Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by Should Be Reading.
Today’s featured book is an ARC from Amazon Vine: What I Had Before I Had You, by Sarah Cornwell.
Intro: The first time I see my sisters, I am fifteen years old. It is June, and the ocean is just warm enough for swimming. I am floating on my back out past the farthest buoy. If I turn my head, I can see the beach, glutted with tourists, rising above and dipping below each wave swell. The world appears and vanishes, is and isn’t, is and isn’t. Sometimes the lifeguard is sitting, and sometimes he is standing up on his white wooden tower, shading his eyes. The closest swimmers are some forty yards off, a few old ladies doing the crawl, their crepe-paper elbows rising and falling. A wave breaks against my face, and I sputter under the water, come up coughing.
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Teaser: I cough and bend over, watching the swirling kaleidoscope of floaters inside my eyelids. I don’t want her to see me laugh. I cannot resist saying, “Such clairvoyance,” as I close myself back into the basement stairway without any matches. (p. 87).
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Blurb: In What I Had Before I Had You by Sarah Cornwell, a woman must face the truth about her past in this luminous, evocative literary novel of parents and children, guilt and forgiveness, memory and magical thinking, set in the faded, gritty world of the New Jersey Shore.
Olivia was only fifteen the summer she left her hometown of Ocean Vista. Two decades later, on a visit with her children, her nine-year-old son Daniel, recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder, disappears. Olivia’s search for him sparks tender and painful memories of her past—of her fiercely loving and secretive mother, Myla, an erratic and beautiful psychic, and the discovery of heartbreaking secrets that shattered her world.
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What do you think? Is it tempting enough to keep reading?
POTPOURRI 
Yes…it’s very tempting…it’s on my list this week, too!
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Thanks for stopping by, Patty…I do love this kind of book.
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I like the idea of her discovering her mother’s secrets. I think I’m uncomfortable with the lost 9-year-old bipolar son. I’ll see what you think about it. Here’s Mine
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I know…I really hate tragedies involving children! But maybe it will turn out okay. Thanks for visiting, Paulita.
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Beautiful cover! The book sounds good to. Yes, I would probably finish this one.
Here’s my teaser…
http://mytime2read.blogspot.com/2013/12/teaser-tuesday-december-3.html
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Yes, I think so, too, Kim….thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your read.
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I mean to read this one soon! Thanks for the reminder – hope you love it!
Harvee
Book Dilettante
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Me, too, Harvee…thanks for stopping by!
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sounds sad. enjoy your book and thanks so much for stopping by today. kelley—the road goes ever ever on
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Yes, I seem drawn to sad ones lately. Thanks for stopping by, Kelley.
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It does sound good — enjoy! My teaser: Cowboys & Angels
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Thanks for visiting, Heather…enjoy your pick!
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How old is she to have floaters, yet stay under the stairs?
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I was wondering about that, too, Alice Audrey…I have had some doozie floaters….but I didn’t get them until I was “older.”
Thanks for stopping by.
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I have difficulty with books about missing children, but this one has been on my radar since I first heard about it. The intro certainly is compelling. I hope you enjoy it!
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Yes, I don’t like the missing children (or killed children) angle, but sometimes the rest of the story makes it worthwhile. Thanks for stopping by, Literary Feline.
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I love the cover!! I would keep reading because I’d want to know if they find her son, and to learn what the memories from her past were.
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Yes, hopefully the son is found, Vicki. Thanks for stopping by…enjoy your week.
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sad, closing himself back in the basement.
http://sidnereading.blogspot.com
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Yes, I hope I have plenty of tissue handy! Thanks for stopping by, Sidne.
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I passed on this one. It just seemed to intense for where I am right now. Thanks for visiting.
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Sometimes we’re in the mood, and other times, not so much. Thanks for stopping by, Jo.
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Another really good read. I’m going to add this to my list.
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Thanks, Yvonne…hope you enjoy it.
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Oh, yes… very tempting! I’ll have to investigate this one.
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I hope to enjoy it, JoAnn…thanks for stopping by.
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We do gravitate to the same kind of books. I’d read more and I do have an eGalley of this one as I loved the sound of it –enjoy
Thanks for joining us Laurel
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Glad you liked it, too, Diane…enjoy! And thanks for stopping by…and hosting.
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Definitely my kind of book.
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Good, Nise….don’t you love finding those? Thanks for stopping by.
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I would keep reading. I like literary fiction using what we call the “historical present” in French, much more common in French than in English I believe, but I found it more engaging than the simple past
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Hmm, yes, I like those kinds of stories, too. Thanks for visiting, Emma…enjoy!
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I’m tempted to add this to my sagging bookshelf. Love the first paragraph.
PS. Also love the blog background pic.
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Yes, I do, too….thanks for stopping by, and I love the background pic, too. It’s from Pinterest.
Enjoy your reading, Monique.
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