Book Review/ Giveaway: Hearts on a String by Kris Radish

** THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED *** 

Synopsis:  Radish delves deeply into the emotions of five very different women who are thrown together by chance-only to discover that they have more in common than they ever could have imagined.
 
Holly Blandeen has always cherished the story her grandmother told her about the thread that connects all women, tying them forever in sisterhood. It's a beautiful idea, but with all the curveballs life has thrown her way, Holly has often felt isolated, different from other women. That starts to change when she meets four strangers in an airport and they agree to share a luxury hotel suite because a powerful spring storm is barreling across the country, stranding travelers from California to Florida. What begins as a spur-of-the-moment decision becomes an unlikely, unexpected, and sometimes reluctant exercise in female bonding, as these five exceptional women-each at a crossroads-swap stories, share secrets, and seek answers to the questions they've been asking about life, love, and the path to true happiness. A storm may have grounded them for the moment, but after this wild adventure in which anything can and does happen, they'll never have to fly solo again.

Author Info: Kris Radish grew up dreaming about living a Nancy Drew-like life and always held her own passion for writing very close to her heart. A former journalist, nationally syndicated columnist, magazine writer and university instructor, Radish also loves to tell stories about the times she picked nighcrawlers, served beer to cowboys, worked on a tomato farm and hung out of the side of a fast moving helicoper.

Radish is now the bestselling author of six novels. She loves to call her work "true fiction" because she addresses the real emotions that women live and share every day. She is also the author of two non-fiction books, writes poetry, is the mother of two young and very fiesty adults, is known for her wild laugh and wilder hair, and is working on her seventh novel. For more info on her and her books, check out her website:

http://www.krisradish.com

Review:  As anyone who has been thru a severe hurricane, blizzard, or tornado with people who aren't their family can tell you, emergencies sometimes back strange bedfellows. Most of the time you can find things in common and get thru with no problems. But what if you all come from DIFFERENT backgrounds and walks of life, where do you find that common ground? In Radish's story, that common ground is the thread that Holly's grandmother told her about. Radish follows the natural arc of nit-picking/anger, into finding common ground, and then into acceptance and liking. Thus at first, I wasn't sure if I liked the characters/book. But the more I read, the more I saw where the author was going and how things could pan out and I wanted to see how it ended! I have to admit the last third of the book was surprising in the plot area and if I had been reading a 'serious' book, it would have put me off (I'd say more, but that would ruin the ending!). But this is chick-lit and it was a way to wrap things up nicely and give a positive note to the story. While I wouldn't call this a 5 star book, it's definitely a 3-4 one! Some people may get more out of it than I did. I would have preferred the book to be longer and some of the characters developed better. But it's a fun, empowering read!

The Giveaway

  Winner will receive this ARC (so the cover will not match the pix above)

of Hearts on a String!

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Contest will end on July 30th, at midnight. Winner will be picked by Random Number (random.org) on July 31st, and emailed. As soon as winner's info is received, I will mail them their book directly.

Disclosure / Disclaimer:  I received this book, free of charge, through the Library Reads Early Reviewer program! No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to review it.