Showing posts with label Three Story House. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Three Story House. Show all posts

Saturday, April 10, 2021

This OR That #Giveaway Week 10 ~ Three Story House by Courtney Miller Santo OR Saving Grace by Jane Green #ThreeStoryHouse #SavingGrace

  

I have sooooo many books! 

The This or That Giveaway! feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to share some of the many books I've read, as well as clearing off my overloaded shelves and giving someone else a chance to enjoy these treasures.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

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Three Story House was a 5 ⭐ read for me when I read it in 2014. I've loved all of Courtney's books. You can read my thoughts here.

Three Story House
by Courtney Miller Santo 
Paperback ~ Pub date August 2014

Renovating an historic Memphis house together, three cousins discover that their spectacular failures in love, career, and family provide the foundation for their future happiness in this warm and poignant novel from the author of The Roots of the Olive Tree that is reminiscent of The Postmistress, The Secret Life of Bees, and Kristin Hannah’s novels.

Nearing thirty and trying to avoid the inescapable fact that they have failed to live up to everyone’s expectations and their own aspirations, cousins and childhood best friends Lizzie, Elyse, and Isobel seek respite in an oddly-shaped, three-story house that sits on a bluff sixty feet above the Mississippi.

As they work to restore the almost condemned house, each woman faces uncomfortable truths about their own failings. Lizzie seeks answers to a long-held family secret about her father in her grandmother’s jumble of mementos and the home’s hidden spaces. Elyse’s obsession with an old flame leads her to a harrowing mistake that threatens to destroy her sister’s wedding, and Isobel’s quest for celebrity tempts her to betray confidences in ways that would irreparably damage her two cousins.

Told in three parts from the perspective of each of the women, this sharply observed account of the restoration of a house built out of spite, but filled with memories of love is also an account of friendship and how relying on each others insights and strengths provides the women a way to get what they need instead of what they want.

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Surprise! I found two copies of Saving Grace on my bookshelves. Lucky for one of you! I've read a couple of Jane's books and enjoyed them. I haven't read this one yet, but I really want to and will someday.

Saving Grace
by Jane Green 
Mass Market Paperback ~ Pub date June 2015

Grace and Ted Chapman are widely regarded as the perfect literary power couple. Ted is a successful novelist and Grace, his wife of twenty years, is beautiful, stylish, carefree, and a wonderful homemaker. But what no one sees, what is churning under the surface, is Ted's rages. His mood swings. And the precarious house of cards that their lifestyle is built upon. 

When Ted's longtime assistant and mainstay leaves, the house of cards begins to crumble and Grace, with dark secrets in her past, is most vulnerable. She finds herself in need of help but with no one to turn to…until the perfect new assistant shows up out of the blue. To the rescue comes Beth, a competent young woman who can handle Ted and has the calm efficiency to weather the storms that threaten to engulf the Chapman household. Soon, though, it's clear to Grace that Beth might be too good to be true. 

This new interloper might be the biggest threat of all, one that could cost Grace her marriage, her reputation, and even her sanity. With everything at stake and no one to confide in, Grace must find a way to save herself before it is too late.

Powerful and riveting, Jane Green's Saving Grace will have you on the edge of your seat as you follow Grace on her harrowing journey to rock bottom and back. 

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Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways!


Thursday, August 28, 2014

On Tour: Three Story House by Courtney Miller Santo and a Giveaway!


Three Story House

Three Story House by Courtney Miller Santo
Paperback, 416 pages
Published August 19th 2014 by William Morrow & Company

Renovating an historic Memphis house together, three cousins discover that their spectacular failures in love, career, and family provide the foundation for their future happiness in this warm and poignant novel from the author of The Roots of the Olive Tree that is reminiscent of The Postmistress, The Secret Life of Bees, and Kristin Hannah’s novels.

Nearing thirty and trying to avoid the inescapable fact that they have failed to live up to everyone’s expectations and their own aspirations, cousins and childhood best friends Lizzie, Elyse, and Isobel seek respite in an oddly-shaped, three-story house that sits on a bluff sixty feet above the Mississippi.

As they work to restore the almost condemned house, each woman faces uncomfortable truths about their own failings. Lizzie seeks answers to a long-held family secret about her father in her grandmother’s jumble of mementos and the home’s hidden spaces. Elyse’s obsession with an old flame leads her to a harrowing mistake that threatens to destroy her sister’s wedding, and Isobel’s quest for celebrity tempts her to betray confidences in ways that would irreparably damage her two cousins.

Told in three parts from the perspective of each of the women, this sharply observed account of the restoration of a house built out of spite, but filled with memories of love is also an account of friendship and how relying on each other’s insights and strengths provides the women a way to get what they need instead of what they want.


Purchase Three Story House


My thoughts about Three Story House ~~

I love reading stories about women who are friends, or become friends because of the situation they find themselves in, and who lean on each other to help get through the tough times. Three Story House is such a story. 

