A School of Daughters
by Kate René MacKenzie
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Literary Women’s
Fiction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BLURB:
It’s funny how things sneak up on you…
Kate
Willoughby is a champion for throwaways—discarded dogs and cats, abandoned
horses bound for slaughter, and all creatures great and small. But now it's
Kate who's alone in a hostile world like a dog dumped by the side of a road. Is
there a champion for Kate?
After
22 years of marriage, Kate loves her husband, Brian, with an even greater
passion than when she spoke her vows. “My world spins on his axis,” she often
says. But when Kate finds a love letter to Brian from Micky, she’s torn between
proving Brian’s innocence and nailing him to the wall with his guilt.
Throughout
her marriage, Kate has been trusting and trustworthy —to a fault, friends have
said. Now, she steals into Brian’s emails and accesses his credit card
accounts, phone records, bank statements, friends and activities, discovering
the metaphoric iceberg beneath Brian’s affair.
Turning
to the one constant in her life, Kate is guided by her family of animals:
shelter dog Molly; Premarin horse Quinn; packrat Winston; owls Albert &
Victoria; Stubby, the chipmunk; rattlesnake Cassandra; and Phineas, the
determined grosbeak. These wise and wonderful teachers, along with a wild
menagerie on her Arizona ranch, deliver lessons on life, love, and letting go.
But it’s Molly, in a heartbreaking act of courage, who leads Kate back to her
true self, before she became lost in love with Brian.
Shining
a light on the childhood events and adult choices that, like steppingstones,
brought her to this moment, Kate illuminates a familiar and well-worn path.
Narrating her story with equal doses of heartache and humor, Kate comes to
understand that nothing sneaks up on you that isn't already here. Learning from
Phineas, the determined grosbeak, Kate realizes that even after a devastating
injury, you can soar again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT ONE:
“I
will never do this again.”
It’s
Christmas, five years ago. There is a mound of dirt in the corral and Chance is
five feet under it.
Our
Thanksgiving hosts, Felicity and Barry, have trailered over one of their horses
so Petunia won’t be alone…
After
18 years in Alaska, stuck in a stall and paddock, Chance was supposed to enjoy
many years of sun and warm and wide open spaces in Arizona. Truth be told, the
main reason I moved to Juniper Verde was so Chance and Petunia could finally be
horses. Chance’s life in Arizona wasn’t supposed to end after only 15 months.
Felicity
and I stood in the drizzle, watching Petunia and Sabrina get to know each
other.
"You’ll
get another horse,” Felicity said.
Numbed
by my sudden loss, I knew better.
Felicity
looked at me. “You love too much.”
I
heard Felicity’s accusatory assessment and felt…anger.
How
is it possible to love too much? How can you put limits on love, miserly
rationed in appropriate doses? Love is nothing if not everything. It’s every
tick, every beat, every breath.
Love
is…what love is. It shouldn’t be controlled, like a simmering pot, fearful of
boiling over.
Love
done right has no regrets. There is grief, certainly, at loss—sometimes
overwhelming grief that empties you. But while sorrow hollows, love comforts
and eventually… eventually... fills us with gratitude for having the courage to
love with such abandon, with such hope, when we know the future is uncertain.
Not
loving doesn’t insulate us from pain, it robs us of joy. We should all love too
much, knowing that love’s loss will absolutely devastate us. If we don’t know
that, feel that, then we don’t love enough…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY BOOK REVIEW:
This
book is an interesting, intriguing, compelling read full of heartache and
betrayal. But there is light at the end
of the tunnel as this book also tells a powerful journey of resilience, rediscovery,
hope, strength, and encouragement.
This
book takes the reader on a deeply personal and emotional rollercoaster ride.
This
book follows the main character, Kate, after she recently discovers her husband
of twenty-two years has been lying and cheating on her. Kate admits her world completely revolves
around her husband, Brian, and this newly discovered shocker has Kate twisted inside
out. While Kate struggles with whether
to forgive and forget and go back to the way things were or to find the courage
to stand up for herself and end things forever, Kate reflects back on her life
and the choices she’s made that got her to this point. Can Kate forgive Brian or is it too late? No spoilers here, but you’ll definitely want
to check out this book to find out what happens!!
This book takes place over a short four-month end-of-year
holiday period – mostly October through January. While the time frame may be short, the events
are anything but! Not that there’s
really any good time to find out your spouse is having an affair, but around
the holidays, seriously?!
