G197 Book Review of The Hourglass by Sharon Struth

Name of Book: The Hourglass

Author: Sharon Struth

ISBN: 978-1-940223-23-0

Publisher: etopiapress

Type of book: Psychology, romance, forgiveness, 2000s, character profiling, mature adults

Year it was published: 2013

Summary:

"Can forgiveness survive lies and unspoken truths?"

Until Brenda McAllister's husband committed suicide, she appeared to have the ideal life: a thriving psychology practice, success as a self-help author, and a model family. But her guilt over her affair with Jack's best friend prevents her from moving on. Did Jack learn of her infidelity? Was she the cause of his death?

The release of Brenda's second book forces her into an unexpected assignment with arrogant celebrity author CJ Morrison, whose irritating and edgy exterior hides the torment of his own mistakes. But as she grows closer to CJ, Brenda learns she wasn't the only one with secrets--Jack had secrets of his own, unsavory ones that may have led to his death. While CJ helps Brenda uncover the truth about her husband, she finds the path to forgiveness isn't always on the map.

Characters:

Brenda is best described as gentle, a caretaker and she has had a negative history when it comes to alcohol. I also think she tends to beat herself up a little too much and she tends to blame herself. She is also independent and is vengeful. Throughout The Hourglass she does change and becomes a slightly different character than the one we were introduced to. CJ is best described as remorseful, temperamental, mercurial and deep inside he does have a good side. He is also afraid of his own past and doesn't want it to come back in any shape or form. I think he changes a little too quickly for me when it comes to relations to Brenda, and I actually liked the scenes where they butted heads. Friends also played a huge role in the book either acting as support or just being there when they were needed, which I liked. Their roles didn't feel hollow or empty.

Theme:

Beginnings can happen at any age

Plot:

The book is written in third person narrative from Brenda's and CJ's points of views. There is warning to when the point of view switches and I like that the author takes her time to reveal the backgrounds of the two main characters. I did find some things shocking about Brenda's life, as well as about CJ. I did feel that the romance happened a little too quickly for my tastes, or it was a little too sudden.

Author Information:
(from goodreads.com)

born Poughkeepsie, The United States
gender female
website 
twitter username sharonstruth
genre Literature & Fiction, Nonfiction
member since October 2011

Sharon Struth writes from her home in Bethel, Connecticut where she lives with her husband and two daughters. She's a graduate of Marist College.

Her writing credits include her debut novel, THE HOURGLASS (Etopia Press), award winning romantic women's fiction. She also has essays in several Chicken Soup for the Soul Books, the anthology A Cup of Comfort for New Mothers, Sasee Magazine and WritersWeekly.com. 

Prior to writing full-time, Sharon worked at the headquarters of Waldenbooks/Borders Books. She's a member of the Romance Writers of America and Treasurer of The Romance Writers of Southern Connecticut and Lower New York (CoLoNY). 

Sharon takes a look at the plights of being middle-aged in her blog, "Life in the Middle Ages"www.sharonstruth.wordpress.com.) 

She is represented by Blue Ridge Literary Agency (http://www.blueridgeagency.com/).

Opinion:

Although I'm not the characters' age in this book, I did love that it happened to be an atypical romance novel of sorts, and there is realism set in it when it comes to conversations and situations. The main characters are in their late 40s/early 50s, and both are grieving over the past; Brenda over a suicide of her husband, and CJ continues to mourn over the loss of his wife. In a way it begins as sort of a comedy, that of them butting heads over everything until a project forces them to work together. I was curious about the title, The Hourglass, and I think I realized what it meant; first its a bit of reference to CJ's novel in the book, and it also acts as a symbol of starting over, that time never runs out. For those that are tired of reading romances where women are young and a bit immature, I would recommend reading this book instead.

Other Tour Stops:

Monday, October 7th:  Sara’s Organized Chaos

Tuesday, October 8th:  Seaside Book Nook

Wednesday, October 9th:  Svetlana’s Reads and Views

Monday, October 14th:  Three Girls and a Book Obsession

Tuesday, October 15th:  Why Girls Are Weird

Wednesday, October 16th:  Reviews by Molly

Thursday, October 17th:  Shelf Pleasure – Author Guest Post

Monday, October 21st:  Mom in Love with Fiction

Tuesday, October 22nd:  Good Girl Gone Redneck

Wednesday, October 23rd:  From L.A. to LA

Thursday, October 24th:  Patricia’s Wisdom

Friday, October 25th:  Snowdrop Dreams of Books

Monday, October 28th:  Time 2 Read

Tuesday, October 29th:  Dear Brighton

Wednesday, October 30th:  Luxury Reading

This is for TLC Book Tour

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)