Lies and Other Acts of Love by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Greetings Bookworms!

I am on an absolute roll with the water works this week, you guys. I cried while watching Inside Out (expected) AND Trainwreck (unexpected). Then I cried during two different books. Not that I don’t cry a lot, because I am totally a crier, but it’s a little unusual to have so many instances of non-real-life crying in a single week. My subconscious is probably just super pissed that it’s April and it’s still pretending to be winter and icky outside. I have a point, I promise. The second book to make me cry this week was Lies and Other Acts of Love by Kristy Woodson Harvey. *I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author for review consideration. She seems super nice, but I’ll still give you an honest opinion. I’ve known you longer. And, you know, integrity, blah blah blah.*

Lynn “Lovey” White has seen a thing or twelve during her sixty years of marriage. You can’t be married that long and raise a family of five daughters without appreciating the art of the little white lie. Life hasn’t been perfect, but she’s made it work. At this point, she’d just like to see her family happy and settled. Unfortunately, her granddaughter Annabelle has been living in a whirlwind. After dumping her hedge fund manager fiance, Annabelle rebounded FAST with a musician she met and married within the week. When Annabelle’s life begins to spiral out of control, she comes to understand that things aren’t always what they seem and that difficult choices are part of this whole life gig.

Lies and Other Acts of Love was a bit of a complicated read for me. I simply adored Lovey and Dan’s story- in fact, I’d read an entire book about their life together with no complaint. The overarching themes of love being complicated and the idea that there’s often more to a fairy tale love story than meets the eye? Totally resonated with me. Great stuff.

But then there was Annabelle. You know how sometimes when you’re reading a book you want to jump into the pages and give a character a good shake? That’s how I felt about Annabelle. I don’t fault the author for this, my frustration with the character was 100% about my own personal hangups. That’s part of the fun of reading, though. Different books affect people in different ways. Annabelle drove me bonkers. She just kept making terrible choices. The fact that a single character was able to get under my skin so much is a testament to the author’s skill, though, don’t you think? I mean, most of the characters I’ve most wanted to give a stern “talking to” are out of classic novels, so if that’s any indication of quality, this was quite well done. Bottom line? If you like Southern fiction and aren’t completely jaded by the concept of love at first sight, Lies and Other Acts of Love could absolutely be a winner for you.

Soooo Bookworms, let’s talk. Tell me about some of the fictional characters that drove you bananas. Please? 

*If you make a purchase through a link on this site, I will receive a small commission. The author will also receive a commission. I think. I don’t actually know how it works with book sales. Kristy Woodson Harvey really does seem exceptionally nice, though, just in case you’re on the fence about the purchase. You probably won’t want to punch Annabelle. Clearly that’s on me.*