This
book closely follows Kate as she suffers through many dark, painful days of devastating
heartbreak, agony, and despair – you can practically feel the character’s deep,
raw emotions as her tears trickle off the pages.
I
really liked the main character, Kate, as she was likable, relatable, and
genuine. I think many readers will be able
to easily connect with Kate and find themselves quickly empathizing and rooting
for her.
Furthermore, this book exhibits
very realistic and authentic story lines as the author explores Kate’s real-life
reactions of feeling vulnerable, uncomfortable, embarrassed, and ashamed.
While I imagine this author as someone you can easily
talk to about anything and everything and I say that because of the way the
author simply writes bouncing back and forth between an array of topics. I have many friends like this where we can
just spend hours going from one topic to the next without any of those weird
awkward pauses, the next subject practically prompts itself. And while I found this particular writing
technique to actually keep the reader engaged and caught up in the story for
the most part, it did at times become a bit complex and overwhelming. As the author continually shifts the story from
the past to current tense – some scenes just a few sentences – it can become somewhat
confusing. For example, one minute Kate
and Brian are arguing on the phone, then Kate is thinking about an ex, and then
the next minute Kate and Brian are back on the same call arguing, and then back
to Kate thinking about that same ex again, and then all of a sudden Kate’s on
the phone with a friend. While the story
has intriguing details, I sometimes felt that the order or arrangement of some
of those scenes felt out of place or completely unrelated.
As a
huge animal lover, especially of the rescues, strays, and unwanteds – I was drawn
to this story and was thrilled to find a kindred spirit in Kate. I enjoyed this element to the story and Kate’s
unconditional love for all creatures great and small.
I also enjoyed the intriguing
settings of Arizona and Alaska, two very different states, but understandably special
in their own ways. I have always loved
Arizona and hoped one day to eventually move out there. While I think Alaska would be too cold and isolated
for me, I did enjoy reading about the breathtaking views and unique wildlife.
There
are some predictable scenes. However,
there are still a few unexpected twists and turns that you won’t see coming!!
This book is on the slightly longer side with
315 eBook pages. This book is not divided
up into numbered chapters, but instead broken up into sixty-eight date entry titles
plus a preface chapter. These journal
entry date theme headings span from September 30th through January
30th, and while most entries last four to five pages with multiple scene
breaks, there are three dates that comprise of only one page.
This book is not listed as part of a book series
and therefore can be read as a standalone book.
All
in all, I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it!! I think all women’s fiction readers will like this book too!! So, add
it to your TBR List and get to reading – you won’t be disappointed!!
**Disclaimer: I received a
complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and
unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations**
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Kate René MacKenzie is the women’s fiction alter
ego of romance novelist and Golden Heart nominee Maggie McConnell (Spooning Daisy). Kate (and Maggie) spent
her childhood overseas, the daughter of US diplomats. Attending college in
Illinois, she volunteered at the local humane shelter, eventually becoming
director. While earning a BA in Art and then an MBA, Kate worked at various
jobs including go-go girl, bartender, and teaching assistant. At 26, she sold
her 280Z and packed her dog and cat into a Ford truck and drove the Alcan
Highway to Alaska where she spent 23 years exploring The Last Frontier in a
single-engine Cessna. Her next adventure was in Arizona on a no-kill ranch at
the end of the road. A vegan and animal rights advocate, Kate provides a
sanctuary for all creatures great and small, but her immediate family includes
horses Quinn and Hershey, and cat Noelle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH KATE:
Website:
https://www.KateReneMacKenzie.com
Website:
https://www.Maggie-McConnell.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MaggieMcConnellwriter
BookBub Author Page:
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kate-rene-mackenzie
BookBub Book Page:
https://www.bookbub.com/books/a-school-of-daughters-by-kate-rene-mackenzie
Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21048494.Kate_Ren_MacKenzie
Goodreads Book Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57070442-a-school-of-daughters
Amazon Author Page:
https://amzn.to/3F8UO6D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AMAZON BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon US Kindle eBook:
https://amzn.to/3VyM3JT
Amazon US Paperback:
https://amzn.to/3h3ZRx6
Amazon CA Kindle eBook:
https://www.amazon.ca/School-Daughters-Kate-Rene-MacKenzie-ebook/dp/B08RJYMQVS
Amazon CA Paperback:
https://www.amazon.ca/School-Daughters-Kate-Rene-MacKenzie/dp/173542210X
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Kate will be awarding
a $50 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to TWO randomly
drawn winners via Rafflecopter during the tour.
.jpg)
