As I walk into the stark white house in the shadow of the pine trees, I can’t help but feel uneasy. I’ve always imagined what it would have been like to meet my birth mother before she died. Or to return, a lost daughter, to Avalon Springs, the place where I should have been raised. But nothing prepared me for this…I should have realized something was wrong when I saw the way people looked at me … me in the hotel that morning. The way they glanced at my daughter Madison and the fearful look in their eyes when they found out I had inherited the old family home. Then I find a jewelry box in my mother’s room. It sits covered in blue satin, hidden away in dust, untouched for years. And the contents inside change everything.In my gut I know I need to admit this was a mistake, take my children by the hand and forget about my past forever. But now I’ve started digging I know that it’s impossible to leave… A gripping and emotional novel about what it means to belong. The Daughter She Lost is perfect for fans of Kerry Fisher, Diane Chamberlain and Liane Moriarty. What readers are saying about The Daughter She Lost:“A definite must read. Pulled on my heartstrings… I was pulled into the lies, secrets and family drama and felt as though I was part of it. Lauren blew me away with this one.” Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars“I was completely entranced… As the pages turned, my innards shivered deliciously wanting to know the truth… Absolutely wicked. And the emotions… Oh man, I could feel them in every word especially in the last 30%. And that made me devour the book in one setting.” Book Reviews by Shalini, 5 stars “Not very often do I give five stars to a book but this one certainly deserves it!… Lots of twists and turns throughout and the ending is just phenomenal and totally unexpected! For me this is the perfect book because it encompasses everything that I look for and seldom find.” Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars “I absolutely adored this book. The characters were so real that it sucked you in and made you feel a part of the story. You didn’t want it to end!” Goodreads reviewer“The first page already made me pull the box of tissues closer to me… An emotional story… makes you want to weep… Keeps you captivated.” B is for Book Review, 5 stars“What a suspenseful, shocking story full of family secrets. I could not put this book down! My favorite part of the book was the ending that I didn’t see coming… Am definitely a huge fan now!” Goodreads reviewer“When the truth is revealed at the end of the book it is a shocking twist that you will never guess is coming. I stayed up until wee hours of the morning because I just had to know how it ended… This was some good reading, you will be glad you picked it up and read it.” Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
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Unless you’ve experienced finding out, as an adult, that you’re adopted and have inherited a house from your deceased birth family in a far-away small town, then neither you or I can even begin to imagine the distress of Amanda Fielding.
The Daughter She Lost is a heartening tale of one woman’s journey to discover her heritage. I enjoyed following along Amanda’s narration as she connected to those in the town of Avalon Springs. While navigating the many trials of motherhood, Amanda launches her own investigations into what truly happened to her birth mother, Angie. She’d also intended to find out her late grandmother’s secretive motives for giving Amanda up for adoption as well as uncovering the identity of her birth father. Eventually, she discovers that, sometimes, the truth can be a hard pill to swallow.
Westwood’s writing brings about powerful emotions, as Angie’s story is slowly unearthed. I was sad for her and everything she’d gone thru, only to be taken away too soon. While I did enjoy Amanda, overall, I do wish more time was spent on furthering the reader’s connection with the supporting characters. I wanted to welcome Linda and Frances but found them hard to relate to, and a tad bit annoying. In retrospect, their personalities make a lot more sense after their histories come to light. The ending, however, came about differently then I had imagined, yet satisfying all the same… sometimes those are the best though, aren’t they? The tales of unexpected solace.
I would recommend this book to the wanderers of the bookish world, not lost, but rather in search of a particular set of pages to get lost in… an ideal mix of contemporary women’s fiction and suspense. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and the author Lauren Westwood for providing me with a complimentary copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
What do you do when you inherit a house from a stranger? You travel to a small town and uncover family secrets, of course! The plot unfolds as Amanda gets to know Avalon Springs and its inhabitants. The author does a great job of illustrating how people tie to each other in a small town. All of the characters are interesting. I related to Amanda instantly and was interested in her perspective to the end. I would recommend picking it up for an escape. For more thoughts, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC of the book.
Blood sings to blood
Amanda always knew she was adopted, but was told her adopted parents had no information on her biological family. She thought she had a good life with her husband, two beautiful children, and a business they ran together. Than the divorce . He told her he met someone else and moved out. She started over and was doing well.
Than her parents came to visit and she heard the wards from her mother “We have to talk” She knew that wasn’t good. Than she was told “We need to talk about your biological mother.” That is when she found out that her biological grandmother had left her a house in Avalon Falls , California, where evidently her mother grew up.
She learned that her mother was 16 when she was born and died shortly after and she was given for adoption by the grandmother because she thought it was the right thing to do. There was no information on who her father was.
Now the story begins. Amanda and the children, Madison her teenage daughter, and Theo her younger son and herself go to Avalon Falls to look at the house and prepare it to be sold. After renting a cabin from the real estate agent while the house is being cleaned out and renovated she decides to try and solve the mystery of her birth and find her birth father.
The problem is the town appears to have many secrets to hold. After dealing with the real estate lady Frances, she meets the next door neighbor Flo who is a bit of a hoarder. By finally going through her birth mother and her grandmother’s items and in snippets of conversations she overhears she is able to make a list of prospective birth fathers.
Wayne the boy next door, Mack with whom she attended a school dance, Mr. Karnes a teacher she was infatuated with, and the town Mayer Ralph who was with her in photos taken at a fair. Now she had to solve the mystery. With the help of France’s with whom she became good friends and later Linda and even the Mayer’s wife Tessa they tried to solve the mystery.
When the truth is revealed at the end of the book it is a shocking twist that you will never guess is coming. I stayed up until wee hours of the morning because I just had to know how it ended.
This was some good reading, you will be glad you picked it up and read it. Small town secrets at their best. Keeps you in suspense and keeps you wondering. I would recommend it.
Thanks to Lauren Westwood, Bookouture, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of the book for an honest review.