Book Review ~ Where Hope is Found by Rebecca L. Marsh

 

 15 October
My thanks to the author for my ecopy of this book

One tiny moment in time can shatter your whole world.

A family beach vacation turns to tragedy and Marissa must find a way for her and her traumatized eight-year-old daughter, Maisy, to move forward and heal. But memories of what she lost surround her, threatening to take her to a dark place; a place she can never go again.

When her brother extends an invitation for her and Maisy to move in with him on Princess Island, Marissa thinks it might just be the fresh start she needs. But can she really find hope and healing on an island surrounded by the same ocean that broke her heart?

What did I think about it..

After a family tragedy, which is every wife and mother's worst nightmare, Marissa must find a way of coping, not just for herself but also for her eight year old daughter, Maisy. However, devastating grief has a tendency to overshadow everything and Marissa cannot find it within herself to be strong enough to carry on. 

Where Hope is Found is a powerful story of love and loss when everything is overshadowed by grief, and even though Marissa knows that she must hold everything together for the sake of her daughter, she finds little, within herself, to help her with this devastating journey. When Marissa's brother offers her a refuge on the beautifully named, Princess Island, Marissa hopes that this move will be just what is needed, a fresh start to get the fractured pieces of her life, and that of her daughter, placed back together.

This story explores the concept of grief and loss in a very readable way, highlighting those issues, particularly with children, which can so often be overlooked. The author writes well and has a lovely way of drawing the reader into the intimacy of the novel, getting inside the psyche of her characters and generously allowing them time to tell their sad story in their own special way. I loved the island setting which is nicely described in ways which bring the place, and its people alive, in the imagination.

Emotional, heartbreaking in places but warmly and compassionately written, Where Hope is Found is a lovely, if rather sad, family saga.

Where Hope is Found is published 15 October and is available to pre -order

  Amazon UK

About the author

Rebecca L. Marsh is an author of women's fiction and a member of the Paulding County Writer’s Guild. She grew up in the mountains of Western North Carolina, and now lives in Dallas, Georgia, with her husband and daughter.

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