A Kindle Unlimited All-Star Winner from the author of Surviving Valencia and The Woman America Loves a Latte. Perfect for fans of Karen Russell, Fannie Flagg, and Delia Owens.“Holly Tierney-Bedord’s multi-generational story invites the reader to fall in love with the ladies of the Busey clan. Told in multiple points of view, the author developed a book with a heartwarming story that evoked many … heartwarming story that evoked many emotions.”
–Terri A. Wilson
“With a writing style reminiscent of Flannery O’Connor, Tierney-Bedord weaves a compelling saga rich with passion, angst, humor, and hope. A must-read that won’t let you go, even after the last page.”
–Award-winning author Geralyn Corcillo
As part of a family where life happens to you, fifteen-year-old Carasine Busey is devastated but not surprised when her family drops everything in Sweet Hollow, Louisiana to follow her dad’s shaky career as a welder. It’s not especially shocking, either, when he abandons them all shortly after they settle into their new home in the city.
Carasine, her mom Rhonda, and the rest of the Busey clan have adapted to roll with the punches. From Rhonda’s secret broken heart to Great-Great-Grandpa Jimbo’s eccentric failed dreams, Carasine and her family are used to disappointment.
It’s not until Carasine gets a second chance with an unlikely pair of long-lost relatives that she realizes her path in life might be up to her to navigate. Being their flesh and blood convinces her that there may be some hope for her after all.
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Sweet Hollow Women by Holly Tierney-Bedord was a okay read, that was for me, a little all over the place.
My first read by this author, I went in with a open mine, as the synopsis caught my attention. The story follows about four generations of women. It took me a bit to connect them all, as it starts with Maggie, then jumps to Carasine, who is Maggie’s granddaughter, but it wasn’t clearly stated that Rhonda was Maggie’s daughter until a few jumps in. That was a little confusing and it was hard to follow at first. But I did get into it once I got all the generations straighten out. I almost needed a map to keep track.
The writing is solid, and the story itself was well structured and professionally edited. I found that with each story, or jump you could say, the tone matched the era. Every character had their own voice and personality. I wasn’t too sure of what the plot was, I don’t think there was a clear plot, more so, this read like a generational memoirs. I did draw some similarities to The Ya Ya Sisterhood, but the story was lacking in general entertainment, I didn’t have a real connection with any of the characters. It fell flat, and in truth I was a little let down. I think, it was a way the book jumped around too much. It didn’t finish a thought before it jumped, nor did the jumps feel cohesive.
I wasn’t too fond of Rhonda’s story, or her as a character. Very immature, didn’t learn anything, and very self-destructive. The only real character that grew, and learned from their mistakes was Carasine. I did find myself drawn more to her story, but again just when it was getting interesting, it jumped to five years, then at the end, two more bringing the characters into 2017. I didn’t like that, because I feel like there should have been more, between those jumps, to fully close out her story.
As for the ending, it was okay, it was a good feel ending, but again it wasn’t closed out. The thought wasn’t finished. A epilogue would have helped with concluding the loose ends.
Overall this wasn’t a bad read, like I said the writing was top notch. I liked the idea of following a generation of women, and how their choice affect their offspring, and how it trickles down. The story itself flowed, details and situations match the proper era, telling me that, research went into making this read as authentic as possible. For being 371 pages, this was a pretty quick read, and that has to do with the different jumps and timelines.
I do recommend you give this book a read, it has some good lessons and expert writing and overall story telling. If a another book comes out that connects to this one I will give it a read, cause I want those loose ends closed up.
Happy Reading
-E.A. Walsh
Sweet Hollow Women
By: Holly Tierney-Bedord
5 out of 5 stars
The story Sweet Hollow Women by Holly Tierney-Bedord is a book that I loved reading. It is a story that hooked me in from the very beginning and I didn’t want to put it down until the final page. It tells the story of several women in one family from different generations. It is a book in which I could feel the strong emotions felt by the characters. I found myself thinking about the characters even after I had finished reading the story. I enjoyed reading about Carasine. She is strong, independent, and sassy. She is not afraid to say what she is thinking. You find her with her life in an upheaval and her wanting to return to Sweet Hollow, Louisiana. She is a resourceful character and one that I grew to love. What does the future hold for Carasine? You also read about Rhonda, Carasine’s mother. She is a woman whose past includes a broken heart. There were times when reading her part of the story I would smile and others when I could feel the pain she was going through. Life has plenty of ups and downs. There is romance and heartbreak. Choices made and the effects those choices have on both the person making them and others. There are times in this story that I would shake my head or roll my eyes at what goes on. There are other times when you wonder what decision you would make in the same situation. This is a well-written and deeply moving story that I highly recommend reading.
3 Stars
Sweet Hollow Women by Holly Tierney Bedord is a multi-generational saga that follows four generations of a family tree through their search for happiness. The best way I can describe this book is it felt like a cross between The Waltons and The Gilmore Girls (without the comedic elements). There was a lot of hardship, despair, heartbreak, poverty, disappointments, dilemmas, ignorance, sadness, frustration, and struggles- and not a lot ‘wins’. The family dynamics was interesting, and there were parts where the characters did chase their dream/s, and were true to themselves- but mainly this book seemed to me to be about how choices can have far reaching consequences and/or effects.
I am a big Holly Tierney Bedord fan, having read most of her books now- but I have to say that this was my least favourite of them all. I hate to say this because I really do love her books- but this one depressed and frustrated me.
The story is told from multiple perspective, and jumps from character to character, from past to present and back again, and from generation to generation- which was both distracting and somewhat confusing. The story itself was interesting- but there was just so many jumps and so much information that it became a distraction from the actual storyline (if that makes sense).
I liked Carasine as a character, and would have preferred for the story to concentrate on her more- with less input from the others. I think if that were the case the story would have read better. I found it difficult to like or connect with most of the other characters.
The story was a little slow to get going and there were parts in the story that seemed to lag or drag. Which is so unlike any of the other books of Ms. Tierney’s that I have read. So maybe it is just me and I just don’t ‘get’ this book- so you should probable read the story for yourself and come to your own conclusion…
I will definitely be reading Ms. Bedord’s next book, because like I’ve mentioned before- I normally absolutely love her work.
I will revisit this book again in a month or two and see if I still feel the same way, or if I was just having an ‘off’ day.
I really did want to love it!
Thank you, Ms. Bedord!
Sweet Hollow Woman is the story of 4 generations of woman in the same family. The story tells the ups and downs of these woman’s lives. you get the story of Louisa, Maggie, Rhonda and Carasine. The book does alternate chapters between each woman and at times was bit confusing to me especially during the first part of the book, trying to figure out each woman’s place in the family tree so to speak.
I did enjoy that you learned each woman’s history and followed their lives. Each of the paths that are taken by each of the woman are interwoven. The choices by one woman effect the other 3 in some way.
This is not a happy fairy tale story. This woman do not have an easy care free life. This takes a real life look into these ladies lives. There is heartbreak and grief as well as good times. The book does run a bit slow, there is not a lot of excitement involved. But it is not a bad read.
I was given my copy of this book from the offer and Lola’s Blog Tours. My review is my own thoughts on the book.