Almost Always by Bobbi Reed and a Giveaway!

Almost Always by Bobbi Reed

Paperback, 320 pages
Published January 2013 by Cup of Tea Books, PageSpring Publishing

Here’s the way Eva sees it: if John is so concerned about her butting into strangers' lives, he shouldn't leave her sitting at a table in Bob Evans with nothing to occupy her time . . .

Enter Cecelia - a pregnant teenager who needs a family for her baby. Fate has placed her at the table behind Eva and John.

Now Eva has a chance - a chance to give her daughter, Shelly, the one thing Shelly desperately wants.

But nothing is ever as easy as it seems.

Because sometimes daughters are not born to us - they are gifted by desperate teenagers - or seated behind us at Bob Evans . . .

My thoughts about Almost Always ~~

Once again, I have to confess, this cover sucked me in. I love Christmas stories (as you have probably gathered, if you have been here recently) and then this cover is just amazing. I love the simplicity of it and who doesn't just love a wonderfully decorated gingerbread house?

Okay, enough about that. On to the story.

Being a grandma is a wonderful thing, this is true, but how does someone approach a pregnant teenager, someone they don't know, in a Bob Evans restaurant, to ask if her daughter can adopt the baby. That's how bad Eva wants to be a grandma and for her daughter to be a mom. Rather unconventional, I would say.

'There is no difference between going to a lawyer to find a baby to adopt and doing what I did. I just removed the middleman, is all.'

I really did love this story and the characters. But Eva? Seriously, sometimes she was just a little too pushy for my taste - and she never relents. Never! But kudos to her for staying focused on the goal.

'The time when she was a Mommy, the most important person in the world. When they were innocent of adult concerns, when they were happy, when Eva made them so. The best time of her life, and now it's over, gone, reduced to memories that don't come close to replicating the real thing. How do you live your life knowing the best of it is over? How do you pretend that this is enough when you've known so much better?'

There is a lot of emotion and discovery in this story. Everything is not always what it seems to be and by searching within ourselves, hopefully we can change and grow.

'She's tired. She's tired of being the one in charge, of trying to make life okay for everyone she loves. She's tired of fixing everything, and not only that, she thinks maybe she shouldn't fix everything. Maybe the best thing to do is just leave...'

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Almost Always and am excited to see what Bobbi creates next. The story was a wonderful world to escape to and the characters were intriguing, albeit with somewhat complicated personalities.

Speaking of characters, I really loved the relationship between Eva and her husband ~ even though he thought it was okay to leave her alone, in Bob Evans, with a pregnant teenager in the next booth.

Purchase Almost Always

Amazon | B&N

Giveaway Time!! 

Bobbi is graciously offering one copy of her book for one of you. If you are in the US, you win a print copy. If you are outside the US, you win an e-book! Thanks so much, Bobbi!

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