Review: The Truth About Love & Lightning by Susan McBride

The Truth About Love & Lightning by Susan McBride

William Morrow Paperbacks

February 2012

Format: Paperback, 320 pages

First line: Annika Brink could not tell a lie.

From the back cover: Susan McBride, author
of Little Black Dress and The Cougar Club, gives us her most
unforgettable novel to date with this deliciously emotional story of
family, forgiveness, love, and magic.

As far as Gretchen Brink is
concerned, the tornado that just ripped through her land has nothing on
the storms of a different sort happening all around her. Her grown
daughter, Abby, has returned home with news that she’s pregnant, and no,
she’s not sure whether she’s going to marry the father. A man with no
memory has been dropped practically on her doorstep. And the
not-so-little white lie she’s been telling for years is about to catch
up with her.

Abby is sure that the mysterious man is her
long-lost father, Sam, who has finally returned just when she needs him
most. As Abby, Gretchen, and the Man Who Might Be Sam get closer, the
lie Gretchen told all those years ago begins to haunt her. When her
secrets come out, and Sam’s past is finally revealed, will it tear down
this fragile life they’ve built–or will the truth bring them all closer
together?

My thoughts: This is the first book I’ve read by Susan McBride and it definitely won’t be the last one. I’ve had Little Black Dress on my tbr list for a while now and was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to review Susan McBride’s latest book. This book grabbed me from the first page and I ended up reading it in one afternoon – and was totally bummed when I finished it because I didn’t want it to end.

The Truth About Love & Lightning has fascinating characters that you just fall in love with. I happen to be partial to books about family dynamics, and this one is ripe with it. I loved the interaction between Gretchen and her twin sisters, who are legally blind and living with her. Despite their handicap, they still manage to live life to the fullest. Then there’s Gretchen’s daughter Abby, who finding herself in a bit of a predicament, heads home, arriving just after a terrible storm has dropped a mysterious man on the family’s property. The man has no recollection of what happened to him or even who he is. As time moves on, Gretchen, Abby and her sisters get to know him a bit, wondering if he is the man that disappeared almost 40 years ago.

Throughout the book, the story moves seamlessly from the present to the past, giving us back stories when needed to help us understand current situations. We find out why Gretchen told the lie that has been held for 40 years and now is threatening to come out. We also find out who the mysterious man might be and why this could drastically change everyone’s lives.

There is mystery and a bit of magic in this tale and I found it to be quite enjoyable. At times, as I was reading the book, I was reminded of Sarah Addison Allen’s books, as she, too, uses a bit of a magical element in her writing. I’m looking forward to going back and reading Susan McBride’s other books, starting with Little Black Dress. I wonder if they all include that little bit of magic…

Have you read any books by authors other than Susan McBride and Sarah Addison Allen that use a magical element in their story-telling? I‘d love to know!

 

I received a complimentary copy of The Truth About Love & Lightning by Susan McBride from Trish at TLC Book Tours.

About the author: Susan McBride is the author of women’s fiction, including The Truth About Love & Lightning, Little Black Dress, and The Cougar Club, as well as the award-winning Debutante Dropout Mysteries. She calls herself an “accidental cougar” after meeting a man nine years younger in 2005 when she was a St. Louis Magazine “top
single.” They were married in February 2008 and live happily ever after
in a suburb of St. Louis. She is a six-year breast cancer survivor and
often speaks to women’s groups about her experience. In January 2012,
she was named one of St. Louis’ “Most Dynamic People of the Year” by
the Ladue News. In April 2012, she was given the “Survivor of
the Year” Award by the St. Louis affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the
Cure. In late June of 2012, Susan and her husband, Ed, had their first
child, Emily. As Susan likes to say, “Life is never boring!”

Visit Susan at her website, susanmcbride.com.

To see who else is participating in Susan McBride’s The Truth About Love & Lightning tour, click here.