The Truth About Love & Lightning
Susan McBride, author of Little Black Dress and The Cougar Club, gives us her most unforgettable novel to date with this deliciously emotional story of family, forgiveness, love, and magic.
As far as Gretchen Brink is concerned, the tornado that just ripped through her land has nothing on the storms of a different sort happening all around her. Her grown daughter, Abby, has returned home with news that she's pregnant, and no, she's not sure whether she's going to marry the father. A man with no memory has been dropped practically on her doorstep. And the not-so-little white lie she's been telling for years is about to catch up with her.
Abby is sure that the mysterious man is her long-lost father, Sam, who has finally returned just when she needs him most. As Abby, Gretchen, and the Man Who Might Be Sam get closer, the lie Gretchen told all those years ago begins to haunt her. When her secrets come out, and Sam's past is finally revealed, will it tear down this fragile life they've built—or will the truth bring them all closer together?
My thoughts about The Truth of Love & Lightning ~~ (originally posted March 1, 2013)
Before this book, I had not read any of Susan McBride's books. I was always going to, I just never got around to it. I am so glad I finally read one and I am glad it was this one. I loved it!
The first line is a grabber ~ 'Annika Brink could not tell a lie.' Well, you know that is going to cause some issues, right? And then a couple of pages later ~ 'I'm sorry, Anni but I can't handle so much truth anymore. Sometimes ignorance is truly bliss, and what I need is more bliss in my life.' I just had to get involved in this story to see where it was going.
Gretchen learns to lie from her mother and her life is basically built around one great, big lie. What happens when it all starts to unravel? I loved the journey on the pages to see how this lie, I mean this story, all played out.
I have always been fascinated with the Native American culture and the powers of a shaman. I loved reading the parts about the mystical things that Sam's ancestors could do and did. Has this power been passed down to Sam? And then there are Gretchen's twin sisters, who are blind from birth. They live with Gretchen and I loved their characters, a couple of very wise women. They made quite a pair.
I really loved everything about The Truth of Love and Lightning. I loved the characters, the setting and and the story line. And I had to keep reading because I really needed to find out exactly what the truth about love and lightning was. I will definitely be reading more of Susan's books!
About the author
Susan McBride is the author of women's fiction, including The Truth About Love and Lighting, Little Black Dress, and The Cougar Club. Foreign editions of her books have been published in France, Croatia, and Turkey. She has also written a short memoir for HarperCollins called In the Pink: How I Met the Perfect (Younger) Man, Survived Breast Cancer, and Found True Happiness After 40, which was released in October of 2012 to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In addition, Susan has a young adult thriller, Very Bad Things, in the pipeline at Random House/Delacorte.
Susan previously wrote the award-winning Debutante Dropout Mysteries (HarperCollins/Avon), including Blue Blood, The Good Girl's Guide To Murder, The Lone Star Lonely Hearts Club, Night Of The Living Deb, and Too Pretty To Die. She has authored several YA series books for Random House about debutantes in Houston, the debut in 2008 appropriately titled The Debs and followed by Love, Lies, And Texas Dips in 2009. Gloves Off, the third book, has not yet been released.
On the personal front, Susan calls herself an "accidental Cougar" after meeting a man nine years younger in 2005 when she was a St. Louis Magazine Top Single. They were married in February 2008 and live happily ever after in a suburb of St. Louis. Susan is a six-year breast cancer survivor and often speaks to women's groups about her experience. In January of 2012, she was named one of St. Louis's "Most Dynamic People of the Year" by the Ladue News. In April of 2012, she was given the "Survivor of the Year" Award by the St. Louis affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. And in June of 2012, she and her husband welcomed their first baby, Emily! As Susan likes to say, "Life is never boring."
Connect with Susan
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IndieBound | HarperCollins
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