Saturday, September 20, 2014

All Right Here by Carre Armstrong Gardner


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Read first chapter excerpt here

Ivy Darling can’t have children of her own, and her husband Nick’s resentment is forcing them apart. And while Ivy has the support and love of her large, close-knit family, Nick’s family has never welcomed her into the fold.

When the three children next door are abandoned by their mother, Ivy and Nick take them in for the night. One night becomes several, and suddenly Ivy and Nick find themselves foster parents to the only African-American kids in the town of Copper Cove, Maine. As Ivy grows more attached to the children, Nick refuses to accept their eclectic household as a permanent family. Just as Ivy begins to question whether or not she wants to save her emotionally barren marriage, Nick begins to discover how much Ivy and the children mean to him. But is his change of heart too little, too late?

All Right Here by Carre Armstrong Gardner was an enjoyable read that showed family life as it really is...complicated, difficult, and challenging, but still the most important and deepest relationships possible to have. This is the first novel in the Darling Family Series, and it ended in a way that left me waiting expectantly for the next novel to come out so that I could figure out what was going to happen next. The plot line moved at a steady pace that allowed me to connect with the characters and their past and present challenges. The story also contained a good mixture of humor, tragedy, conflict, and suspense, but no real romance. I appreciated that romance was not the focus of this novel, but unfortunately it is also a sign of the unhappy state of Ivy's marriage. The focal point of this novel was relationships, particularly between Ivy and her husband as well her extended family. I thought at times that the story dragged along too much and that there was not enough redemption in the story. I am hoping that the next novel introduces some hope and clarity to the situation between Nick and Ivy as well as Ivy's twin sister's situation. The characters in this novel were very interesting and unique, and I did feel like I had a very good understanding of the characters by the end. I appreciated the conflicted and realistic nature of the characters and their relationships, but I also liked how both Ivy and Nick reached breaking points where they surrendered their mistakes and pride to God. I did wish there had been more resolution to Lisa's plight, but I am hoping this will be part of the next novel. 

I received this novel from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

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