On Tour: Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long and Giveaway

Bernadette Murphy likes her life. Really, she does. What's wrong with carrying around an extra ten pounds from fertility treatments? Or having your dog kicked out of obedience school? Again? What's that saying about the devil you know? For Bernie, it's the devil she never expected that changes everything.

Her father's sudden death leaves a gaping void in her life and is one in a series of events that rock her world. Her husband leaves for another woman, and her best friend announces an unplanned pregnancy at the age of forty-one. Bernie's behavior goes from acting out to out-of-hand, and she finds herself in trouble at home, out of work and banned from the mall after a confrontation at the cosmetic counter.

When her mother discovers her father's book of cryptograms, Bernie realizes his encoded lessons in living might be exactly what she needs to survive. From dealing with her family's grief and bonding with her best friend's thirteen-year-old daughter, to dieting, dating and mindless almost-sex with the landscaper, Bernie discovers what her father always knew.

In life, you either choose to sing a rainbow, or you don't. For Bernie, the singing is about to begin. ~~synopsis from Amazon 

My thoughts about Chasing Rainbows ~~ 

First things first ~ love the cover! Ok ... that's done. 

Let's talk about the book ... loved the book!!

Ms. Long wrote a great story with wonderful characters that I immediately cared about. The situation that Bernie finds herself in; her child dying 5 years ago, the recent death of her father, her husband leaving her for another woman, is a situation that, God forbid, we could all possibly find ourselves in. So the story was very believable. And the characters are very real and likeable. 

Bernie has a little break-down (wouldn't we all?) and lashes out at her best friend, fights with her neighbors, has issues with the way her brother is grieving the loss of their father. These people do not desert her and are there for her when she needs them.

I loved how her father left her a book of cryptograms to decipher (something I cannot do!) and how those sayings were there to guide her through her troubles. It was like her father was watching over her and helping her. Many of them, once they were deciphered, are ones that all of us could learn from.

This story stirred several emotions in me. Parts made me laugh, parts made me cry and parts made me reflect on my own life. I loved her dog, Poindexter (love the name!), who didn't just do what normal dogs do and chase after cars. No, he chased airplanes, what? And Bernie getting banned from the mall, hilarious. Her niece and her pea binges, funny but peas? Yuch! Going through the process of losing her little girl, so sad. Life lessons from her father, amazing. 

The one saying from her father that Bernie kept thinking about was the statement 'In life, you either choose to sing a rainbow or you don't.' We should never stop chasing our rainbows, whatever they are ~ a happy life, our dreams or even airplanes.

This is a fabulous book that I am sure I will read again. It is a world I want to go back to so that I can spend time with all the people in Bernie's world. Along with the cryptograms, Ms Long has also written some great lines in this story. I pulled out a few that I really enjoyed and you can read them here. You will find many other 'words of wisdom' when you venture into Chasing Rainbows. Happy reading! 

Author Bio:

A long time ago, in an elementary school far, far away, a very young Kathleen scribbled a story idea in her journal. Then she wrote another, and another. She added several poems, the lyrics to a song or two, a love letter to David Cassidy, and so on and so on. While her early writings never saw the light of day, many of her later works did. And while she did not marry David Cassidy, Kathleen did marry her own Prince Charming. Together, they are raising one drama queen and one obedience-challenged border collie mix in a kingdom divided between suburban Philadelphia and the Jersey shore.

Kathleen is the RITA^® nominated, RIO Award and two-time Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence winning author of fourteen novels of contemporary romance, romantic suspense and women’s fiction. Her additional honors include National Readers Choice, Holt Medallion, and Booksellers Best award nominations.

She divides her time between plotting her next book, bribing her little one to pick up her toys, and begging the dog to heel. Life is good. Very, very good.

Connect with Kathleen!

Web: www.kathleenlong.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathleenlong
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/KLWords

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Visit the tour page for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card. 

**Everyone who leaves a comment on the tour page will be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card! If you purchase your copy of Chasing Rainbows before March 12 and send your receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, you will get five bonus entries!**

I received a copy of this book for my honest opinion.