What I’m Reading~If We Make It Home by Christina Suzann Nelson is the first book I read by the author. Since then, I’ve read More Than We Remember, which I’m reviewing over at the Suspense Sister’s Blog today. I really like Christina Suzann Nelson’s writing style!
But first a note on the photo above. It was taken in 2015 when I visited the North Shore with a friend and fellow writer, Delores Topliff. It was mid-may and sleet and freezing rain peppered us on the way back to the sweet place we stayed. If you’ve never visited the North Shore, it’s a beautiful area. I know I’ve used that scripture verse before, but I thought it was so appropriate for the photo…and the times.
Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award Winner
When four college friends graduated from the University of Northwest Oregon, their lives stretched before them, full of promise and vows to stay connected. But life has a way of derailing well-laid plans.
Now they haven’t spoken in twenty-five years. But against all odds, three of them return to their alma mater, wondering how they got there. When they discover their fourth friend, Hope, has died, Jenna, Ireland, and Vicky decide to embark on a wilderness adventure to honor her memory–and for secret reasons of their own. Jenna wants to show her husband that she’s more than a helpless, overweight, middle-aged empty nester. Ireland wants to get back to the nature she loves and hide from the charges being pressed against her. And Vicky wants to show she cares for something besides her ministry–and put off the disaster waiting at home for as long as possible.
They never bargained for the dangers they face in an unforgiving wilderness. Now they’ll have to work together if they hope to make it home alive. While the three women fight to survive the elements, their toughest battles may be with themselves.
My take on What I’m Reading~If We Make It Home:
Twenty-five years after leaving college, three roommates return to their sorority house for a reunion and to get together with a fourth roommate. They learn the fourth roommate died the previous February, devastating them all. The three decide to join an older woman on a survival trip into the Cascades as a tribute to their fallen friend.
Jenna, Ireland, and Vicky all have heavy baggage they are carrying. Jenna is experiencing empty-nest syndrome. Ireland faces losing her teaching job at a university. And Vicky fears her husband is interested in another woman. All three are running from the ghosts of their pasts.
Two days into the trip, their guide dies. These women have no survival skills and face getting off the mountain on their own. The journey becomes a true survival test. They get lost, encounter a wild mountain man, cattle thieves, and face their own problems. Nelson has done a terrific job of weaving it all together in a heartfelt story, and it’s one that will stay with you for a while.
If We Make it Home is Nelson’s first book. I’m reviewing More Than We Remember over at the Suspense Sister’s blog today. And, I’m giving away a copy of each book at their respective blog! Hop over there and leave a comment
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Comments 26
This sounds like an interesting book. It seems to be a recurring theme these days in books where a group of friends or sisters get together to deal with past issues. I didn’t get an email from your blog today but got the Suspense Sisters email so I sought you out via your website. Have a good weekend.
Author
Gloria, for some reason, I forgot to schedule my post to go out…have no idea how that happened, except my internet has been a little wonky lately. lol. Thanks for following the link from the Suspense Sisters!
Haha! Some might say it is Friday the 13th after all.
Author
True, Gloria. lol
This sounds like a good book! Really interesting!
Author
It is a good book, Robin. I enjoyed both of Suzann’s books.
As an avid outdoors woman, this sounds like a wonderful book. I have been briefly “lost” at times in the days before GPS and it is a terrifying feeling.
Author
Debra, I don’t think there’s anything much scarier than being lost! I used to look at timber with my husband and we got lost more than once, because he was arguing with the compass! lol Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for all your recommendations, Pat. I just finished “The Watch on the Fencepost”, a great book. I just bought “Dead Man’s Watch”, the second in the Watch series, and I’ll be reading that soon. For a new author, Ms DiBianca writes really well.
Author
So glad you enjoyed The Watch on the Fencepost, Tim! Thanks for always reading and commenting on my blog.
I read “More Than We Remember” earlier this year and listed it as one of the top reads for this year! It was my first book by Christina, I didn’t realize she had more. I’ll have to look to see if I can borrow this from my library or the ebook from Overdrive.
Thanks for the book shout-out!
Author
Trixi, she has another one coming out in February 2021 and there’s another one–Swimming in the Deep End that released in 2018. Thanks for stopping by.
suspenseful
Author
It is! Thanks for stopping by.
This sounds like an interesting book!
Author
It is, Kerri! Thanks for stopping by.
Such a beautiful picture and very fitting verse. This sounds like a really interesting book. I will have to add it to my ever growing book list 🙂
Author
Thank you, Erika. I’d never been to the North Shore before and I loved the concrete path. Thanks for stopping by.
It sounds like a really interesting book. Thank you for sharing.
Author
I think you’d enjoy it, Diana! Thanks for stopping by.
Ooh, I love survival stories! The extra elements make it sound even better!
Author
It was really good, Amy! Thanks for stopping by.
Sounds good! I am not that much of an outdoor person. Not sure I would survive something like this.
Author
Patty, I think that’s what I liked so much about this story–none of the women was the kind who thought they could survive but they did. Thanks for stopping by.
Love the scripture and photo, Pat! If We Make It Home sounds like a must read. Thank you for the chance.
Author
Thank you, Caryl. I love that photo, too. And I think you’d enjoy If We Make It Home!