These three women, who are thrown together as young girls and became fast friends, all come together when Lizzie has to go back home to try and save the family home. While she is there, can she uncover her mother's secret and find out who her father really is?  Her best friends, who also happen to be her cousins, Elyse and Isobel, join her there, lending her both physical and moral support. But it ends up that they are all there offering support to each other.  
'"I like this house," Elyse interrupted. "It's a little pissed off, like all of us."'
The story is written in three parts, with each part being the story of, and told in the voice of, one of the main characters. The Triplins, as the three girls as a group are called, each have their own issues to work through and they discover they are right where they need to be, working on the house, and working on their lives. 
'But she felt protective of Spite House and didn't want to leave it alone. Instead, she stood in the kitchen and looked at the torn-up wall and thought about Elyse, with her broken heart, and Lizzie with her broken leg. She supposed both were doing what Benny had been doing to Spite House. They were working on fixing the outward appearance of something without first finding all the damage that had been done.'
I absolutely loved Courtney's first book The Roots of the Olive Tree when I read it last year (my thoughts about it are here) and I loved that she connected that story to this one. It made me want to go back and read it all over again.  
'"What does anyone know about their grandparents?" Elyse guessed that was true. She was among the lucky few who'd known not only her grandparents, but her great-grandparents well. Hell, last she heard, her father's great-grandmother was still alive on some olive farm in California.The women were as distant as they were legendary in the family.'
Once again, Courtney has written a story that I will remember and think about long after I leave that world. It is a great thing that she continues to write such amazing and beautiful stories. 

About the author


Courtney Miller Santo teaches creative writing to college students and lives in Memphis with her husband, two children, and retired racing greyhound.

Connect with Courtney 



Thank you, TLC Tours for the ARC copy in exhange for my honest review. 


This giveaway is going to run for 3 weeks instead of my normal 2 weeks. Why? Because hubby and I will be on our Alaskan Cruise!!! Posts will be very sparse to non-existent while we are gone and I'll pick a winner when we get back.  


And coming soon!!

My 1000th post 
HUGE GIVEAWAY!!


Watch for it! 


Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

WWW Wednesdays August 27, 2014


WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading

To play along, just answer the following three questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Clicking on the book covers will take you to Goodreads for more information about the books listed below.

What are you currently reading?

Five Days Left by Julie Lawson Timmer
I am just starting this one and I have been noticing a lot of buzz about it. I love the cover! 


Duma Key by Stephen King (audio-book)

What did you recently finish reading?

Haunted by Kay Hooper 
Bishop/Special Crimes Unit #15
Wow! #15? How did I have miss this great series? I've got a lot of catching up to do.

Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell
This one was for my book club. It's not very long but rather disturbing. I always love to see what other people's reactions to the book are.

Three Story House by Courtney Miller Santo
My thoughts will be posted tomorrow.

What do you think you will read next?

 Pulled Within by Marni Mann
Bar Harbor #2
I read Pulled Beneath (book #1) and loved it. Can't wait to get started on this one. 

What's on your WWW this week?

Leave me a comment and
I'll stop by to check out your reads.

And coming soon!!

My 1000th post 
HUGE GIVEAWAY
Celebration!!


Watch for it! 


Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

WWW Wednesdays August 20, 2014


WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading

To play along, just answer the following three questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Clicking on the book covers will take you to Goodreads for more information about the books listed below.

What are you currently reading?

Three Story House by Courtney Miller Santo
My thoughts will be posted August 28th, my stop on it's tour.

Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #2) by Ransom Riggs
I loved Miss Peregrine's ....


Duma Key by Stephen King (audio-book)

What did you recently finish reading?

I haven't finished anything since last weeks post. Just working on the 3 books above. I started Hollow City and then realized I should get to reading Three Story House for it's tour. 

What do you think you will read next?

Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell
This one is for my book club. I've already seen the movie. It will be interesting to see if I remember the story. Ha. 

What's on your WWW this week?

Leave me a comment and
I'll stop by to check out your reads.



Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

WWW Wednesdays August 13, 2014


WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading

To play along, just answer the following three questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Clicking on the book covers will take you to Goodreads for more information about the books listed below.

What are you currently reading?

Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #2) by Ransom Riggs
I loved Miss Peregrine's ....

Duma Key by Stephen King (audio-book)

What did you recently finish reading?

Kiss a Cowboy by Deanna Lynn Sletten
Another great story by Deanna - my thoughts will be posted soon.

Accidents of Marriage by Randy Susan Meyers
I have read all of Randy's books and have loved them all! My thoughts will be posted soon. 

Portrait of a Dead Guy by Larrisa Reinhart (audio-book)
Great series! 

What do you think you will read next?

Three Story House by Courtney Miller Santo
I previously read her book The Roots of the Olive Tree and absolutely loved it! I can't wait to read this one. My thoughts will be posted August 28th, my stop on it's tour.

What's on your WWW this week?

Leave me a comment and
I'll stop by to check out your reads.



Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!



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