse in attention throws that life into chaos.
Secrets begin to unravel, and Arden finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew—along with her own role in shaping the disturbing person her daughter has become. As the stakes increase, especially for the vulnerable granddaughter who’s now in her care, Arden must face questions she’s spent a lifetime avoiding: Which acts define a person? Can someone be better than her worst acts?
For fans of dual-timeline and mother-daughter novels, a compelling story about a woman’s struggle to face her reckless history, with its trail of damage and deception, and her quest for the redemption that might still be possible.
From the ruins of Egypt to the privileged life of Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the story of a woman’s odyssey through the maze of love, loyalty, recklessness, and remorse, as the consequences of her acts ripple through the generations.
Approaching a milestone birthday, Arden Rice has seen it all: three marriages, hardship and wealth, choices she both regrets and defends, all fueled by the same fierce desire—to give her daughter the best possible life. At least, that’s what Arden tells herself.
But nothing is simple. Arden is haunted by her impetuous history, with its trail of damage and deception. Yet she’s finally made a life where she can be her best self—until the unthinkable happens, and a train engineer’s lapse in attention throws that life into chaos.
Secrets begin to unravel, and Arden finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew—along with her own role in shaping the disturbing person her daughter has become. As the stakes increase, especially for the vulnerable granddaughter who’s now in her care, Arden must face questions she’s spent a lifetime avoiding: Which acts define a person? Can someone be better than her worst acts?
For fans of dual-timeline and mother-daughter novels, a compelling story about a woman’s struggle to face her reckless history, with its trail of damage and deception, and her quest for the redemption that might still be possible.
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