All Right Here by Carre Armstrong Gardner

About the Book:

Ivy Darling can’t have children of her own, and her husband Nick’s resentment is forcing them apart.

 And while Ivy has the support and love of her large, close-knit family, Nick’s family has never welcomed her into the fold.

When the three children next door are abandoned by their mother, Ivy and Nick take them in for the night. One night becomes several, and suddenly Ivy and Nick find themselves foster parents to the only African-American kids in the town of Copper Cove, Maine.

As Ivy grows more attached to the children, Nick refuses to accept their eclectic household as a permanent family. Just as Ivy begins to question whether or not she wants to save her emotionally barren marriage, Nick begins to discover how much Ivy and the children mean to him. But is his change of heart too little, too late?

My Thoughts:

I wasn't certain this was my kind of book.  Carre Armstrong Gardner has presented her debut novel about a dysfunctional family struggling to make sense of life.  I loved Ivy's family, the Darlings.  But I could not stand Nick Mason's clan.

Couldn't stand Nick, either, to be completely truthful.  Sure, Ivy seemed a bit unusual and quirky, but it was obvious Nick doesn't feel much for his wife: much love, much respect...much anything.  It was very difficult to watch a man treat is wife with such coldness and disdain.

DeShaun, Jada and Hammer won my heart from the first time I met them, and I was thrilled they had Ivy in their lives.  But I had no idea if this mixed race foster family was going to even survive.  Carre had obviously crafted an excellent story if it had my emotions so tangled up.

By the end of the book, my feelings had changed.  I cannot tell you how they changed, or toward whom without spoiling the book.  And I'm disgruntled about the ending, because Carre left it wide open for a sequel.

Thank heaven a sequel is in the works!  Carre Armstrong Gardner is an author to watch, and I'm so grateful to my friends at Tyndale House Publishers for my advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It might not seem as if things are "All Right Here", but you will enjoy the journey.  You'll meet some really great characters along the way, and you'll learn a few things about your own family life as well.

Happy Reading!



 

Sell Used Books - Have Your Books Shipped To Us For Free And Get Fast Cash Back!