"Raw Edges" by Sandra Bricker Book Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Raw Edge Abingdon Press (September 17, 2013) by Sandra D. Bricker

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

For more than a decade, Sandra D. Bricker lived in Los Angeles. While honing her chosen craft of screenwriting in every spare moment, she worked as a personal assistant and publicist to some of daytime television's hottest stars. When her mother became ill in Florida, she walked away from that segment of her life and moved across the country to take on a new role: Caregiver.

The Big 5-OH! was released by Abingdon Press in the Spring of 2010, and the novel was very well-received, garnering a couple of nibbles from Hollywood.

Always the Baker, Never the Bride was released by Abingdon Press in September 2010. With its phenomenal reviews, the novel spawned a series of three more books based on the popular cast of characters at The Tanglewood Inn, a wedding destination hotel in historic Roswell, Georgia. The series cemented Sandie's spot in publishing as a flagship author of Laugh-Out-Loud romantic comedy for the inspirational market.

"Being allowed to combine my faith and my humor with my writing dream," says Bricker, "well, that's the best of all worlds, as far as I'm concerned!"

ABOUT THE BOOK

Grayson McDonough has no use for teal ribbons, 5k runs, or ovarian cancer support groups now that his beautiful wife Jenna is gone. But their nine-year-old daughter Sadie seems to need the connection. When Annabelle Curtis, the beautiful cancer survivor organizing the memory quilt project for the Ovacome support group, begins to bring out the silly and fun side of his precious daughter again, Gray must set aside his own grief to support the healing of Sadie’s young heart. But is there hope for Gray’s heart too along the way?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Raw Edge, go HERE.

Watch the book trailer:

MY REVIEW:
      Sandra Bricker is becoming one of my favorite Chick Lit authors with her witty style of writing contemporary romance (Always the Baker, Never the Bride...). She departs from that style with "Raw Edges". It is contemporary, but certainly not witty Chick Lit. It is still excellent writing, but in a more serious form. The subject matter is heavy - Ovarian cancer... survivors and families without survivors. They are putting together a memory quilt to honor them and bring awareness to Ovarian cancer and the research to find a cure. This quilt brings together a survivor with a widower and his young daughter who lost their loved one to the same cancer. It is well written and moving, but very enjoyable at times as well. Sadie, the 9 year old daughter, lends a quirky breath of fresh air with her approach to life (and match making) while Annabelle is a wonderful heroine in all of her imperfections, but eagerness. Gray actually makes a great hero - still living in the past of losing his wife, raising his daughter, running his business - but not moving on (it has only been a year). Then the ball starts rolling for him because of a request his late wife made before she passed away... and boy does it start rolling. A wonderful book, but a departure from the style I have come to know Sandra for.