Welcome to my stop on the Finding Bliss blog tour, hosted by AToMR Tours! You can view the entire tour schedule HERE. I'm so excited to be taking part in this tour. Today for you guys I have my review, as well as an amazing tour-wide giveaway! Hope you all enjoy and thanks for stopping by!
Author: Dina Silver
Published: July 16, 2013
Source: via blog tour host
Chloe Carlyle has always longed for the perfect family.
Growing up with an alcoholic single mother, she has seen her share of heartbreak and disappointment, and is striving to build a new legacy for herself. After graduating from college, she takes a job working as a summer girl for the Reeds––a wealthy, accomplished family that personifies her American dream. Her summer takes an unexpected turn when the Reeds’ eldest son Tyler, the star quarterback for Notre Dame, shows up and turns her life upside down.
An ambitious young woman with a wry sense of humor, Chloe never imagined herself as the type to succumb to the looks and charms of the hometown hero, but she falls hard for Tyler, and is devastated when they part ways at the end of the summer. As she heads off to law school, Chloe tries to convince herself this was just a fling, but she can’t quite get over him. It’s not until Tyler contacts her out of the blue late one winter night that everything changes.
After doing everything in her power to build the perfect life, Chloe soon learns that there are things beyond her control. She must draw on inner reserves of strength as her life takes unpredictable—and sometimes heartbreaking—twists and turns, and she finds herself faced with decisions she never thought she’d have to make. Poignant, heartfelt, and emotional, Finding Bliss is a reminder that you don’t have to live a fairytale life in order to have a happy ending.
I've loved Dina since the first time I picked up one of her books. One Pink Line stole my heart immediately. When she came out with Kat Fight I had set the bar pretty high in my head, and again she didn't disappoint. Her writing style is impeccably clean and always easy-flowing. And I'm happy to say Finding Bliss was no exception.
Finding Bliss was quite different from her first two books to me, in the sense that the lightness and humor wasn't there. It was a much heavier story, packed full of emotional, both happy and heart-wrenching. The romance in this story was not your usual lovely-dovey sappy romance. It had its ups and downs. It was harsh and it was real. To me, this story wasn't just a romance, but a woman's journey through love, marriage, and life itself.
The romance aspect of the story was a bit off for me. Chloe always admired Tyler from afar. One summer, while on vacation with Tyler's family (she was the babysitter for his younger siblings) she ran into Tyler. They had a steamy encounter, then he disappeared. Nothing between them for a while, then they connect again. This happened a few times. It was just a bit sporadic for me, which I'm sure Dina did for a very good reason. I just tend to go for the more flowing timelines. The first quarter of the story was a bit jumpy and quick... but once the story picked up I really got hooked and enjoyed it a lot.
I have to comment on my favorite character of all, Cam. Chloe met Cameron while practically losing her mind in law school. They become best of friends and helped each other through the difficult and stressful time they were both facing. They proved to be wonderful friends, there for each other when they needed it. I always love a wonderful secondary character that lights up the story. Finding Bliss' star character was surely Cam. :)
Though I had a bit of trouble relating to Chloe herself, I did relate to the story as a whole. I do tend to go for more tragic, realistic and drama-filled romances, as opposed to sweet romances, so I did really like how this story unfolded. If you're looking for more of sweet story, I'd definitely suggest you try one of Dina's other two books first, which were both amazing. If you like the tougher subject reads, I'd recommend this one wholeheartedly. Another great story from Dina!
A graduate of Purdue University, Dina Silver has spent the past fifteen years feeding her red wine habit by working as a copywriter in the advertising industry. In addition to writing ad copy, she formed Dinas Ideas (dinasideas.com), a greeting card company, in 2003. Dina serves as the sole writer and designer for the business and has penned over 300 greeting cards since its inception.
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I do like to read about that type of up and down relationship. Thanks for bringing this one to my attention!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like this one packs a lot of punch. Love to see that it's heavy on the emotions throughout but sad that the romance was so wonky for you. I have been finding that in quite a few of the books that I was reading lately. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a good book, but I did have trouble connecting too. I do love Dina's writing style!
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Lisa!
I haven't read anything by this author either, but I remember reading good things about One Pink Line. Thanks for the great review.
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